Everything I've Written About Firefighter Retirement

Start here

If you are more than a year out from your last shift, read these first. They set up everything else.

• Firefighter Retirement Planning Guide The full picture: pension, deferred comp, health insurance and the order these decisions have to be made in.
• The Five Years Before You Retire What to lock in while you still have leverage, and the choices that become permanent once you separate.
• Pension Options Explained How the payout options differ, who each one is actually built for, and what you give up by choosing wrong.
• Retirement Taxes & Rollovers Where the tax bills show up after you retire, and which of them you can still do something about.

Florida Retirement System

Special Risk, DROP, the second election and the survivor decision. The FRS rules that apply to you are not the ones that apply to a state employee.

• FRS Special Risk Class Why firefighters accrue differently, and what Special Risk is actually worth over a career.
• The FRS DROP, Explained How DROP works, when entering early costs you, and the part most people misunderstand about the exit.
• FRS Second Election You get one switch between Pension Plan and Investment Plan. Here is how to think about using it.
• How a DROP Lump Sum Is Taxed Withholding, the rollover window, and why the check is smaller than the statement said.
• Choosing a Pension Survivor Option An irrevocable decision made on a form. What each option costs now and protects later.
• Social Security, WEP & GPO What changed, what it means for a Florida firefighter's benefit, and what it means for a spouse's.

Your 457(b), withdrawals and taxes

Your deferred comp account does not follow 401(k) rules, and the difference is the single most valuable thing about it — right up until someone talks you into moving it.

• Why Your 457(b) Is Different From Every Other Retirement Account The technicality that lets you reach this money in your forties without a penalty.
• If I Roll My 457(b) Into an IRA, Do I Lose Penalty-Free Withdrawals?New Generally yes — and the age-50 public safety exception will not save you. What it costs in real dollars.
• The $3,000 Health Insurance Tax Break for Retired FirefightersNew The HELPS Act exclusion almost nobody claims, and why your 1099-R will not show it.
• Governmental 457(b) Rollover Options Where the money is allowed to go, and the order of operations that protects your access.
• 457(b) Rollovers for Firefighters Direct versus indirect, the 60-day trap, and mandatory withholding on anything paid to you.
• Early Retirement Withdrawal Rules Which accounts you can reach before 59½, which you cannot, and the exceptions that apply to public safety.

Your department

Municipal plans are not FRS. If you work for one of these departments, your pension is governed by your own city's plan documents.

• City of Miami Firefighter Retirement How the City of Miami plan works and where it differs from FRS Special Risk.
• Miami Beach Firefighter Retirement Miami Beach Fire Rescue retirement basics, benefits and decision points.
• Coral Gables Firefighter Retirement What Coral Gables firefighters need to understand about their own plan.
• Hialeah Firefighter Retirement Hialeah Fire Department retirement structure and the questions worth asking early.
• Fort Lauderdale Firefighter Retirement Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue retirement basics and how the math works out.

Understanding annuities

Annuities get pitched to first responders constantly. These pages explain what each type actually does, what it costs, and when it does not belong in the conversation at all.

• Annuities: An Overview What an annuity is, the four main types, and the questions to ask before anything else.
• Annuities for Firefighters & First Responders Why the standard pitch often ignores the pension you already have.
• Annuity Fees & Costs Every layer of cost, where it is disclosed, and what it does to a long-term result.
• Fixed Annuities How a fixed rate works, the guarantees behind it, and the trade-off you are accepting.
• Fixed Indexed Annuities Caps, participation rates and spreads — the three terms that decide what you actually earn.
• Variable Annuities Subaccounts, riders and market risk inside an insurance wrapper.
• Registered Index-Linked Annuities Buffers and floors: how downside protection is paid for with upside.
• How Annuities Are Taxed Qualified versus non-qualified, the exclusion ratio, and what your heirs inherit.
• Annuities vs. Managed Accounts Two different tools, two different jobs. How to tell which question you are actually asking.

About, the book and media

• About Mark Buckley Nineteen years at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, engine and rescue, and why I do this now.
• Beyond The Firehouse: The Book A firefighter's guide to retirement and financial decisions, written from inside the job.
• Free Retirement Guide Sample chapters, sent straight to you, no cost.
• Media & Speaking Interviews, appearances and how to reach me for a department presentation.