Miami Beach Firefighters: A Rich Formula and a DROP You Have to Manage
Miami Beach firefighters are in a plan created by a 1945 special act of the Florida Legislature. The benefit formula is one of the strongest in South Florida — 3% a year for 20 years, then 4% a year after that, to an 85% cap. But your DROP is self-directed, which means the investment risk is yours and losses are not covered by anyone.
Reviewed October 2026. Every figure below is sourced to a named plan document with its date, listed at the end of this page.
An ordinance amended your plan in March 2026 and we could not read it
The current plan document is published as “as amended through March 18, 2026,” under Ordinance No. 2026-4808. Along with the March 2025 Summary Plan Description and the two most recent actuarial valuations, that document was not reachable during this research.
Every figure on this page is verified as of the May 2024 plan document and the October 2023 valuation. The 2026 ordinance may have changed any of it — multiplier, eligibility, vesting, DROP length, contribution rates.
Treat this page as a map of what to ask, not as a current statement of your benefits. Donna Brito's office can send you the March 2025 SPD, which is the plain-language document you actually want.
Which plan you are actually in
Your plan is the City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers in the City of Miami Beach.
| Plan name | The legal name is the City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers in the City of Miami Beach. “Miami Beach Fire and Police Pension Fund” is the informal name. |
|---|---|
| Created by | Chapter 23414, Laws of Florida, Special Acts of 1945, as amended. |
| Codified at | Miami Beach City Code Article IX, Sections 61 through 88. |
| State contribution | The plan receives a state Share Plan contribution described as covering “the annual cost of adopting certain minimum benefits mandated by the State.” No primary source calls this a Chapter 175 premium tax or labels the plan a Chapter 175 local law plan, so this page does not either. |
What the plan documents say
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| Benefit multiplier | 3% of final average monthly earnings per year for your first 20 years, then 4% per year for service after 20 years. If you were already eligible to retire on or before September 30, 2013, the break point is 15 years rather than 20. The multiplier does not vary by tier.Source: Plan Doc §66(b)–(c); Valuation; Audited FS |
| Cap | 85% of average monthly salary. 80% for “May 1993 Members.”Source: Plan Doc §66(e) |
| Vesting | 5 years of creditable service if you terminate on or after September 30, 2013, with a deferred pension payable at age 50. 10 years if you terminated before that date.Source: Plan Doc §66(g)(2) |
| Final average earnings | Tiers 1–2: the greater of your highest 3 years or your last 3 years. Tiers 3–5: the greater of your highest 5 years or your last 5 years.Source: Valuation Table IX G; Plan Doc §66(d) |
| COLA | 2.5% per year compounded, beginning one year after retirement — but 1.5% if you were hired on or after July 14, 2010.Source: Valuation Table IX P |
| Member contribution | 10.0% of salary if hired before September 30, 2013. 10.5% if hired on or after that date. Pre-tax.Source: Plan Doc §63(b); Valuation; Audited FS |
The five tiers (firefighter hire dates)
Tier 1 — before July 14, 2010
Normal retirement at age 50, or the Rule of 70 with an age floor of 47. Final average earnings on a 3-year basis. 5-year vesting. COLA 2.5%.
Tier 2 — July 14, 2010 to September 29, 2013
Normal retirement at age 50 with 5 years, or the Rule of 70 with an age floor of 48. 3-year averaging. 5-year vesting. COLA drops to 1.5%.
Tier 3 — September 30, 2013 to June 7, 2016
Normal retirement at age 50 with 5 years, or the Rule of 70 at 48. 5-year averaging begins here. 5-year vesting.
Tiers 4 and 5 — on or after June 8, 2016
Here the sources contradict each other. The plan document gives age 50; the plan's own actuary gives age 52 with 5 years. The actuary also gives Tier 5 — hired on or after May 8, 2019 — a 10-year vesting period rather than 5. Notably, the plan document contains no codified section for Tier 4 or Tier 5 at all; its text stops at Section 88, which covers hires through 2016. See the conflicts below.
Your DROP is self-directed — that changes the decision
| Maximum | 96 months for entry on or after June 8, 2016 (IAFF). Earlier entrants had shorter windows: 36 months before September 2012, then 60 months extendable to 72, then up to 96. |
|---|---|
| How it grows | You direct it. “Any and all interest and/or earnings shall be credited to the participant's DROP account.” You choose among board-approved options, and losses are not covered by the City or the Pension Plan. There is no guaranteed rate and no floor. |
| Distribution options | Unusually well documented here, and in your favour: a full lump sum; a partial lump sum with the remainder rolled over to an eligible retirement plan; a full direct rollover; or any other method the Board adopts that complies with the tax code. Elect no later than 30 days before your DROP period ends. |
| During the DROP | You stay a city employee with employee benefits. Your pension contributions stop. You earn no additional creditable service. You have no plan disability benefit. Your monthly benefit is fixed at entry and deposited into the DROP account. You cannot access or borrow against it before separation. |
| The COLA haircut | If you were hired on or after June 8, 2016, you get 0% COLA for the first four adjustment dates while in the DROP. Members hired earlier who stay more than five years get no COLA in years 6 through 8. |
Where your own plan documents disagree
This is the part no other page will tell you. In researching this plan I read the Summary Plan Description, the audited financial statements, the actuarial valuation and the collective bargaining agreement side by side. On the following points they do not say the same thing, or they say nothing at all.
I am not going to guess at a number that decides when you can retire or how much you will have. Here is exactly what is unresolved, and exactly what to ask.
Can Tier 4 and Tier 5 members retire at 50 or 52?
