The two sides of FRS contributions
FRS retirement funding has an employee side and an employer side. On the employee side, members of both the Pension Plan and the Investment Plan contribute 3% of pay — a rate that has not changed with the 2026 legislation. On the employer side, each agency contributes a percentage of payroll that varies by membership class and is reset by the Legislature, usually every year, in s. 121.71, Florida Statutes. When people search for "FRS rates," they usually mean the employer rates — the table below — but the 3% employee contribution is the number that appears on a member’s own paycheck.
How the 2026–27 rates were set
The fiscal year 2026–27 employer rates were enacted by HB 5205E (2026 Special Session E), which amends s. 121.71(4) and (5), Florida Statutes. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 29, 2026 and the rates take effect July 1, 2026. The same bill also created the Special Risk COLA floor — and the Special Risk employer rates were raised in part to fund it, which is why Special Risk shows an increase while several other classes decreased. The rates in the table are the combined employer rate (normal cost plus the unfunded-actuarial-liability component); they exclude the separate 2% Health Insurance Subsidy contribution and the 0.04% administrative fee that employers also pay.
Employer contribution rates by class, FY 2026–27
| Membership class | FY 2026–27 | FY 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Class | 11.53% | 11.97% |
| Special Risk Class | 35.68% | 33.13% |
| Special Risk Administrative Support Class | 39.73% | 37.42% |
| Elected Officers' Class — Legislators, Governor, Cabinet, State Attorneys, Public Defenders | 61.73% | 60.60% |
| Elected Officers' Class — Justices and Judges | 43.94% | 44.08% |
| Elected Officers' Class — County Officers | 52.94% | 52.51% |
| Senior Management Service Class | 30.54% | 31.18% |
| DROP | 20.12% | 20.02% |
Combined employer rate (normal cost plus unfunded-actuarial-liability component) under s. 121.71(4)–(5), Florida Statutes, as set by HB 5205E. Excludes the separate 2% Health Insurance Subsidy contribution and the 0.04% administrative fee. Effective July 1, 2026.
What employer rates mean for your benefit
Employer contribution rates fund the system; they do not enter an individual member’s Pension Plan benefit calculation. A Pension Plan benefit is computed from creditable service, average final compensation, and the class percentage value — none of which reference s. 121.71. Investment Plan member-account allocations are governed by a separate statute (s. 121.72), so a change in the employer rates does not by itself change what lands in an Investment Plan account either. In short: these rates matter to agency budgets and system funding, and PensionForge’s member projections are unchanged by them.