Fake Retirements give 761 Statewide Florida Bureaucrats and Politicians $103.58 Million in cash pension bonuses in May 2023

“Triple Dippers are ‘Public Servants’ who take a salary and a pension with interest at the same time to do the same job!” said Dave Jaye, Researcher, Tripledippers.org “Triple Dippers are the only Florida Public employees who don’t pay 3% of their salary into the Florida retirement system-cheating taxpayers out of $62.8 Million! No private company allows such abuses.”

Add the Cherry on the top – these Triple Dippers are cashing out their unused days off at their final highest salary, not the salary when the days were earned taking more money from taxpayers and artificially increasing the final year’s pay on which their pensions are calculated. Collecting a paycheck and a pension at the same time, Triple Dippers can afford to delay Social Security which then increases 8% per year to age 70. That’s about a 40% increase in Social Security payments! Triple Dippers are formally called the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). The Highest March 2023 Fake Pension Cash Bonus Payout is $644,113 to Marc Pierre Louis, Police Sargent Miami Dade. The average March 2023 fake retirement pension cash bonus is $132,239 and 205 Triple Dippers are collecting over $100,000 in cash bonuses from taxpayers.

Instead of giving overpaid bureaucrats and politicians more money, use our tax money to help 10,000 people left homeless due to Hurricane Ian1 and Hurricane Nicole’s destruction suggested Dave Jaye. “Giving “Public Servants” a paycheck and a pension at the same time to do the same job has led to $36 Billion in unfunded Florida Retirement obligations, a $1,675 liability for every man, woman and child in Florida2! This abuse of taxpayers must stop.”
“Although they never really retired, approximately 27,581 Florida Public Employees and Politicians just file paperwork pretending to retire but keep on working and pocket approximately $1 Billion in salaries and $4.63 Billion in pension payments at the same time to do the same job and are the only Florida Public employees who don’t pay 3% of their salary into the Pension System,” stated Dave Jaye. “No Retirement Party, No Speeches, No Gold Watch, and No break in Employment! This scheme to rip off taxpayers was approved by Florida Government Entities by a majority vote from Mosquito Districts to Cities, Counties, Schools, Universities, the State Legislature, and the Governor. These Public Employees in conjunction with their supervisors are perpetrating fraud. The Public Manager or Politician simply signs off on the Fake retirement. If the paperwork is in order that’s good enough. Even though the public employee and Politician never really left their job”.

“Hurricane Ian destroyed the financial security of thousands of Florida retirees whose life savings were invested in houses and condos lost to the storm’s winds and flooding”3, said Dave Jaye, Researcher, Tripledippers.org “Hurricane Ian has displaced thousands of Floridians whose homes are now uninhabitable, taking not only their shelter but their financial safety nets.“ Replacing the approximately 27,581 Statewide over-the-hill retired Triple Dippers with freshly educated and trained employees would save approximately 40% around $902.8 Million” stated Dave Jaye.

“This abuse of taxpayers must stop”. “We need to create opportunities for young people to move into these jobs to buy a home and start a family replacing these overpriced-cum-golden oldie Triple Dippers who are just putting hundreds of thousands or more of cash bonuses into the bank. Young people have much lower health care costs, are better educated and have much more energy than these Senior Citizen Triple Dippers,” noted Dave Jaye.

Law enforcement employees typically collect huge amounts of overtime which results in outrageous pension cash bonuses. In 2022 the Governor and Legislature approved increasing the Triple Dipper time for Law Enforcement and their Secretaries by 60% from 5 to 8 years of collecting a fake pension and paycheck at the same time. https://tripledippers.org/fl-cops-tripledippers-july-2022/

“The Florida Legislature and Governor should require Triple Dippers to contribute 3% of pay to the State Pension program just like every other ‘Public Servant’ and increase the ‘Public Servant’ contribution from 3% to 5% as proposed by then-Governor Rick Scott. Retirement cash bonuses should be eliminated”. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2011-02-01-fl-scott-announces-pension-reforms-20110201-story.html

The public employer (taxpayer-paid) match of DROP Triple Dippers’ salary to the Florida pension system has increased to 21.34% compared to 13.82% for regular-class employees. In 2012 the Employer match for DROP employees was 4.33%. https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/fl/2022/bills/FLB00027524/
A major reason the Triple Dippers Program is expanding is that many Triple Dippers work for the Florida State Senate, State House, and Governor’s office and are Elected Politicians. The Employer contribution rate (taxpayer paid) for Legislators, the Governor and the Florida Cabinet is 66.73%.

https://www.dms.myflorida.com/workforce_operations/retirement/employers/contribution_rates

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2079623235780#:~:text=The%20magnitude%20of%20Hurricane%20Ian’s,millions%20more%20still%20without%20power

https://alec.org/publication/unaccountable-and-unaffordable-2020/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hurricane-ian-destroyed-retirees-life-savings/