BCC, Clerk may finally resolve FRS dispute

Fifteen months after Judge William Stone ruled that Escambia County Commissioners cannot legally participate in the County’s Local 401a Retirement Plan instead of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), County Clerk Pam Childers has not paid all the FRS invoices. We have heard she will ask the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) to vote on the matter at tomorrow’s meeting. However, the item has not yet been placed on the agenda.

Background: According to the court order, the cost to taxpayers was the same whether commissioners participated in the Local Plan or FRS. The difference was in how the money was allocated – under the Local Plan, funds should have gone toward maintaining FRS’s actuarial soundness (44.23% of salary), but instead went directly to the commissioners’ retirement accounts. The court specifically addressed this by acknowledging the County’s argument that “the cost to the County is the same under the Local Plan as in FRS” but explaining why this surface-level cost equivalence wasn’t the only relevant consideration. See ruling.

• Judge Stone didn’t determine how the financial side of the matter should be resolved. The simplest solution would have been for the commissioners to rollover the balance of what had been the FRS contribution into FRS accounts, and the balance—any interest or gains in the 401a accounts—would be given to the County. Instead, Childers demanded that the commissioners give her all the money in the 401 (a) accounts.

Because he enrolled in the program after his election in 2018, former Commissioner Robert Bender’s account had the most funds, and the 401(a) vendor transferred $143,491.18 to the county for him; Commissioner Steven Barry’s account had $28,586.16; and Commissioner Lumon May’s account had $25,076.37.

Interview

Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender recently sat down to discuss the ongoing resolution battle with Pam Childers, whose husband lost a legal dispute to get on the ballot to run against Bender last year.

The Origins of the Dispute

When Bender was first elected to the Escambia County Commission six years ago, he faced a choice during his onboarding process that would later become the center of significant controversy. Human Resources presented him with retirement options: join the Florida Retirement System (FRS) with its pension or investment plan options, or withdraw from FRS and enter a local 401(a) annuity plan designated for senior management.

• “I saw it as a way to save the county 50% of their contribution, which would’ve been about $20,000 a year at the time,” Bender explained. HR initially told him there wasn’t a specific rate for elected officials, so he would receive the senior management contribution rate—half of what elected officers typically received.

However, the situation became complicated when Bender discovered the actual contribution rate was much higher than expected—around 42% of his salary. When he inquired about this discrepancy in 2019, the Clerk’s office informed him that the county board had voted in 2016, two years before his election, to match FRS rates for the local annuity plan.

• When Judge Stone’s ruling was announced in April 2024, Bender accepted the decision. “I think when the lawsuit first started, the markets were down. So what was in the account was almost just what the County had put in,” he said. “But by the time we gave it all back, it had grown by 30%. So I was able to return a hefty additional portion back to the County.”

Any Politics at Play?

When asked whether the ongoing complications might be politically motivated—particularly relating to a decision regarding the Clerk’s husband’s ballot eligibility—Bender emphasized his desire to move forward professionally.

“I really didn’t even have a decision, a say in the decision to not put her husband on the ballot, that I had already given all my authority and duties to my chief deputy,” he explained, noting that the decision was made by his staff, not him personally.

Looking Forward

Despite the complexity and duration of this dispute, Bender remains focused on his current role and responsibilities. “This is all a sideshow for me, which is why I’m hoping we can finally put it behind us and move on and focus on doing the work for the people.”

I will post the agenda item when it’s available.