The plan document as amended through May 2024 says age 50 and the words “age 52” do not appear in it anywhere. The plan's actuary, in two consecutive valuations, says age 52 with 5 years for anyone hired on or after June 8, 2016. This is a two-year difference in your earliest retirement date and it is the number most worth a phone call. Likely explanation: an ordinance added it after the version we could read — possibly the March 2026 one.
Is Tier 5 vesting 5 years or 10?
The plan document says 5 years with no 2019 proviso. Both actuarial valuations say 10 years for members hired on or after May 8, 2019. The plan document does use a ten-year concept elsewhere for Tier 5, so the idea exists in the plan — but the vesting period itself is unresolved.
The plan document has no section for your tier
If you were hired on or after June 8, 2016, the codified plan document contains no section covering you. Its tier sections run 86, 87 and 88 and stop at hires through 2016. Your tier exists in the actuary's tables and not in the code text we could read. That is the root of both conflicts above.
Everything here predates Ordinance 2026-4808
Covered above. The plan was amended through March 18, 2026 and that document was not reachable. Ask specifically whether the multiplier, eligibility, vesting, DROP length or contribution rates moved.
Your 457(b)
MissionSquare and Nationwide Retirement Solutions are both offered, for 457(b) and 401(a) alike. One caution: the HR page displaying them shows 2024 contribution limits, so it is partly stale — use current IRS figures rather than what that page shows, and confirm both providers and their representatives are current.
Your 457(b) is separate from your pension and separate from your DROP. A governmental 457(b) has one feature worth knowing: distributions after you separate from service are not subject to the 10% early distribution penalty, regardless of your age. That is unusual, it does not apply to a 401(k) or an IRA in the same way, and it can matter a great deal to a firefighter who retires in their forties or fifties. More on governmental 457(b) rules.
What to ask, and who to ask
Contact the Fire and Police Pension Fund:
- Executive Director: Donna Brito
- Phone: 305-673-7039
- Office: 1111 Lincoln Road, Suite 801, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Questions worth asking in writing
Ask for answers by email rather than over the phone. You want a record, and whoever helps you plan later will want to read it.
- Is my normal retirement age 50 or 52? I was hired on or after June 8, 2016 and the plan document and the actuarial valuation disagree.
- Is my vesting period 5 years or 10? I was hired on or after May 8, 2019.
- What did Ordinance No. 2026-4808 change? Did the multiplier, eligibility, vesting, DROP length or contribution rate move?
- Which codified section of the plan document covers my tier?
- Can you send me the March 2025 Summary Plan Description?
- Is the plan treated as a Chapter 175/185 local law plan for premium tax purposes, or does it receive only Share Plan distributions?
Common questions
What is the Miami Beach firefighter pension multiplier?
3% of final average monthly earnings per year for your first 20 years of credited service, then 4% per year for service after 20 years, capped at 85% of average monthly salary. If you were eligible to retire on or before September 30, 2013, the break point is 15 years instead of 20. The multiplier itself does not vary by tier.
When can a Miami Beach firefighter retire?
It depends on your tier, and for later hires the sources disagree. Tiers 1 through 3 can retire at age 50, or under a Rule of 70 with an age floor of 47 or 48. For Tier 4 and Tier 5 members hired on or after June 8, 2016, the plan document says age 50 while the plan's actuary says age 52. Confirm with the Fund at 305-673-7039.
Is the Miami Beach DROP self-directed?
Yes. You direct your DROP account among board-approved investment options, you receive the actual earnings, and losses are not covered by the City or the Pension Plan. There is no guaranteed rate and no floor, which makes it a very different decision from a DROP that credits a fixed rate.
Can I roll my Miami Beach DROP account into an IRA?
Yes. The plan provides for a full lump sum, a partial lump sum with the remainder rolled over, a full direct rollover to an eligible retirement plan, or any other method the Board adopts that complies with the tax code. Your election is due no later than 30 days before your DROP period ends.
How long can a Miami Beach firefighter stay in the DROP?
96 months for members entering on or after June 8, 2016. Earlier entrants had shorter windows that were extended over time.
What happens to my COLA while I am in the Miami Beach DROP?
If you were hired on or after June 8, 2016, you receive no COLA for the first four adjustment dates while in the DROP. Members hired earlier who stay longer than five years receive no COLA in years six through eight.
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of the following. Where two of them disagree, the page says so rather than picking one.
- Miami Beach Codified Plan Document (Ordinance 2024-4620) — as amended through May 15, 2024
- Miami Beach Actuarial Valuation, October 1, 2023 — report dated April 11, 2024
- Miami Beach Audited Financial Statements, September 30, 2023 — report dated February 15, 2024
- Fire and Police Pension Fund — City of Miami Beach — current
- Miami Beach HR — Retirement Planning — shows 2024 contribution limits
Documents that exist but could not be read for this page
These are newer than the sources above. Anything they changed is not reflected here, which is why this page tells you to confirm before acting.
This material is for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not individualized investment, insurance, legal, tax or pension advice, and it is not a recommendation.
Pension plan provisions, city ordinances, collective bargaining agreements, Florida law and federal tax law all change. Figures on this page are drawn from the plan documents listed above as of their stated dates and may not reflect the current terms of your plan.
Members should verify their own plan provisions, tier, eligibility, benefit calculation, DROP terms and deadlines directly with the Fire and Police Pension Fund before acting on anything.
Mark Buckley is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Miami Beach municipal government, City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers in the City of Miami Beach, or any of its administrators or boards.
Tax consequences vary by individual circumstances. Consult an appropriate tax professional regarding individual tax matters.
Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.