Publications

Paycheck increase allows for more savings

Posted on June 24, 2025

At the end of July, state employees under PERS may notice a 3% 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:

increase your DCP contributions for retirement
pay off credit card debt
save for a big vacation
open an account or add to your child’s 529 college savings fund

No matter how you decide to use the extra funds, setting aside a small amount of $50 or $100 to an account every month can add up overtime and help you achieve any goal.

Consider a percentage increase for your DCP contributions

If you could get $100 with $20, would you?

That’s basically what happens when you invest your money. On average, the global stock market has grown at a rate of 10% per year over the last 100 years. Which means investments have doubled every 7-10 years.

So, the money you put in DCP today has the potential to grow significantly by the time you retire. The earlier you invest, the more time your money has to multiply.

Example: if you’re contributing 5% now, increase it to 6%.

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 what your current contribution rate is. Select Update My Contributions to make the change.

Log into your account

Don’t have a DCP account? It only takes 3 minutes to enroll online.

Got a few minutes? Listen to the DCP podcast episode

In episode 11, you’ll find out how DCP can help you save for retirement. This short episode explains how taxes are applied, the importance of contributing with a percentage of your income and tools for maximizing your investment.