Your FRS benefit may be the foundation of your retirement, but your full plan should also account for investments, income needs, taxes, inflation, healthcare costs, and long-term goals.
Independent fiduciary guidance · Educational planning · Not affiliated with or endorsed by FRS
For FRS members, retirement isn’t a single decision — it’s a coordinated set of choices about how pension income, Social Security, investment accounts, and savings work together to support the lifestyle you want over the next twenty, thirty, or more years. Investment and income planning is the work of bringing those pieces together into a plan that matches your goals, your risk tolerance, and the realities of a long retirement.
For most of a working career, the financial focus is on accumulation — putting money in, letting it grow, and managing investments toward a future goal. Retirement income planning is a different exercise. The focus shifts from how much is going in to how money is coming out: which accounts to draw from, in what order, at what pace, and with what tax implications.
That shift changes the questions. During the accumulation years, a downturn in the market can often be ridden out because there is time to recover and ongoing contributions to make. In retirement, withdrawals during a market decline can have a longer-lasting effect — a dynamic sometimes referred to as sequence-of-returns risk. A thoughtful plan tries to account for that possibility while still providing the income needed to live on.
The FRS pension provides a predictable monthly stream of income — a foundation that many private-sector retirees don’t have. For most FRS retirees, the pension covers a meaningful portion of essential expenses, which changes how the rest of the portfolio is positioned.
When part of your income is already covered by a stable pension, the investment portfolio can sometimes be structured with that in mind. The amount of risk that makes sense, the role of bonds and cash, and the way withdrawals are sequenced all flow from the size and reliability of that pension foundation. Each member’s situation is different, and there is no single correct approach — the planning work is to find the structure that fits your specific income needs, risk tolerance, and goals.
Risk in retirement isn’t only about market volatility. It includes the risk of outliving your savings (longevity risk), the risk of inflation eroding purchasing power over decades, the risk of large unexpected expenses (especially healthcare), and the risk of poor investment timing affecting near-term spending.
A plan generally needs to balance these risks rather than try to eliminate any one of them. Holding too much in cash protects against market risk but exposes the plan to inflation. Holding too much in growth investments can deliver returns over time but increases short-term volatility. The right balance is personal and depends on your full picture — pension income, time horizon, spending needs, and tolerance for fluctuations.
Even modest inflation can have a substantial effect over a long retirement. A monthly budget that feels comfortable today may feel different fifteen or twenty years from now. Some FRS retirees have cost-of-living adjustments built into a portion of their pension; others do not, or the adjustments are limited. Either way, the rest of the plan typically needs to be structured so that purchasing power doesn’t quietly erode over time.
This is one reason retirement income plans often include a meaningful allocation to growth-oriented investments, even for retirees who are otherwise focused on stability. The mix is calibrated to your time horizon, your other income sources, and your tolerance for short-term fluctuations.
Once you stop receiving a paycheck, how you draw from your various accounts becomes a planning decision in its own right. Common considerations include:
Social Security claiming is one of the largest single financial decisions many retirees make, and it interacts with FRS pension income in ways worth thinking through. Claiming earlier provides income sooner but at a permanently reduced monthly benefit. Delaying provides a larger monthly benefit later. The right choice depends on your other income sources, your health, your family situation, your spouse’s benefits, and your overall plan.
We help clients understand the tradeoffs involved. The final claiming decision is the client’s, made directly with the Social Security Administration.
Many FRS members arrive at retirement with several different accounts — a DROP balance, possibly a rollover IRA, a 457(b) or 403(b) supplemental account, a Roth IRA, a taxable brokerage account, and so on. Each has different tax treatment, different access rules, and different roles in a retirement income plan.
Bringing those accounts together into one coordinated picture is often a key part of the planning conversation. The goal isn’t necessarily to consolidate everything into one place — that’s a separate decision with its own tradeoffs — but to make sure the accounts are working together rather than independently.
An introductory conversation is a no-pressure way to ask questions about how your pension, investments, and savings can work together.
Educational planning support for FRS members coordinating pension income, investments, and retirement savings.
Coordinate pension, Social Security, and portfolio income into a working monthly plan.
Review allocation, fees, account location, and risk level across your existing accounts.
Discuss the level of investment risk that fits your goals and stage of life.
Walk through which accounts to draw from, in what order, and at what pace.
Review the tradeoffs of claiming at different ages alongside your pension.
Build reasonable inflation assumptions into long-term spending and investment decisions.
Consider which investments belong in which account type for tax efficiency.
Revisit the plan as life changes and as you move through retirement.
Common questions about investment and income planning for FRS members.
Retirement income planning is the process of organizing your various income sources — pension, Social Security, investment accounts, savings, and other resources — into a coordinated plan designed to support your spending needs over time. It differs from accumulation-stage saving because it focuses on how money flows out rather than in.
For many FRS members, the pension represents a foundational income stream. Investment planning is generally built around that foundation — coordinating which accounts to draw from, when, and in what order, based on your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Each situation is different.
If a client decides — after reviewing all considerations — to roll their DROP balance to an IRA or other eligible account that we manage, we can help build an investment plan around that account. Whether to roll over in the first place is a separate decision that should be reviewed carefully.
No. No advisor can guarantee investment returns. Markets involve risk, and past performance does not predict future results. We focus on building plans designed to align with your goals and risk tolerance.
We help clients think through withdrawal sequencing, tax-aware drawdown considerations, Social Security timing, inflation assumptions, and how various accounts interact. The goal is a coordinated plan rather than ad-hoc decisions.
We help clients understand the tradeoffs involved in claiming Social Security at different ages. The final claiming decision is the client’s, and we are not affiliated with the Social Security Administration.
Retirees generally have a shorter time horizon for portions of their portfolio that fund near-term spending, less ability to recover from large losses through additional contributions, and a more direct relationship between portfolio decisions and lifestyle. These factors typically influence how retirement portfolios are structured.
Yes. Benowitz Wealth Management is an independent registered investment adviser. As fiduciaries, we are required to act in our clients’ best interests.
Yes. A portfolio review is often part of an initial planning conversation. We look at allocation, fees, account location, risk level, and how the portfolio aligns with the client’s goals.
Use the contact form or scheduling button on this page, or email info@benowitzwealth.com. We typically begin with an introductory conversation.
This checklist is designed to help Florida public employees organize key questions around FRS benefits, DROP, pension income, retirement accounts, taxes, healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, and long-term retirement planning.
Related planning resources for FRS members and Florida public employees.
Understand your FRS Pension and DROP options before, during, and after retirement.
Review supplemental retirement accounts alongside FRS benefits.
Organize tax, beneficiary, and estate questions around retirement decisions.
Plan Medicare, HIS, and retiree health coverage before retirement.
Planning considerations specific to Special Risk law enforcement members.
Planning considerations specific to Special Risk fire service members.
Planning considerations for Florida educators with FRS and 403(b) accounts.
Retirement planning considerations for Florida state employees.
Retirement planning considerations for Florida county employees.
Independent fiduciary planning for Florida public employees. Educational conversations. No pressure.
Disclaimer: Benowitz Wealth Management is an independent registered investment adviser. This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered personalized investment, tax, insurance, or legal advice. Benowitz Wealth Management is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Florida Retirement System, the State of Florida, any county government, city government, school district, public employer, or public agency. FRS rules, benefits, and retirement options may change. Please consult the appropriate agency, tax professional, insurance professional, or legal professional before making decisions regarding your benefits or retirement plan.
