This page explains the FRS calculator. The rules it uses are in plain English on the formula, early retirement and DROP pages.
- 1
Pick the plan and tier
Investment Plan: we stop, because there's no pension to estimate, and show its rules. Pension Plan: enrolled before July 1, 2011 or on or after it.
Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 8, Investment Plan Defined; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 2; Handbook (2026), p. 26, Vesting; F.S. 121.021(45)(a) - 2
Count your service
The years you enter, plus one year for each year from today to your retirement date (none if you've stopped working). Retirement dates are the first of a month.
Handbook (2026), p. 49, Effective Retirement Date - 3
Check eligibility
Vested (6 or 8 years). Normal retirement at 62 or 30 years (65 or 33): by age from the first of your birth month, by service from the first of the next month. Early within 20 years of the normal age.
Handbook (2026), p. 45, Normal Retirement; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 8; F.S. 121.021(29)(a)1.; Handbook (2026), p. 46, Early Retirement; Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 4, Service Retirement; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 31; F.S. 121.091(3)(a)1. - 4
Apply the formula
Years × percentage value × AFC, capped at 100% of AFC. The percentage value is the highest row on the handbook's chart you reach by age or whole years of service.
Handbook (2026), p. 29, Retirement Benefit Formula; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 21; Handbook (2026), p. 30, Percentage Value for a Year of Retirement Credit; Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 5, Benefit Calculation; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 24; Handbook (2026), p. 52, Limitation of Benefits; F.S. 121.091(1) - 5
Early retirement
5/12 of 1% for each complete month before 62 (or 65); the rate is the chart's first row.
Handbook (2026), p. 46, Early Retirement; Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 4, Service Retirement; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 31; F.S. 121.091(3)(a)1. - 6
Round
The yearly amount to the cent, then ÷ 12, as in FRS's examples.
Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 30 - 7
COLA, HIS and DROP
COLA: 3% × service before July 1, 2011 ÷ total, first year prorated. HIS: $7.50 a year of service, $45 to $225. DROP: each month's benefit credited, 4% a year compounded monthly, July COLA.
Handbook (2026), p. 58, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA); Handbook (2026), p. 58, Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS); F.S. 112.363(3)(f)1.; DROP Guide (2026), pp. 6-7, How much interest will my DROP account earn?
What the calculator doesn't cover
- Your AFC: we use what you enter. FRS figures it from your payroll records, including any annual leave payout.
- Option 2, 3 and 4 amounts: FRS's factor tables aren't in its published guides.
- Special Risk and other classes, disability benefits and in-line-of-duty survivor benefits.
- The cost of buying service, which FRS quotes.
- Investment Plan balances. We describe the plan's rules only.
- Income tax, health premiums, and members whose FRS employment ended before July 1, 2001 (different vesting).
How we check the math
The calculator runs on a small engine that reads every rule from one data file, with a source for each. Automated tests run it on every example FRS prints, plus the edges of each rule (the 2011 tier date, the chart's rows, vesting, the early-retirement window, the option factor age). The tests run every time the site is built.
| FRS example | FRS shows | Our engine |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Class: 30 years × 1.6% × $25,000Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 29 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00Match |
| Special Risk: 25 years × 3%Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 28 | $18,750 | $18,750Match |
| Dual membershipSeminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 30 | $20,750 | $20,750Match |
| AFC with annual leave payout: totalSeminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 27 | $144,400 | $144,400Match |
| AFC with annual leave payoutSeminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 27 | $28,800 | $28,880Check with FRS: typo in the source |
| AFC without the payoutSeminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 27 | $27,500 | $27,500Match |
| Early retirement at 57, normal age 62Handbook (2026), p. 46, Early Retirement | 25% | 25%Match |
| Early retirement at 57, normal age 65Handbook (2026), p. 46, Early Retirement | 40% | 40%Match |
| COLA: 26 of 30 years before July 1, 2011Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 33 | 2.6% | 2.6%Match |
| COLA: 26 of 33.75 years before July 1, 2011Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 33 | 2.31% | 2.31%Match |
| First COLA, retired January 1, 2026Handbook (2026), p. 58, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) | 0.5 of a year | 0.5 of a yearMatch |
| COLA in DROP: 20 of 30 yearsDROP Guide (2026), p. 7, Will my FRS benefits receive a COLA while I am in the DROP? | 2%, first 1% | 2%, first 1%Match |
| DROP lump sum of $100,000: withheld / paidDROP Guide (2026), p. 11, How will my DROP benefits be taxed? | $20,000 / $80,000 | $20,000 / $80,000Match |
| DROP lump sum: 28% bracket / early taxDROP Guide (2026), p. 11, How will my DROP benefits be taxed? | $8,000 / $10,000 | $8,000 / $10,000Match |
| Service credit: Deputy sheriff, 12-month work year, works 9 monthsHandbook (2026), p. 32, Counting Your Years of Creditable Service | 0.75 | 0.75Match |
| Service credit: Teacher, 10-month work year, works 6 monthsHandbook (2026), p. 32, Counting Your Years of Creditable Service | 0.6 | 0.6Match |
| Investment Plan: leave January 15, 2026Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 39, Distributions from the Investment Plan | full May 1, 2026; 10% March 1, 2026 | full May 1, 2026; 10% March 1, 2026Match |
Things to check with FRS
The sources don't settle these points. Each is labeled "Check with FRS" where it shows up on the site.
