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

At the end of July, state employees may notice a 2% increase to their paycheck. This increase is thanks to legislation that passed in April 2025 and is intended to help you with the cost of inflation. One of the best things about getting a paycheck increase is that it gives you more flexibility with your budget. Use the extra money to:  pay off credit card debt save for a big vacation open an account or add to your child’s 529 college savings fund increase your DCP contributions for retirement Are your spare dollars working for your future? Whether you are already saving for retirement or just getting started, Washington’s Deferred Compensation Program (DCP) can help you build additional income for your future goals. Most people choose to contribute to DCP with a percentage of their paycheck. And 3% is the default for those that start with DCP. But if you think you can spare a few more pennies per dollar, make that increase to your DCP now. Think of 10% of your salary as just 10 cents per dollar. Watch this 3-minute video to see an example: Don’t have an account? It only takes 3 minutes to enroll online. How to change your contributions: Log in and select your DCP account At the Voya main menu select Accounts and then Washington State DCP Select Contributions & Savings, then Manage Contributions The page will show your current contribution rate. Select Update My Contributions to make the change. Log into your account Got a few minutes? Listen to the DCP podcast episode This short episode explains how taxes are applied, the importance of contributing with a percentage of your income and tools for maximizing your investment. You can also read a transcript of the episode. Subscribe for more DRS news

Administrative Factors for 2027 are now available. These factors will apply to new retirements with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027, or later. Administrative factors are determined by the Office of the State Actuary and are based on demographic and actuarial data. DRS uses administrative factors to calculate benefit adjustments. These adjustments are applied in certain situations such as early retirement, adding a survivor and purchasing service credit. You can view the new factors and find more information on the Administrative Factors page on the DRS website. You can also access a spreadsheet of the 2026 factors that remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2026, on this same page. More news