Eligibility & Plan Comparison
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Eligibility for SUSORP
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| Generally speaking, membership in the Florida Retirement System is compulsory for all state employees (including university employees) who work in regularly established positions and are paid from a salary appropriation or account, regardless of their full-time or part-time status. However, the State University System Optional Retirement Program (SUSORP) was created in 1984 to aid state universities in recruiting employees by offering more portability to those employees who do not expect to remain in the State University System long enough to vest in the FRS. This optional program 1 initially covered eligible state university faculty and administrators and was later expanded to cover members of the State University System Executive Service.
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| Today, ORP-eligible positions include persons who are employed or appointed in one of the following categories:
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- General Faculty 1
- Administrative and Professional (A&P)
- Chancellor of the State University System
- President of the University 2
- Member of the SUS Executive Service 2
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| If you are employed in a position that makes you eligible for the State University Optional Retirement Program (SUSORP or ORP) and you are also eligible to participate in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) 1, you will be enrolled by default in the Optional Retirement Program. You will have 90 days to choose an ORP provider company or to elect membership in the FRS in lieu of ORP. Any employee who is eligible to participate in the ORP, but who fails to execute an investment contract with one of the approved companies and to notify the division in writing within 90 days of his/her date of becoming eligible, will be determined to have elected membership in the FRS. For more on electing/enrolling in a plan, see Enrollment Process.
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| The information made available to you through these pages is intended to help you understand the differences between the FRS and ORP. You should consult your own financial and legal advisors to help you determine which option best suits your needs. For information relevant to the FRS, you should also review the retirement guide for your membership class, a separate publication available from your personnel office or from the Publications page of the Division of Retirement's Web site.
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1 Notwithstanding the fact that ORP participation is optional for most affected university employees, those employees who are filling a faculty position in a college at either the J. Hillis Miller Health Center at the University of Florida or the Medical Center at the University of South Florida are not allowed to participate in the FRS. Such faculty members are mandatory ORP participants, pursuant to s. 121.051(1)(a), F.S.
2 University presidents and Executive Service employees who choose the FRS will be enrolled in the Senior Management Sservice Class (SMSC) of FRS membership. When comparing the FRS to ORP, these employees should refer to the Retirement Guide for the Senior Management Service Class.
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General Comparison of Plans/Programs
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| The FRS Pension Plan is a defined benefit pension plan sponsored by the State of Florida. Upon completion of six years of creditable service, you are vested in the plan and will be eligible to receive a lifetime monthly income from the plan when you retire. The amount you receive will be based on your age, your years of creditable service, the value of each year of service, and your average final compensation when you retire. The University pays the full cost of the plan.The FRS also has a Defined Contribution Plan known as the FRS Investment Plan. For more information about the FRS Investment Plan, you may call toll free to 866-446-9377 or go to the MyFRS Web site. The State University System Optional Retirement Program (ORP) is a defined contribution pension plan sponsored by the State of Florida. Under this plan, each pay period, the University will contribute a percentage of your earnings so that you may purchase an annuity when you retire. Regardless of your length of service, you will be eligible to receive a lifetime monthly annuity income at retirement that will be based on the amount of funds contributed, the investment earnings or losses of those funds, and the type of annuity which you have selected. ( Note that, under current law, active SUSORP participants cannot participate in the FRS Investment Plan, but SUSORP-eligible university employees can elect to participate in either FRS plan in lieu of SUSORP.)
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| Each of the retirement plans highlighted above is designed to provide you with an income during your retirement years. Each plan does that in a different way: The FRS defines a retirement benefit level that you can expect to receive, based on those factors described above; the ORP sets aside funds on your behalf (see Contributions) - the investment growth or losses of those funds will produce your retirement benefits (see Benefits). You will have Social Security coverage under either retirement plan.
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| If, through other employment, you have already established membership in the FRS, you may wish to continue in the FRS during your remaining working years, since, if you choose to transfer to ORP now, there may not be enough years remaining before you retire for investment growth to enhance your retirement income. If you are vested in the FRS and elect to enroll in ORP now, you will not lose any FRS benefits you have accrued to date; however, once you join the ORP you will no longer have FRS disability coverage. You will also become ineligible to receive Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS) benefits for any period of time that you are in the ORP, and no annual cost-of-living adjustments will be applied to the benefits you accrued under the ORP.
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| If you are young with most of your career ahead of you, or have never or only briefly participated in FRS, you may wish to participate in the ORP since there are still a number of years for compounded investment earnings to accumulate and add to your ultimate ORP benefits. You might also consider the ORP if you do not intend to continue working in a covered position in Florida government 3 long enough to vest under the FRS. Any funds accumulated on your behalf under the ORP will be payable to you at retirement, regardless of your length of service. FRS lifetime monthly benefits, on the other hand, can be paid only after you meet the vesting requirements (currently six years).
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| There are, of course, many other differences between the two plans, and the information on these pages should help you to understand those differences. Once you are familiar with the major aspects of each plan/program, you can decide which is best for you. It is important for you to know, however, that the retirement plan choice you make may be irrevocable. For example, whether you elect to remain in the ORP or to join the FRS, you must remain in that plan/program for as long as you remain employed with the same institution and continue to meet the eligibility requirements for that plan/program.
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| 3 Over 900 state and local government agencies participate in the FRS (see list of participating employers). Membership in the FRS is compulsory for all full-time and part-time employees working in regularly established positions for state agencies, county governments, district school boards, state universities, community colleges, and participating cities and special districts.
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| Note An ORP-16 Ballot/Enrollment form indicating your acceptance or nonacceptance of the ORP plan must be completed, signed, and forwarded to your Personnel office within 90 days of your employment in an ORP eligible position, regardless of which retirement plan you choose. This form may be obtained from your personnel office or from the Division of Retirement's Web site. You must also, within 90 days of ORP eligibility, execute an annuity contract(s) with your chosen provider company or companies, and notify the Division of your decision in writing. If you fail to complete this form within the prescribed 90-day period, you will be deemed to have elected participation in FRS ( see s. 121.35(3)(c)3., F.S.).
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| E-mail your SUSORP comments or questions to us. Please include your name, mailing address, e-mail address, the last four digits of your social security number (SSN), and your phone number if you require an answer from us.
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