Updated October 21, 2026. Quick answer: The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund handbook describes Back-DROP as an irrevocable election made at retirement that pays a lump sum on top of the monthly benefit. The member picks a period of whole months, within limits the handbook sets by service and hire date. This page is for members of the Sheriffs’ fund only; read the handbook and check your own account.
What this section covers
The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund member handbook gives Back-DROP its own section, headed “Back-Deferred Retirement Option Plan (Back-DROP)”. It begins: “A member elects to “take” Back-DROP at the time of separation from employment to retire.”
This page covers members of the Sheriffs’ fund only. For the wider choices in this system, see Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension retirement decisions.
Who it applies to
The handbook states the basic test: “An active contributing member who has accrued more years of creditable service than are required for a regular service retirement” “may make an irrevocable election at the time of retirement to receive a Back-DROP benefit.”
It then splits by hire date. For members hired before 2012: “For those members whose first employment making them eligible for membership in the system began prior to January 1, 2012”, the handbook says the member “must have attained an age that is at least equivalent to having had attained age 55 by the beginning of the Back-DROP period specified, unless the member had accrued at least 30 years of creditable service by the beginning of the Back-DROP period.” The statute pairs each age with a service minimum. R.S. 11:2178(C)(1)(a) says “Any member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in the system began prior to January 1, 2012, shall be eligible to retire, upon receipt of the member’s written application by the board of trustees, if the member: (i) Has twelve or more years of creditable service and has attained the age of fifty-five. (ii) Has thirty or more years of creditable service, without regard to age.”
For later hires: “For members whose first employment making them eligible for membership in the system began on or after January 1, 2012”, the member “must have attained an age that is at least equivalent to having had attained age 55, 60, or 62 by the beginning of the Back-DROP period specified.” R.S. 11:2178(C)(1)(b) pairs each age with a service minimum: “Any member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in the system began on or after January 1, 2012, shall be eligible to retire, upon receipt of the member’s written application by the board of trustees, if the member: (i) Has twelve or more years of creditable service and has attained the age of sixty-two. (ii) Has twenty or more years of creditable service and has attained the age of sixty. (iii) Has thirty or more years of creditable service and has attained the age of fifty-five.”
The handbook also bars one group: “A member who has participated in the former DROP and who has not rescinded all of his former DROP participation period will not be eligible to select Back-DROP”.
The rules, one by one
Each row below is a rule from the Back-DROP section, in the handbook’s own words.
| Rule | What the handbook says |
|---|---|
| When you elect | “A member elects to “take” Back-DROP at the time of separation from employment to retire.” |
| How the period is chosen | “may select a Back-DROP period consisting of whole months not to exceed 36 months (3 years) or 48 months (4 years)” R.S. 11:2178.1(B) caps the period by service as well: “The Back-DROP period shall not exceed the lesser of thirty-six months or the number of months of creditable service accrued after the member first became eligible for regular retirement. However, members who have thirty or more years of service may select a Back-DROP period not to exceed the lesser of forty-eight months or the number of months of creditable service accrued after the member first became eligible for regular retirement.” |
| Which months count | “The Back-DROP period will be the most recent calendar period corresponding to the member’s accrued creditable service.” |
| Irrevocable | “may make an irrevocable election at the time of retirement to receive a Back-DROP benefit.” |
| Only once | “A member may qualify for Back-DROP only once.” |
| Reciprocal service | “Creditable service reciprocally recognized between the Sheriffs’ Pension Fund and any other state, parochial or municipal retirement system cannot be used to attain eligibility for Back-DROP.” |
| How to apply | “Member makes application for Back-DROP utilizing the proper forms at the time he decides to separate from employment to retire, in the same manner as if applying for regular retirement.” |
| Monthly benefit | “Accrued service credit will be reduced by the Back-DROP period.” “Computation of final average compensation will exclude all earnings reported during the Back-DROP period.” |
| The lump sum | “the member will be paid a lump-sum Back-DROP benefit equal to the member’s Maximum monthly retirement benefit multiplied by the number of months selected as the Back-DROP period.” |
| Your contributions | “Employee contributions received by the Pension Fund during the Back-DROP period will be credited to the member’s Back-DROP account for distribution with the other proceeds of the Back-DROP account.” |
| Deferring the money | “The member may defer receipt of all or a part of the total Back-DROP balance.” |
| Annuity election | “The member will have a maximum of 30 days after retirement to make a decision regarding the election to convert his Back-DROP balance to an annuity.” |
| Cost of living | “adjustments are not payable based on the Back-DROP account, lump-sum payment, or annuity payments.” |
| At death | “Upon the member’s death, any remaining unpaid Back-DROP account balance will be paid to the member’s named beneficiary, or, if none, to the member’s estate.” |
The figures the handbook prints
The length of the period is set in one running sentence: “The member must select a Back-DROP period to be specified in whole months, not to exceed the lesser of 36 months, or 48 months provided the member has 30 or more years of creditable service, or the number of months of creditable service accrued after the member first became eligible for regular retirement.”
