The Office of the State Actuary prepared this example to assist DRS with developing a general educational resource. We caution against using this hypothetical illustration for other purposes, including personal financial planning, because (among other limitations) it’s based upon 2023 market conditions and relies on a simplified model. The high-level takeaways also change with different…
Category Archives: Member
School employees: how to time your retirement
Is it better to retire at the beginning of summer or at the end? When it comes to retirement for teachers and school employees, a few months can have a big impact. Before deciding on the month you want to retire, you need to understand how Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) and the Public Employees Benefits Board…
Make time for a retirement checkup
Is your savings on track to help you live the retirement of your dreams? If you’re not sure, there’s no time like the present to check in on your progress. You can do that by logging in to your online account. Once you’re there, select “Plan Summary” to view your contributions. You can access this…
Retirement Outlook – Winter 2024
For the winter edition of the Retirement Outlook newsletter, we take a look at a few of our most popular articles from the past year. 1099-R tax form available Jan. 24 Looking for your 1099-R form for tax purposes? Beginning Jan. 24, you can access it by signing in to your retirement account and then selecting…
One teacher’s fulfilling solution
If you retired today, would you volunteer to work for free at the same place? Meet Cornelius Lopez. Cornelius is retired from Teachers’ Retirement System Plan 1. He taught math for 60 years; Forty-eight of those years were at McMurray Middle School on Vashon Island. After his retirement in June 2023, he began volunteering at…
Access your 1099-R starting Jan. 24
Looking for your 1099-R form for tax purposes? Beginning Jan. 24, you can access it by signing in to your retirement account and then selecting the 1099-R link from the main menu. From there you can view or print a copy. Hard copies of the form will be mailed by the end of January. For Plan 3…
Sign up for pension-related legislative alerts
If you’re interested in pension-related legislation, sign up below to receive an email alert when we update our Pension-Related Legislation page. We expect to send updates weekly, but we may send more or less frequently depending on how bills move through the legislative process. As part of this list, you might also receive a few…
January Plan 3 transfer window
The retirement plan you choose is permanent. There is an exception for active customers who joined Plan 2 before a certain date. Each January, eligible members of Plan 2 can choose to make a permanent transfer to Plan 3. TRS Plan 2 Transfer to Plan 3 PERS Plan 2 Transfer to Plan 3 SERS Plan…
What is vesting?
Vesting is your right to the money contributed to your pension plan by your employer. Once you become vested, you’re entitled to receive a pension benefit when you retire. You’ll receive a monthly check for the rest of your life, even if you’ve left public employment. In Washington state this benefit is considered a contractual…
2024 pension payment schedule
Mark your calendar – the new schedule is here! DRS issues pension payments on the last business day of each month. Please note: the date you receive your payment will depend on your financial institution. 2024 pension payment schedule Jan 31 Feb 29 Mar 29 Apr 30 May 31 Jun 28 Jul…