Can I Work After I Retire From the FRS?
Yes, almost anywhere you want, except for an FRS employer during your first six calendar months. A job with a private company, a federal agency, another state, or your own business does not touch your FRS Pension Plan benefit. A job with any FRS employer inside that window can void your retirement.
And "a job" is broader than it sounds. Unpaid work counts. Temporary work counts. Working for an FRS employer through a staffing company or a contractor counts. This is the rule that ends more second careers than anything else in the retirement process, and almost always by accident.
When the six month clock starts
FRS calls this the reemployment limitation period. It is six calendar months, and where it starts depends on how you leave.
| How you retire | The six months run from |
|---|---|
| Straight retirement, no DROP | Your service retirement effective date |
| DROP | Your DROP termination date, the day you actually leave. The waiting period begins the calendar month after it. |
That DROP detail matters. If you have been in DROP for five years, your retirement date was five years ago, but the clock that protects your benefits starts the month after you walk out. Count from your last day, not your DROP entry date.
What counts as working for an FRS employer
FRS defines it as employment with an FRS employer in any capacity, and any service to an FRS employer that may create an employment relationship, whether you are paid or not. The FRS reemployment flyer names these examples specifically:
- OPS and temporary employment
- Adjunct teaching
- Election poll work
- Working through a third party that provides service to an FRS employer
Where firefighters get caught
Teaching a few classes at a state college fire academy. Picking up instructor shifts for a county EMS program. Taking a contract job through a staffing company that happens to place you with a city or a school district. Every one of those can be FRS employment, and none of them feels like going back to work for the government. Florida's counties, school districts, state colleges and state agencies, and many cities and special districts, participate in FRS. Assume an employer might be one until you have confirmed it is not.
What happens if you break it
This is not a fine or a reduced check. According to FRS, your retirement may be voided, and both you and the FRS employer must repay all Pension Plan benefits you received, including any DROP payout.
For a firefighter who just walked out with a six figure DROP balance, a casual part time job in month three is the most expensive mistake on the board.
What is fine, any time, even on day one
- A private employer. Employment with a private employer does not affect your Pension Plan benefit.
- A public employer that is not in FRS. The federal government, an agency in another state, or a Florida city that runs its own plan instead of FRS. Confirm the city first.
- Your own business. Consulting, a trade, a side business you own.
- Volunteering. Volunteering for an FRS employer does not violate the termination requirements, as long as it complies with Florida Statute 121.091(15). If the volunteer role comes with any pay or stipend, ask before you start.
The one big exception: disability retirement
If you retired on FRS disability, any employment ends your disability benefits, whether the employer is private, non FRS or FRS. None of the "fine any time" list applies to you. Talk to the Division before you take any job at all.
After the six months
Once you are past the six calendar months, there are no restrictions on working for an FRS employer. No repayment, and your benefits keep coming without interruption.
What you give up is a second pension. A retiree who goes back to work for an FRS employer cannot renew FRS membership or earn additional FRS benefits, no matter when they return, and cannot join the state administered defined contribution plans either. So a second career with a county or a state college pays a salary, not another FRS pension. Build that into the math before you decide it is worth it.
Not in the FRS Pension Plan?
- FRS Investment Plan members have their own reemployment rules, tied to when you take a distribution. FRS publishes a separate flyer for the Investment Plan, linked below.
- City plan members, including City of Miami, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Hollywood, Miami Beach and West Palm Beach, are governed by their own plan rules, not this one. Your department's page on this site lists the plan office to ask.
Before you accept any job offer
- Ask the employer, in writing, whether it participates in FRS. If you will be placed through a staffing company or contractor, ask about the organization you will actually be doing the work for.
- Count six full calendar months from your retirement date, or from your DROP termination date if you were in DROP.
- Call the Division of Retirement at 1-866-446-9377, option 3, and confirm before you sign anything, not after you start.
- Read the FRS-TAR, the termination and reemployment acknowledgment, which you sign as part of retiring. It spells out the rule you are agreeing to.
- If you retired on disability, stop and call first. Any job at all ends those benefits.
Common questions
Can I work after I retire from FRS?
Yes. Work for a private employer, a non FRS public employer or your own business does not affect your FRS Pension Plan benefit. The restriction is on working for an FRS employer during the first six calendar months after retirement, in any capacity, paid or unpaid, including through a third party or contractor. The exception is disability retirement, where any employment ends the disability benefit.
When does the six month clock start if I was in DROP?
For DROP participants the six months are measured from the DROP termination date, the day you actually leave employment, and the waiting period begins the calendar month after it. It does not run from your DROP entry date.
What happens if I work for an FRS employer too soon?
Your retirement may be voided, and both you and the FRS employer must repay all Pension Plan benefits you received, including any DROP payout.
Can I work for a county or city as a contractor during the six months?
FRS treats working through a third party that provides service to an FRS employer as FRS employment for this rule. If the county, city, school district or college is an FRS employer, contract or staffing work for it during the six months can violate the rule. Confirm with the Division of Retirement before you start.
Can I volunteer for a fire department or county after I retire?
Volunteering for an FRS employer does not violate the termination requirements as long as it complies with Florida Statute 121.091(15). If the role includes any pay or stipend, confirm with the Division of Retirement first.
Can I earn a second FRS pension if I go back to work after six months?
No. A retiree who returns to work for an FRS employer cannot renew FRS membership or earn additional FRS benefits, regardless of when they return, and cannot join the state administered defined contribution plans. The job pays a salary, not another FRS pension.
Official resources
This material is for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not individualized investment, legal, tax or Florida Retirement System advice.
Reemployment rules are set by Florida law and administered by the Florida Division of Retirement, and they can change. This page summarizes the published FRS Pension Plan rules as reviewed in October 2026 and is not a determination about any particular job or employer. Confirm your own situation directly with the Division of Retirement before accepting any employment.
Mark Buckley is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Florida Retirement System, the Florida Department of Management Services or any employer named on this page.
Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.