The tax sentences read: “Back-DROP funds paid directly to the member are subject to a 20% withholding for federal income tax.” and “The member may be subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty (excise tax) if he is under age 55 (or age 50 for qualified public safety employees*) at the time of withdrawal, unless he qualifies for an exemption under the Internal Revenue Code.” For the state side of pension payments, see Louisiana tax withholding on pension payments.
What to do and where to look
The handbook says to apply on the fund’s forms at retirement: “Member makes application for Back-DROP utilizing the proper forms”. On the money, it says “The member’s funds for which receipt is deferred will be transferred to LAMP (Louisiana Asset Management Pool).” It also says “should seek professional tax advice before requesting a direct distribution” of Back-DROP funds.
To compare with other plans of this kind, read how DROP plans work in general, the survivor choices in single life versus joint and survivor pensions and public pension retirement decisions.
A worked example
Illustration, not a handbook example. The handbook defines the lump sum as the Maximum monthly benefit times the number of months in the Back-DROP period, with your contributions during the period added. Take a member with a monthly final average compensation of $2,916.67 before the period, 15 years of creditable service at retirement, a 24 month period and $7,128.00 of contributions during it. Service for the benefit is reduced by the 2 years of the period.
| Step | Arithmetic |
|---|---|
| Monthly benefit before rounding | 3 1/3 percent x $2,916.67 = $97.22 per year of service |
| Maximum monthly benefit | $97.22 x 13 years (15 years minus 2 years) = $1,263.86 |
| Lump sum before contributions | $1,263.86 x 24 months = $30,332.64 |
| Back-DROP balance | $30,332.64 + $7,128.00 = $37,460.64 |
The 3 1/3 percent rate in this example applies to a member hired before January 1, 2012. R.S. 11:2178(C)(1)(c)(i) says “A member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in the system began on or before June 30, 2006, shall be paid a monthly sum equal to three and one-third percent of the member’s final average compensation multiplied by the number of years of creditable service in the fund.” For later hires, R.S. 11:2178(C)(1)(c)(iii) says “A member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in the system began on or after January 1, 2012, shall be paid a monthly sum equal to three percent of the member’s final average compensation multiplied by the number of years of creditable service in the fund.”
Edition
This page reads Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund, Member Handbook (revised March 2021), the current file the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund served on October 21, 2026. Check the edition and your own tier or plan on your own member account; the handbook’s text controls over this summary.
Common mistakes
- Treating the election as something to revisit. The handbook says the member “may make an irrevocable election at the time of retirement to receive a Back-DROP benefit.”
- Expecting a second turn. The handbook says “A member may qualify for Back-DROP only once.”
- Expecting cost of living increases on the account. The handbook says “adjustments are not payable based on the Back-DROP account, lump-sum payment, or annuity payments.”
Related: Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension retirement decisions, how DROP plans work in general, Louisiana tax withholding on pension payments, single life versus joint and survivor pensions, and public pension retirement decisions.
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Answer againSources
- Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund, Member Handbook (revised March 2021): www.lsprf.com
- Related official page (not quoted): Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund home page: www.lsprf.com
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Topic no. 558, additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): Louisiana Legislative Auditor (publishes the Fund’s annual report): www.lla.la.gov
Read from the pension system handbooks linked above on October 21, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a pension system or a qualified professional is the right place to confirm anything consequential.