No. You may make optional contributions to other savings plans; however, the 3% employee contribution is mandatory for the FRS.

In the Investment Plan, you can only purchase military service under the second bullet below. Under the Pension Plan, you can purchase military service under three different sections of law.

1. You can purchase up to 4 years of active duty service under the military provisions of law in section 121.111(2)
2. You may also purchase military service under the leave of absence provisions of law, section 121.111(1). You must have been employed by an FRS employer immediately before the military service and must return to the same FRS employer upon leaving military duty and you are entitled to reemployment under the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act.
3. You may also be entitled to purchase up to 5 years military service under the out of state provisions of law (section 121.1115, F.S.), if you meet the conditions of the law.

Yes, funds from tax qualified plans (457b, 401a, 401k, 403b, 408a, and 408b) may be used to pay any shortfall in your buyback cost to join the Pension Plan.

The law states that rollovers from the Pension Plan must be paid directly to the custodian of an eligible retirement plan as defined in Section 402(c)(8)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). An eligible retirement plan includes the following plans:

• An Individual Retirement Account (Traditional IRA) as described in Section 408(a), IRC.
• An Individual Retirement Annuity as described in Section 408(b), IRC (an annuity set up by an insurance company).
• A Qualified Trust -- a stock bonus, pension or profit sharing plan of an employer (both defined contribution and defined benefit plans) with provisions to accept rollovers that is established in accordance with Section 401(a), 401(k), or 403(b) of the IRC, for the sole and exclusive benefit of employees or their beneficiaries. For purposes of a rollover, state law allows DROP assets to be rolled into the Investment Plan, which is a qualified trust plan.
• An Annuity Plan as described in Section 403(a), IRC.
• An Annuity Plan as described in Section 403(b), IRC.
• Deferred Compensation Plans of State and Local Governments as described in Section 457(b), IRC.
• A Deferred Compensation plan as described in Section 401(k), IRC.
• An eligible retirement plan does not include a ROTH IRA (Individual Retirement Account).