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. 

Keeping your DRS account safe starts with good cybersecurity habits, including using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). You can also take a few extra steps to add another layer of protection. Here are few simple ways to help keep your account secure: Consider a separate email address for financial accounts – Using one email address just for financial accounts, such as your retirement and investment accounts, can help limit your exposure to scams and other threats. Your financial email address will be shared with fewer services like grocery stores, subscriptions and other nonfinancial accounts. Let your calendar help you stay on top of account security – Set a reminder to check your DRS account at least twice a year. Log in and make sure your contact information and other account details are up to date. Your phone, computer or tablet can send you a reminder when it’s time for your check-in. Treat unexpected security notifications as a warning sign – If you get a text about a security code or password-reset notification you didn’t request, don’t share or approve it. Instead, go directly to the trusted website or app. Check for any changes you don’t recognize and update your password if needed. These are just a few simple steps you can take to help protect your DRS account. For more, check out Keep your retirement account secure.

At DRS, our mission is to empower public workers to retire with confidence by providing timely information, trusted expertise and the tools you need every step of the way. As part of that commitment, we invite you to participate in our Annual Customer Survey. Your feedback is essential. It helps us understand what works well and where we can improve. The survey is short and should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. We will not share any personal information and will use your survey feedback to help us improve our customer experience. We welcome your honest input—whether praise, suggestions, or concerns. Take the survey Thank you for taking the time to share your insights. Your participation helps us better serve you and all DRS customers.

Your pension takes care of you and your partner during your retirement. If you pass and that income goes away, what happens to your partner? To help you understand survivor options, we’re sharing stories that show how two couples considered their future. Their names and jobs have been changed for privacy reasons, but their decisions and financial situations are real. Tom and Diane are ready to be retirees. Diane’s TRS pension payment is higher than Tom’s, so if she passes first, they need to make sure that Tom has enough monthly income. Watch Tom and Diane talk through their thought process and share which option they choose. PERS retiree Von and his wife Ester had a different situation. Learn how their choice helped create a safety net for Ester in the event Von passed first.  Protecting your loved one Choosing a survivorship option for your plan helps ensure that if you die first, your spouse or partner has a source of income for the rest of their lives. With a survivor option, you take a smaller monthly pension payment during your retirement, and your loved one can continue to receive a lifetime monthly payment after you’re gone. There are four options: Option 1: Single Life Pays the highest monthly benefit, but the benefit ends with your death. If you die before receiving the total amount of your contributions plus interest, that remaining balance will be paid in a lump sum to your beneficiary. Option 2: Joint and 100% Survivor You receive a reduced monthly benefit, and after your death, your survivor receives the same monthly amount for the rest of their life. Option 3: Joint and 50% Survivor Your monthly benefit is slightly higher than Option 2, and after your death, your survivor receives half of your monthly amount for life. Option 4: Joint and 66.67% Survivor Your monthly benefit is between Options 2 and 3, and after your death, your survivor receives two-thirds (66.67%) of your monthly benefit for life. How to choose When choosing a survivor option, consider your other sources of income, health and life expectancy, expected expenses, and how your taxes and cost of living may change after one person passes away. The higher survivor option payment, the more it will lower your monthly pension while you’re alive. Which one is right for your family depends on your overall financial picture. If your partner passes before you, you can revert to the unreduced single-life amount of your monthly pension. What if there’s still a gap? In the videos, both couples used additional DRS savings accounts like DCP or their TRS Plan 3 investment fund to purchase a DRS annuity. The monthly funds from their annuities will help provide additional lifetime funds for each couple. Annuities also come with survivorship options and may also offer Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs). You can log into your online account and use the DRS pension benefit estimate calculator to see what your pension amounts would be with each survivorship option. Additional resources Videos: Purchasing an Annuity & Service Credit Benefit Options- Single, Joint & Survivorship Washington State DCP Overview Withdrawals from Washington State DCP-Deferred Compensation Program Podcasts: Women and Retirement Beneficiary vs. Survivor Gen X: Never Too Late to Start Saving for Retirement