Volume I Issue IV ON THE FRONTLNE Miami-Dade Fire Fighters went beyond the call of duty on Monday 11/15. After rescuing a woman and a 1 year old child from the scene, fire fighters came under fire while attempting to render aid to a third victim. The fire fighters tended to the third victim under a hail of gunfire until police could secure the scene. Read the entire story here   Join Our Mailing List FRS Pension Named "One of Nation's Best" Fund Grew by $9.8 Billion in 2009-10 The Florida Retirement System (FRS), the main pension plan for state workers, teachers, and local government employees has exceeded expectations in the last year. After paying out $4.1 billion to Florida's retirees, the FRS pension system was left with an extra $9.8 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30th. In its annual report, The State Board of Administration reported that FRS actually had a 14% total net return.  The overall size of the fund grew to $109 billion dollars. Cost to Taxpayers Misleading   The Independent Pew Center on the States has reported that Florida's Pension Plan stands out as a "solid performer" among public pension funds and praised Florida for its strong actuarial position and history of solid funding. "Over the past 22 years, more than 66% of pension plan payments have been funded by investment gains, not taxpayer dollars" states Ash Wiliams, Executive Director and CIO of the State Board of Administration. According to the Pew Center, Florida's position as one of four states with a fully funded pension plan going into the 2008 recession put it in a stronger position to weather the market downturn.