Option 2, 3 and 4 amounts. The handbook says Options 2-4 are actuarially reduced from Option 1, and rule 60S-7.0041 says the factors for retirements from Jan. 1, 2026 are in 'FRS Actuarial Equivalence Factors Effective January 1, 2026'. The rule only incorporates those tables by reference (flrules.org Ref-18343); none of the downloaded documents prints a factor.
We show Option 1 in dollars and describe Options 2-4 in words, with no amounts.
What would settle it: The factor tables (flrules.org Ref-18343, or from the Division of Retirement at 844-377-1888), or an FRS estimate showing all four options.
How age is counted on the percentage-value chart. The chart says 'retirement at age 63 or 31 years' without saying whether age 63 means the birthday itself or the first of the birth month, or whether 31 years means complete years.
We count age from the first of your birth month (how FRS dates normal retirement by age) and whole years of service.
What would settle it: An FRS estimate for a member retiring in the birth month, or the Division's answer.
Partial years in the health insurance subsidy. The handbook says $7.50 'for each year of service'. Neither it nor s. 112.363(3)(f)1. says whether a partial year counts for Pension Plan retirees (the Investment Plan paragraph says 'or fraction thereof').
We multiply your service as entered, including any fraction, between the $45 minimum and $225 maximum.
What would settle it: An HIS calculation from the Division for a retiree with a partial year.
Projected service and milestone dates. The calculator projects vesting and the 30- or 33-year date at one month of credit per calendar month. Teachers earn credit by work year (9, 10 or 11 months can be a full year), so your real dates come from FRS's records.
We add one year of service per year you keep working.
What would settle it: Your Member Annual Statement or FRS Online service history.
DROP balance projections. The DROP Guide gives the interest rate, compounding and COLA rules, but no worked DROP balance. FRS computes the official accrual and sends a summary.
We credit each month's benefit, compound 4% a year monthly on the prior balance, and apply the July COLA (prorated the first year).
What would settle it: An FRS DROP estimate or DROP accrual summary.
Where sources disagreed
We follow the Member Handbook and the SPD over the statute where they differ, as the brief for this site requires, and say so.
- The handbook, SPD and seminar deck set the Regular Class percentage value by your age or years of service at retirement (age 63 or 31 years: 1.63%, and so on). F.S. 121.091(1)(a)1. ties the higher rates to complete years after your normal retirement date. They differ for a member who vests late: someone enrolled before July 1, 2011 who vests at 66 reaches normal retirement at 66, so under the statute's wording the rate is 1.60%, but on the handbook's chart it is 1.68%. We follow the handbook's chart. Handbook (2026), p. 30; Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 5; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 24; F.S. 121.091(1)(a)1.
- FRS's seminar deck works an AFC with an annual leave payout: five fiscal years totaling $144,400, which it shows as an AFC of $28,800. $144,400 divided by 5 is $28,880. The same slide's AFC without the leave payout ($27,500) adds up. We use the arithmetic ($28,880) and treat $28,800 as a typo. Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 27
- The SPD says the 3% COLA applies to retirements or DROP effective before Aug. 1, 2011, and the individual COLA to those on or after Aug. 1, 2011. The DROP Guide and F.S. 121.101(3)-(4) use July 1, 2011. We use July 1, 2011. It matters only for retirements effective in July 2011. Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 9; DROP Guide (2026), p. 7; F.S. 121.101(3)-(4)
- The SPD's footnote says DROP participants with a begin date before June 30, 2023 earned 1.3%. The DROP Guide says members with a begin date before, on, or after July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2023, earned 1.30%. F.S. 121.091(13)(c)1. sets the rate by when interest accrues: 6.5% before July 1, 2011, 1.3% from then through June 30, 2023, and 4% from July 1, 2023. We use the statute's schedule by month, which the DROP Guide matches. Anyone entering DROP now earns 4%. Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 7, note 7; DROP Guide (2026), p. 6, note 1; F.S. 121.091(13)(c)1.
