A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is an annual adjustment applied to your retirement income to reflect changes in the economy (inflation). Most DRS retirement plans offer a COLA, but Plan 1 members in PERS and TRS only have a COLA if they selected it during retirement. View the 2026 COLA percentages by retirement date and plan. When will I receive the 2026 COLA? LEOFF Plan 1 COLAs take effect April 1 and start with April 30 benefit payments. All other DRS Plan COLAs take effect July 1 and start with July 31 benefit payments. You need to be retired by July 1 for at least one year to be eligible for a COLA. Once you’re eligible, you’ll receive any COLA starting with the pension payment issued at the end of July, and every year after. You don’t need to apply to receive the COLA, it’s automatic. How much will the COLA be? The maximum annual COLA you can receive for most DRS plans is 3%. If inflation that year is above 3%, the additional amount is applied to future adjustments (called COLA banking). Any year inflation is lower than 3%, the COLA can pull from banked amounts in prior years. This happens automatically and the adjustment is made for you. You could receive a different adjustment each year, depending on the amount available in your COLA bank. View the 2026 COLA percentages. Will PERS 1 and TRS 1 receive a benefit increase? If the legislature changes the current law, most of these retirees could receive a one-time increase in July. There are several bills that could affect this decision. You can track all bills here.

We often get calls from members and retirees who are worried that their pension benefits will run out. In today’s financial climate, it’s no wonder. The good news is DRS plans are designed to last through your lifetime. Bev Hermanson knows this very well. “I have always been aware that my retirement payments will last a lifetime,” she says. She began working in a clerical position at the State Board for Vocational Education many years ago. Now, she’s an 87-year-old retired PERS Plan 1 member who insists she hasn’t really retired yet, despite collecting her pension for more than 20 years. “One of the bosses that I had was totally committed that I should go back to school and get my degree. She wore me down and I enrolled at Evergreen,” says Bev. “My boss and I had developed the Division of Sex Equity in Vocational Education. I wrote a paper about what we did and received a year's college credit for it.” After she earned her degree, things began changing. “I went from thinking of myself as a good clerical assistant, to perhaps being a good manager.” Never say never Bev isn’t a person who wants to be in business. “I like to do things for people,” she says. For 30 years, she worked for the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE). She started there as a coordinator of political action and then ended up being the lead lobbyist and the director of their political program. “I didn’t aspire to become a lobbyist, but I loved it! I worked many years beyond my retirement years because I couldn’t leave it.” Her WFSE experience saw her tackling a cadre of union members, state employees and women's organizations. And she was instrumental in the development of state-operated childcare for Washington state employees. The programs were established on college campuses and in state government. Flash forward Bev currently serves as a member of the Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP). The SCCP studies pension issues and recommends any retirement plan changes to the Legislature. Committee members represent active and retired members of the retirement systems, as well as state legislators, members of the business community and state government. “I’m still there!” she says with an energetic laugh. “I’m begging to stay on. We’ve been trying to get a permanent Plan 1 COLA. If I could get this in my quiver, I could retire happily.” And that’s not all; she’s been serving for 10 years as a lobbyist for the Retired Public Employees Council (RPEC) of Washington state. “I couldn't stop with WFSE,” says Bev. She’s currently serving as the Chair of their Political Action Committee. Really retired? In 2001, Bev really did retire from PERS Plan 1. She made the decision without much time to spare. “It was really quick; I did it in 24 hours, or maybe a little longer but not much,” she says adding that she has a lot of respect for those DRS team members who helped her. Life in retirement for Bev is about living life, loving life and enjoying family. She has two adult sons, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. All of her grands play sports and are exceptional high school and college students. “They're incredible!” Bev says of her grands, the pride in her voice is unmistakable. “I knew nothing about hockey until I got those kids.” She frequently watches them on YouTube videos her son sends her. A little career advice Bev had no idea she would become a lobbyist, but she did. She encourages those who might think their careers aren’t meaningful. “If anything comes up and you're not sure but you think you might want to do it, really, really, really pursue it,” she says. “The 40 years I spent ‘on the Hill,’ so to speak, were the most satisfying of my entire career.” Be like Bev – live your life fully and don’t worry about your DRS pension. More news

