FRS Retirement Planning for Naples' Public Employees.
Helping Collier County teachers, sheriff's deputies, and government workers in one of Florida's most affluent markets navigate FRS decisions and retirement income planning with fee-only, fiduciary guidance.
Public employees in one of Florida's highest-income markets deserve careful retirement planning.
Naples consistently ranks among the wealthiest cities in the United States, and its public employees face a more complex retirement picture than most. Collier County Public Schools teachers — particularly administrators and veteran educators — often earn competitive salaries that push retirement income into higher federal tax brackets. Sheriff's deputies and county workers who've spent 20 or 25 years building FRS benefits are frequently approaching retirement with significant 457(b) balances, home equity, and outside investments that must be coordinated with their pension.
In a no-state-income-tax state like Florida, the real planning question for high-earning public employees becomes federal tax management: how to structure DROP distributions, when to take Social Security, whether to convert deferred comp to Roth, and how to avoid IRMAA surcharges that add thousands of dollars per year to Medicare costs. These are the questions that fall outside what the FRS benefit statement answers.
Benowitz Wealth Management provides fee-only, fiduciary guidance to FRS members throughout Southwest Florida — no commissions, no product sales, a clean look at your full picture.
Learn more about our approachNaples public employees — including high earners with complex financial pictures.
From CCPS teachers with significant outside savings to CCSO deputies approaching DROP — we help Collier County public employees build retirement income plans that reflect their full financial situation.
What we help Naples-area FRS members work through.
Pension vs. Investment Plan
A data-driven comparison of both FRS tracks for Collier County public employees, including how each choice interacts with outside accounts and federal tax exposure.
Learn moreDROP Planning & Tax Management
DROP distributions are taxable. For high-earning Naples public employees, how and when you take DROP funds can significantly affect your federal tax bracket. We plan around it.
Learn moreDeferred Comp & Roth Strategy
Naples public employees with large 457(b) balances need a draw-down strategy that manages federal tax exposure across a 25-year retirement — including Roth conversion windows.
Learn moreIRMAA & Medicare Planning
High FRS pension income can trigger Medicare IRMAA surcharges. We plan retirement income around IRMAA thresholds so you're not paying $3,000–$6,000 extra per year in Medicare costs.
Learn moreServing Naples-area public employees — talk with a fiduciary advisor about your FRS retirement.
The first conversation is free and commits to nothing — we listen first, present options second.
Let's build the retirement you earned.
A conversation costs nothing. A clear picture of where you stand is worth everything.