- The handbook and SPD say you must stay away from all FRS employers for the first six calendar months of retirement, and from the 7th month there are no limits. The statute, read literally, layers rules: no FRS employment for 6 calendar months to count as terminated (F.S. 121.021(39)(a)2.), then no salary plus benefits for 6 calendar months after termination (121.091(9)(c)), and from July 1, 2024 no salary plus benefits for 6 calendar months after retirement (121.091(9)(d)). We follow the handbook: six calendar months. Handbook (2026), p. 48, p. 59; Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 8; F.S. 121.021(39)(a)2.; F.S. 121.091(9)(c)-(d)
- The DROP Guide says an employer's volunteer program lets retirees volunteer during the first six calendar months of retirement. F.S. 121.091(15) says the first 12 calendar months. We follow the DROP Guide: volunteering in a qualifying program during the six-month termination period does not void your retirement. DROP Guide (2026), p. 9, p. 19; F.S. 121.091(15)
- The handbook and SPD say members enrolled on or after July 1, 2011 use their eight highest fiscal years. F.S. 121.091(1)(d) still mentions the five highest; the definition in F.S. 121.021(24)(a)2. says eight. We follow the handbook: eight years. Handbook (2026), p. 29; Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 5; F.S. 121.091(1)(d); F.S. 121.021(24)(a)2.
- The seminar deck says 'Members enrolled after July 1, 2011 - Tier 2'. The handbook, SPD and statute say 'on or after July 1, 2011'. We follow the handbook: enrolled on July 1, 2011 is Tier 2. Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 7; Handbook (2026), p. 26
- The SPD says early retirement may be taken after vesting and within 20 years of normal retirement age. The handbook and F.S. 121.021(30) give no minimum age. At 5% a year, a benefit 20 years early would be reduced 100%. We follow the SPD: the earliest early-retirement date is 20 years before normal retirement age (42 or 45). Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), p. 4, Service Retirement; Handbook (2026), p. 46; F.S. 121.021(30)
Sources
- FRS Pension Plan Member Handbook 2026 Edition (PDF dated Sept. 2, 2026)
- Florida Retirement System Pension Plan Summary Plan Description as of July 1, 2026 (revised July 2026)
- Pension Plan Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP Guide) 2026 Edition (laws as of July 2026)
- Understanding Your Benefits Under the Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension Plan (seminar slides) dated 9/24/2025
- FRS Investment Plan Summary Plan Description (State Board of Administration) PDF dated June 30, 2026 (fiscal year 2026-27 rates)
- Fla. Admin. Code R. 60S-7.0041, Actuarial Factors for Calculating Benefits Provided by Options 2, 3, and 4 history: New 10-18-83, Amended 3-2-17, 12-28-25
- Florida Statutes, Chapter 121 (Florida Retirement System) 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine page dated Nov. 11, 2026; latest history entry ch. 2026-235)
- Florida Statutes, s. 112.363 (Retiree health insurance subsidy) 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine page dated Nov. 11, 2026; latest history entry ch. 2023-193)
- FRS Pension Plan and Other State-Administered Systems ACFR, FY ended June 30, 2025 (filed with the Florida Auditor General) FY ended June 30, 2025
- FRS Pension Plan Actuarial Valuation as of July 1, 2025 (Milliman) issued Nov. 24, 2025
We cite the page printed in each FRS booklet, the slide number in the seminar slides, and the section number in the Florida Statutes and Administrative Code. Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.
Source: FRS Pension Plan Member Handbook, 2026 Edition, pp. 26, 29, 30, 32, 45, 46, 49, 52, 58. Also: Investment Plan SPD (2026), pp. 8, 39; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slides 2, 8, 21, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33; Pension Plan SPD (July 1, 2026), pp. 4, 5; DROP Guide (2026), pp. 6-7, 11; F.S. 112.363, 121.021, 121.091. Last reviewed .