Florida lawmakers considered a sizable collection of Florida Retirement System proposals during the 2026 legislative cycle. The proposals addressed employer contribution rates, cost-of-living adjustments, DROP distributions, military service, retirement-record privacy, Special Risk Class membership, optional retirement programs and even transfers of service credit between employees.
But the final result was much narrower than the original list of bills might suggest. Only two measures created FRS-related changes in 2026: HB 5205-E, the primary retirement bill adopted during the 2026E special session, and SB 474, a broader military-affairs bill that also amended membership rules for certain Department of Military Affairs positions. Most of the other proposals died in committee, while one bill passed only after its original FRS language was removed.
1. New employer contribution rates
HB 5205-E revised the employer-paid normal-cost and unfunded-actuarial-liability contribution rates for the pension plan for every FRS membership class and subclass. The new rates took effect July 1, 2026. These are employer rates. The legislation did not amend the statutory employee-contribution provision. The two components changed by the law are shown below.
| FRS membership class | Normal cost: 2025 → 2026 | UAL rate: 2025 → 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Class | 7.10% → 7.11% | 4.87% → 4.42% |
| Special Risk Class | 20.10% → 21.58% | 13.03% → 14.10% |
| Special Risk Administrative Support Class | 10.88% → 11.45% | 26.54% → 28.28% |
| Elected Officers’ Class: Legislators, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet officers, state attorneys and public defenders | 10.04% → 10.30% | 50.56% → 51.43% |
| Elected Officers’ Class: Justices and judges | 15.62% → 15.54% | 28.46% → 28.40% |
| Elected Officers’ Class: County elected officers | 11.79% → 11.45% | 40.72% → 41.49% |
| Senior Management Service Class | 8.73% → 8.68% | 22.45% → 21.86% |
| DROP | 9.37% → 9.86% | 10.65% → 10.26% |
The increases are particularly significant for the Special Risk and Special Risk Administrative Support classes. The House’s final analysis estimated that, in aggregate, the enacted changes would generate approximately $20.5 million more in employer contributions during the 2026–27 fiscal year than would have been collected under the previous statutory rates.
2. A new minimum COLA for eligible Special Risk retirees
HB 5205-E created an alternative cost-of-living adjustment for certain Special Risk Class Pension Plan retirees.
Beginning July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter, an eligible Special Risk retiree who has been retired for at least five years receives an adjustment equal to the greater of:
This does not create a 1.5% COLA for every FRS retiree. It applies only to eligible Special Risk retirees and annuitants whose effective retirement date is on or after July 1, 2011.
Eligibility also depends on when the person first entered the FRS:
In practical terms, the new provision creates a 1.5% annual floor for this qualifying group after the fifth anniversary of retirement. Retirees who qualify for a larger amount under the existing formula receive the larger adjustment.
3. Investment Plan disability and line-of-duty death allocations
The retirement bill also changed certain internal allocations used to fund benefits for Investment Plan members.
For disability coverage, the Special Risk allocation increased from 1.85% to 1.91%, while the Special Risk Administrative Support allocation increased from 0.45% to 0.46%. Other listed disability allocations remained unchanged. For Investment Plan line-of-duty death benefits, the Special Risk allocation increased from 1.26% to 1.28%. The law did not change the listed percentages for the other membership classes.
These are allocations from the FRS Contributions Clearing Trust Fund; they are not new deductions taken from an employee’s paycheck.
4. Some elected officers can receive DROP money while remaining in office
Previously, an elected officer who remained in office after completing DROP generally could not receive the accumulated DROP funds until leaving elective office.
HB 5205-E created a limited exception. An elected officer who has completed DROP may now receive accumulated DROP proceeds after reaching age 59½ without first terminating from elective office. The exception does not apply while the officer is serving as a Florida legislator.
This does not allow the officer to continue accumulating additional monthly DROP benefits after the DROP period ends. Any continuing interest is governed by the existing rules: an officer whose DROP participation began on or after July 1, 2010, generally does not continue earning interest after the end of the DROP period.
The law also directs the Division of Retirement or State Board of Administration to recoup an early DROP distribution if the officer later becomes subject to a benefit-forfeiture provision that would have prevented the distribution.
5. Department of Military Affairs SMS Class positions changed
SB 474 was primarily a military-affairs bill, but it also amended the list of Department of Military Affairs employees for whom participation in the FRS Senior Management Service Class is compulsory.
The law now applies compulsory SMS Class participation to the specified uniformed positions of:
It removed the previous statutory references to the Director of Human Resources, Director of Legislative Affairs, Inspector General, Executive Officer and additional directors designated by the agency head. Affected members retain the statutory option of participating in the Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program instead.
SB 474 took effect July 1, 2026. Its House companion, HB 1211, did not independently pass; it was laid on the table after the Senate bill was approved.
The broader law also updated military-leave provisions, including recognition of Coast Guard service, clarification of paid leave based on a single military order, and authority for local governments to provide more than 240 hours of paid reserve or guard training leave without using state funds.
Proposals that did not become FRS law
Several ideas appearing on the MyFRS legislative page were introduced but were not enacted.
Retirement-record privacy
HB 1087 originally would have made personal identifying information of members and payees in the FRS Pension Plan and other state-administered retirement systems confidential and exempt from public-record requirements.
The House State Affairs Committee later removed the retirement-record exemption and replaced it with provisions concerning records held by the Office of Financial Regulation. HB 1087 eventually became Chapter 2026-130, but its enacted provisions concern financial-regulation records—not FRS participant records.
The separate Senate proposal, SB 520, died in the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee. Therefore, the retirement-record privacy proposal identified on the MyFRS page did not become law.
Regional counsel supervisors in the SMS Class
SB 60 and HB 595 would have required assistant regional counsel supervisors to participate in the Senior Management Service Class and would have permitted qualifying members to purchase additional SMS Class credit for prior eligible service.
SB 60 died in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, while HB 595 died in the House Government Operations Subcommittee.
Judicial-branch SMS Class expansion
SB 640 and HB 647 would have expanded the Chief Justice’s authority to designate judicial-branch positions for SMS Class participation and would have required the executive director and general counsel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission to participate.
Both bills died in their first committees of reference.
Optional retirement-program contribution changes
SB 1410 would have tied the employer contribution rate for certain optional retirement programs to the FRS Investment Plan employer rate.
HB 1441 separately proposed contribution changes for optional retirement programs covering public postsecondary employees. Both bills died in committee, so neither proposed optional-program formula became law.
Transfers of service credit between employees
SB 1528 would have directed the Department of Management Services to create rules allowing an FRS employee to transfer years of creditable service to another FRS employee.
The bill died in the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee. No such transfer program was created by this legislation.
Special Risk coverage for prosecutors and investigators
HB 1289 and SB 1304 would have expanded Special Risk Class eligibility to certain prosecutors and special investigators and established related service requirements for full retirement eligibility.
Both bills died in committee. The positions described in these bills were not added to the Special Risk Class during the 2026 session through these proposals.
The bottom line for FRS members and employers
The 2026 legislative cycle produced four principal FRS developments:
The many other ideas listed on the MyFRS legislation page—including broader retirement-record privacy, new Special Risk occupations, service-credit transfers and postsecondary optional-plan contribution changes—did not become FRS law in 2026.
FRS members should review how the enacted provisions apply to their individual membership class, retirement date and service history before making a retirement or DROP decision. This article is a general legislative summary and not individualized financial or legal advice.
Source: https://www.myfrs.com/2026RS_Legislation.htm