FLORIDA: Police are raking in millions individually. Not from drug busts or confiscation of contraband but from the pockets of taxpayers.
Dave Jaye discusses triple dipping cops with Sabrina Watson from 286Sunshine.com
Researcher’s slide deck on Citrus County Triple Dipping Cops
Alexander Casas is a Triple Dipper King and a poster boy for pension reform. Now 53, Casas is Chief of Police for Florida International University. Casas will collect a Pension Cash bonus of $1.1 Million and a Salary of $250,668 at the same time to do the same job while not paying 3% of his salary into the Florida Pension system, an extra benefit approximately valued at $7,520 year. This is after his initial retirement.
“Over $1 million in cash pension bonuses abuses taxpayers,” said Dave Jaye, researcher, https://tripledippers.org/ . “No one in the private sector collects a paycheck and a pension at the same time to do the same job—but Florida COPS can for 8 years!
The Top 13 Baker’s Dozen of Florida COP Triple Dippers are taking $11.8 Million in Pension Cash Bonuses and $2.3 Million in Salaries at the same time to do the same job. Palm Beach Sheriff employees take 11/13 TOP Florida Pension Cash Bonuses!
“Huge taxpayer-paid Pension cash bonuses are “Golden Handcuffs” whereby Officers who are burned out physically, and mentally, want to retire, to stay on to work to take the maximum taxpayer-paid pension bonus, denying younger, healthier, quicker and better-educated officers to be promoted. Taxpayers, next in line promote younger officers and law-abiding citizens suffer. Law enforcement is a young man/woman’s profession.” Triple Dippers is formally called the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) where “Public Servants” collect a salary and interest-earning pension at the same time to do the same job and don’t pay 3% of salary into the Florida Pension system like every other Florida public employee. Triple Dippers receive five and now for COPs, eight years of these pension payments as a lump sum cash pension bonus and continue receiving their pension payments when they retire for the second time. See the entire Florida DROP Triple Dipper List sorted by full name, employer, first retirement date and projected retirement cash bonus at LINK: TripleDippers 2022 Statewide Report
“Florida’s Triple Dippers are greedy. How many luxury cars, vacation homes, and gourmet meals can one person reasonably use?” asked Dave Jaye. “These Million-dollar Pension cash bonuses should be used to pay for tutors for High School and College students and give younger people a chance at these jobs to start a family, and buy a home instead of fattening the paycheck of overpaid, over-the-hill top COP brass and bureaucrats.”
In 2022, the Florida Legislature and Governor increased Pension Cash Bonus collection time from 5 to 8 years, a 60% hike, for the most senior and highest-paid COPs and their Secretaries (Special Risk and Administrative support) creating Pension Cash bonuses of over $1 million after 25 years of employment or age 55! LINK: FastDemocracy
Only 52% of private-sector employers offer a 401(k) employee-funded retirement plan. The private sector employer 401K median is only a 3% match, Link: 20SomethingFinance
The Florida Legislature in 2022 additionally increased the taxpayer paid match of “Public Servant” salary by 3% across the board, a new annual $373.5 million tax burden on Florida taxpayers. Triple Dippers still don’t pay a penny of their salary into the pension system, but the Taxpayer paid match of Triple Dipper Salaries increases to 21.34% compared to 13.82% for Regular Class Employees and 69.73% for Legislators and the Governor. In 2012 the taxpayer-paid salary match for DROP Triple Dippers was 4.33%. LINK: Florida Retirement System Newsletter PDF
The Florida Legislature creates Million-dollar Cash bonuses for “Public Servants” but passed a law to allow schools to avoid paying the 7.65% employer Social Security and Medicare share of Substitute teacher and other substitute School Employee pay. LINK: FL Senate
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 spiking their 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 is formally called the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP).
“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 Florida! LINK: Alec.org Report
“Triple Dippers are Greedy are taking a salary with huge benefits and interest-bearing pension at the same time to do the same job while living next to neighbors who lost their job or businesses, retirement savings, children’s college savings funds and possibly their cars and homes,” said Dave Jaye. “Ending the Triple Dipper program Statewide would create approximately 29,305 new jobs–without cutting a single Government position! Hiring entry-level employees to replace Triple Dippers saves approximately 40% –$840 million, plus approximately $62.8 Million that Triple Dippers don’t pay 3% of pay into the Florida pension.” Law enforcement employees typically collect huge amounts of overtime which results in even higher outrageous pension cash bonuses.
“The Florida Legislature and Governor should require current 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”. LINK: FL Sun-Sentinel Article
Contact: Dave Jaye, Researcher, Bonita Springs, FL https://tripledippers.org/ 586-488-5177 dave.jaye55@gmail.com
This page was created using Florida governmental data acquired in 2022 via Public Records Requests.
If you know of other taxpayer-abusive and wasteful TrippleDipper programs, please contact us and join our email list to be notified of important news and new reports.
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