The Palm Bay Police Officers and Firefighters Pension Plan was created in 1974 by enactment of City Ordinance 74-9 to help the City attract and retain professional police officers and firefighters.

The Pension Plan was made financially feasible by city contributions and in part by State of Florida contributions being made to local Police and Fire Department to help professionalize those services at the municipal level in the state of Florida.

Acceptance of State funds by municipal governments placed minimum standards the cities had to meet and guidelines set out in Florida State Statute 175 for Firefighters and 185 for Police Officers. These insurance tax premium moneys collected and distributed by the State of Florida and made available to Municipalities through the Department of Management Services, Municipal Police Officers’ & Firefighters’ Retirement Trust Fund Office helped many small and midsize police and fire departments in the state attract and retain career officers.

The enactment of these Florida laws and the Police and Fire Standards Acts helped professionalize and increase the size and services of the Police and Fire throughout the state.

The Palm Bay Police and Fire Departments is one of the many municipal departments in Florida to benefit by these laws by enacting ordinance 74-9 now Chapter 55 Police and Firefighters Retirement Pension Plan, in 1974.

After the first plan year 1974, the plan had 15 police officer, 6 firefighters with a pension asset size of $154,159.00 and a $122,047.00 unfunded liability to be paid off over 40 years.

This plan is a defined benefit plan and always has been. Currently it has over $100 million in assets with a diverse professionally managed portfolio. With 174 police members, and 130 fire members being served it is midsize Florida Plan. The 304 membership plan includes approximately 60 retirees. It is a member ownership type plan with an annual 8.76 percent police and fire required contribution, as a percent of payroll. The Plan's Board of Trustees consist of an employee elected police officer, employee elected firefighter, two City Council appointees and a fifth member appointed by those four trustees.

The primary mission of the board is to act in the best interest of its membership and the fund through prudent and sound decisions and direction.