Six-figure state pensions on the rise in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Guaranteed pensions — all but extinct in the private sector — are alive and well for Florida government workers.

Many receive payouts most hard-working Floridians can only dream about.

According to state records, 1,223 retirees vested in the Florida Retirement System, the state’s largest public pension program, will receive six-figure pensions this year — a 25 percent increase from 2013.

Once a FRS pension plan member retires, their defined benefit increases over time because of cost-of-living adjustments.

That’s a deal only 7 percent of private sector workers get, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

One former St. Petersburg community college employee will take home $266,567 this year. That includes a $26,000 benefit increase over the past four years, according to data supplied by the Florida Department of Management Services.

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