FRS Pre-Retirement Seminar: What to Expect and How to Prepare

Most FRS employers host pre-retirement seminars for employees within a few years of retirement eligibility. These sessions — sometimes run by the Division of Retirement, sometimes by district HR, sometimes by the MyFRS Financial Guidance Line contractors — cover the basics of the pension system. But "the basics" is a broad term, and showing up without preparation means you'll leave with answers to questions you didn't ask and no answers to the ones that actually matter.

What the Seminars Typically Cover

A standard FRS pre-retirement session walks through:

• The Pension Plan formula (AFC × multiplier × years of service)
• Tier I vs Tier II eligibility thresholds
• The four payout options (Options 1 through 4)
• DROP participation rules post-SB 7024
• The Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS) application
• Basic reemployment restrictions after retirement
• How to access FRS Online and run a benefit estimate

Seminars run by the MyFRS Financial Guidance Line (operated by EY) also cover the Investment Plan and the Second Election, comparing defined benefit and defined contribution outcomes.

What these sessions generally do not cover in detail: terminal leave tax sheltering through BENCOR, service credit purchase deadlines and costs, the 30-day application window penalty, spousal consent dynamics, or divorce/QDRO complications.

Prepare Before You Attend

The biggest value of a pre-retirement seminar is access to FRS staff or counselors who can answer specific questions about your situation. To get that value, do the homework before the session:

Pull your Member Annual Statement from FRS Online (frs.fl.gov). Review your total creditable service years, membership class designations, and reported fiscal year salaries. If anything looks wrong — a gap year, a class miscoding, a salary that doesn't match — bring the documentation to the seminar.

Run a benefit estimate using the FRS Online estimator. This gives you rough monthly benefit amounts under each option, so you can ask informed follow-up questions instead of starting from scratch.

List your specific questions. Generic sessions don't address specific situations unless you ask. Write down:

• Whether your service credit is complete, or whether you have military, out-of-state, or refunded service you could purchase
• Whether your spouse understands the difference between Option 1 and Option 3 (and the Form SA-1 requirement)
• Whether you're eligible for DROP and what the entry timing trade-off looks like
• Whether your terminal leave payout qualifies for BENCOR tax sheltering through your employer

Questions Worth Asking at the Seminar

Not every question will get a detailed answer in a group setting, but these are worth raising:

• "What is the exact monthly difference between Option 1 and Option 3 based on my age and my spouse's age?"
• "If I delay DROP entry past my first month of eligibility, does my maximum participation period shrink month-for-month?"
• "How long does it take to process Form FR-11 after my employer submits their certification?"
• "If I'm buying back refunded service, what's the interest charge as of today versus after June 30?"
• "My divorce decree mentions the FRS pension — do I need a QDRO, and does the Division need a copy before I can file?"

If the presenter can't answer a specific question, ask for the name and contact at the Division of Retirement who handles that category. General helpline calls often bounce between departments — a direct contact saves weeks.

After the Seminar

The seminar gives you an overview. The execution — filing forms in the correct order, meeting the 30-day window, coordinating employer certification, setting up direct deposit, and applying for HIS — is a separate process that the seminar describes but doesn't walk you through step by step.

The Florida FRS Retirement Guide picks up where the seminar leaves off: a month-by-month application timeline, form-by-form instructions, and the decision frameworks for payout options, DROP entry, and service credit purchases that turn seminar knowledge into a retirement that processes without delays.

See more Florida guides →