85% of American workers have no traditional pension. Those who get a 401(k) are lucky to see a 4% match. County property taxpayers fund 22.02% of salary into FRS, the 3% share DROP members do not pay, and a 7.65% Social Security match.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — TripleDippers.org finds 83 Palm Beach County employees—Board of County Commissioners and related offices, excluding the Sheriff, School Board, and State College—are on track for lump-sum DROP pension bonuses above $1 million each. Michael Reece, Fire Battalion Chief, 56, is set to collect a $2,033,125 pension bonus and an estimated annual pension of $196,197 for life plus health subsidies.

Greed, Gluttony, and the 8-Year Pension Bonus Expansion

Many Palm Beach County employees were not satisfied with a standard 5-year pension bonus and demanded and received an expanded 8-year pension bonus window—all paid for by local property taxes. This legislative expansion allowed accumulated pension payouts to swell into multi-million-dollar windfalls.

“Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins: how many luxury cars, condos, and lavish meals can one person actually use?” added Jaye. “These exorbitant pension bonuses take vital funding away from road improvements and meaningful property tax cuts for hard-working residents.” — Dave Jaye, Lead Researcher, TripleDippers.org

“About 85% of private-sector workers in the United States have no traditional defined-benefit pension and certainly no pension bonuses. Workers who do have a 401(k) typically receive about a 4% employer match—if they are lucky. Palm Beach County property owners, by contrast, already pay 22.02% of pay into FRS on these jobs, plus the 3% employee share DROP members skip, plus the 7.65% employer Social Security match. These ‘retired’ public employees triple dip: they collect a paycheck and a pension at the same time to do the same job and do not pay the standard 3% of salary to the retirement system, shifting that cost to taxpayers. The cherry on top is that county employees can cash out unused hours at final highest pay, not at the wage when the hours were earned—spiking last-year salary, which is what the DROP pension bonus and annual pension are based on. Many employees bank more than 1,000 hours. Some bank more than a year of time off.” — Dave Jaye, Lead Researcher, TripleDippers.org

Across 495 county and constitutional-office positions, FRS records show $264.3 million in DROP pension bonuses and $25.5 million in estimated annual pensions. Combined contracted pay is $58.6 million. On that payroll:

22.02% FRS contribution: $12.90 million a year
3% employee share they do not pay: $1.76 million a year
7.65% employer Social Security match: $4.48 million a year
Together: $19.14 million a year

A standard private-sector 4% 401(k) match on the same $58.6 million payroll would cost $2.34 million. Replacing the 22.02% FRS subsidy with that match would save $10.56 million a year.

These 10 employees alone cost taxpayers $673,506 a year across the three funding layers—and that’s on top of $17.05 million in DROP pension bonuses.

Data from August 2026 FRS DROP Pension master file.

“Replace this DROP pension bonus scheme with a standard 4% match and stop pretending the only choices are higher property-tax millage or fewer services. Most residents have no pension and no DROP check. They should not be the ATM for either.”- Dave Jaye, Lead Researcher, TripleDippers.org

Honor the Retirement Contracts — Open the Jobs

Because DROP members have already retired as a condition of the program and have no guaranteed job, the Commission should accept those retirements when the DROP clock ends and replace the positions within six months with younger, recently trained men and women who can start careers, form families, and buy homes in Palm Beach County.

“If the Board does not freeze the legacy pension and shift to a 401(k) now, property owners will carry the rest of that $264 million DROP pension bonus stack as more employees hit eligibility,” Jaye said.

On leave banks that spike final average pay: “Public employees need real time off—not 1,000-hour banks cashed at peak salary. Cap banked leave at the private-sector average of 60 hours. Require unused hours to be paid at the salary when earned, not at final highest salary.”

What County Commissioners Should Do:

Close the defined-benefit plan to new hires; substitute a 4% 401(k) match ($2.34 million vs. $12.9 million FRS).

Treat DROP as retirement: no job guarantee. Accept the exits and refill within six months.

Cap banked leave at 60 hours. Require unused hours to be paid at the salary when earned, not at final highest salary.

Publish every DROP pension bonus, the 22.02% FRS subsidy, the skipped 3% employee share, banked hours, the cash value of those hours, and the 7.65% employer Social Security match by individual employee—name, title, salary, and dollar amounts—online and at every budget hearing.

Research Note: Figures exclude the Sheriff, School Board, and Palm Beach State College, and omit current banked leave, overtime, and salary supplements. Contracted salaries are the base figures in the source file; W-2 pay can be higher. Sources: Florida Retirement System records and payroll filings compiled August 2026. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office pension-bonus data is posted separately here at TripleDippers.org.

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Contact: Dave Jaye, Researcher | 586-488-5177 | dave.jaye55@gmail.com