Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell to Rake in over $1 MILLION in Pension Scheme at Taxpayers' Expense

Sheriff Peyton Grinnell holds a bag with $1 MILLION in it

Lake County, Florida | March 25, 2024

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Republican Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell (55) decided his original taxpayer-paid pension bonus of $589,078 was not enough money. On November 4, 2022 Grinnell submitted paperwork, reneging on a previous contract promise to resign on June 30, 2024, in exchange for being eligible for the $589,078 pension cash bonus. This cunning maneuver allowed Grinnell to extend his pension bonus period by an additional three years, inflating his total pension cash bonus to an indefensible $1,071,608, with a monthly taxpayer-funded pension soaring from approximately $5,904 to $10,741.

“Sneaky Politician Peyton Grinnell is greedy. How many gourmet meals, luxury cars, and vacation homes does one person truly need or can use?” – Dave Jaye, Researcher.

Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell takes a salary of $227,170 , and approximately $90,869 in annual benefits. Grinnell shamelessly avoids paying the standard 3% of his salary ($6,815) into the Florida Pension program, shifting his personal responsibility to taxpayers.

“Sheriff Grinnell has set a new low in exploiting his political position for personal enrichment. Sheriff Peyton Grinnell’s greedy cash grab can be stopped if he is defeated in his re-election bid on August 20, 2024” – Dave Jaye, Researcher.

While Politician Million Dollar Peyton Grinnell takes bushels of taxpayer money, the average Lakes County, FL worker earns $48,530 per year or $23.33 per hour2, would need over 22 years to earn Politician Peyton Grinnell’s staggering pension cash bonus of $1,071,608.

Fewer than 37% of Lake County High School students are Job ready as only 42% pass reading, only 33% pass math and only 29.9% are college ready, yet 83.7% graduate with what is often viewed as a worthless Diploma3. Peyton Grinnell’s $1,071,608 pension cash bonus would be better spent on providing 58,847 tutoring hours[ $1,071,608/ $18.21 per tutor hour = 58,847 hours for Lake County students.

Grinnell’s pension cash bonus is formally called the “Deferred Retirement Option Program” (DROP). DROP’s original intent: helping the state retain essential and rare skill sets and experience in mission-critical jobs– not for politicians and low-skill jobs. For the list of the names, employers, and pension cash bonuses of approximately 28,536 Florida’s Triple Dippers, visit: [ Link: 28,537 Tripledippers ]

Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 7024 effective July 1, 2023, allowing politicians and bureaucrats to extend pension bonuses by 60% from 5 to 8 years and up to 10 years for School Employees and increasing the pension bonus interest rate from 1.2 to 4% and allowing many to collect pension bonuses earlier.4 The Triple Dipper Pension Bonus system created $39 billion in unfunded Florida Retirement obligations, amounting to a $1,725 liability for every man, woman, and child in Florida.

Only Florida Politicians can apply for special permission to collect a pension cash bonus and break their contract promise to retire as a condition to collect a pension cash bonus still not pay 3% of their salary into the Florida Retirement System. [Link: FLRULES.gov] Check out our latest investigative report The Hall of Shame where we profile the most Greedy Florida Politicians and Bureaucrats using their public positions for personal enrichment.