The Fairfax County Uniformed Retirement System started on July 1, 1974. It was created to give certain public safety workers a pension, which is a type of retirement plan that pays you monthly after you retire.
In 2005, the membership was expanded to include employees in non‑administrative jobs in the Department of Public Safety Communications. Before that, these employees were part of the Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System.
The System is considered a single employer public employee retirement system that offers defined‑benefit pensions to its members.
Membership Criteria
The System's members are:
- sworn employees of the Fire and Rescue Department
- sworn deputies in the Sheriff’s Department
- helicopter pilots
- non-administrative employees in the Department of Public Safety Communications
- certain park police officers
- and certain animal control officers (formerly animal protection police officers)
Number of Members
There were 1,851 active members, 161 in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), 131 terminated vested members, and 1,633 retirees participating in the System as of June 30, 2023.
Governance
The Uniformed Retirement System (URS) is governed by a 10-member Board of Trustees.