Florida’s government worker pensions still need reform

Florida is sitting on a debt bomb that keeps growing despite attempts by the legislature to fix things. The Florida Retirement System provides retirement benefits to over 1.2 million current state and local government workers and retirees. Its financial sustainability is vital for the retirement security of those workers. But current and fast-growing debt in the pension plan and a lack of investment plan contributions puts member retirement security at risk along with the wallets of taxpayers. The longer the debt is allowed to grow, the more expensive it will be to pay off. 

Problems with the financial sustainability of FRS go back to the late 1990s. The legislature enacted changes to the system in 2000, 2011 and 2017 that addressed some issues but created new ones that undermine retirement security and drive up debt. The consequence is a mounting crisis.