Getting married is an exciting life milestone. It’s also a good time to review your retirement account. Whether you’re still working or already retired, marriage can affect your beneficiaries, survivor options and, in some cases, your pension benefits. Here’s what to know at each stage of your retirement journey. If you’re working and get married Marriage is a good reminder to review your retirement account and make sure your information is up to date. Update your beneficiaries. Review your beneficiary designations after getting married. Even if you want to keep the same beneficiary, names and addresses might need updating. Update this information through your online account. Keep your personal information current. If your name or address changes, update it through your employer so your DRS account stays accurate. Know what could happen if you die before retirement. Depending on your retirement plan and years of service, your surviving spouse or partner could have the option to inherit your account as pension payments. This option is available if you worked at least ten years in Plan 1 or Plan 2 or reached vested status in Plan 3. Contact DRS for information about eligibility and retirement timing. Read more about survivors. As you prepare for retirement If you’re married when you retire, one of your most important decisions is whether to choose a survivor benefit. A survivor benefit allows your spouse (or another eligible survivor) to continue receiving a monthly pension after your death. Choosing this option reduces the amount of your own monthly retirement payment, but it provides ongoing financial protection for your survivor. If you don’t choose a survivor benefit, your pension ends when you die. If any of your original retirement contributions remain, they are paid as a lump sum to your designated beneficiary. The rules for WSPRS Plan 1 are slightly different. Before you retire, take time to: Review your beneficiary designation. Learn about your survivor benefit options. Estimate how different survivor choices could affect your monthly pension. Explore scenarios using the benefit estimator tool in your online account. Spouse or domestic partner consent At retirement, you must get consent from your spouse, legally separated spouse or registered domestic partner if you: Choose the single life option. Name someone other than your spouse, legally separated spouse or partner as your survivor. Their consent confirms agreement with your selected benefit option and must include a notarized signature as part of your retirement application. Without a notarized spousal consent, your benefit may be delayed or reduced. If you get married after retirement Getting married after retirement may give you a one-time opportunity to add your new spouse as your survivor, which will lower your monthly benefit prospectively. To qualify, you must generally: Be married for at least one year. Request the change during your second year of marriage. (Washington State Patrol retirees have a different timeline.) If you miss this window, you may lose the opportunity to add your spouse as your survivor, so be sure to contact DRS after your marriage. If your name or address changes after retirement, you can update your information through your online account. If your survivor dies If you chose a survivor benefit and your survivor dies before you, notify DRS. Your monthly pension can be increased to the unreduced single-life amount because the survivor reduction no longer applies. You should also review and update your beneficiary designation if needed. If you divorce or legally separate Divorce can affect your retirement account. Your monthly pension is not divided unless required by a court order. In some cases, DRS may be required to divide retirement benefits as part of a property division order, awarding a portion of your retirement account to your former spouse. The award recipient would apply for retirement independent of your own retirement. More about marriage and divorce. You should also review and update your beneficiary designation after a divorce, even if you intend to keep the same beneficiary. If you have questions about how divorce may affect your retirement account, contact us. Beneficiaries and survivors: What’s the difference? These terms are often confused, but they serve different purposes. A survivor receives ongoing monthly pension payments after your death if you selected a survivor benefit when you retired. A beneficiary receives any remaining balance of your retirement contributions that hasn’t already been paid through pension benefits. If you have a Deferred Compensation Program (DCP) account, your DCP beneficiary receives the remaining balance of that account. More about beneficiaries and survivors. Review your account after any major life event Marriage, divorce and the death of a spouse are all recommended times to review your DRS account. Keeping your beneficiary information current and understanding your survivor options can help ensure your retirement benefits are distributed according to your wishes.

If you’re a new public employee, school employee or teacher, you have 90 days to choose between two retirement plans: Plan 2 or Plan 3. The decision you make is permanent, but don’t worry; we have the resources you need to help you select which plan is right for you. Choose a plan – See what customers say about why they chose one plan over the other. Plan choice webinar – Watch this recorded webinar for a 30-minute tour of both plans. Plan choice calculator – Compare the two plans with this tool. Reasons customers choose each plan Which plan is right for you? It really depends on your own journey toward financial independence. Fund your future podcast: Episode 14 – Choosing between Plans 2 & 3