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Washington State Department of Retirement
If you are a member of two or more of the systems the Department of Retirement Systems
(DRS) or the first-class city retirement systems administers, you are likely a dual member (see WAC 415-113-041):
Am I a dual member?
If you meet all the following criteria, yes, you are a dual member:
How could being a dual member help me?
Dual membership has four advantages:
If you ever worked in a SERS-eligible position and a PERS-eligible position at the same time, different rules apply. Please contact DRS for more information.
Questions answered below
What if I become disabled?
Does my retirement benefit have a maximum limit?
How do I know whether I’m eligible to retire?
How could dual membership affect my monthly benefit?
Retirement eligibility
You can add up service credit you earned in your dual member systems to become eligible to retire. If that combined service makes you eligible to retire from one of your dual systems, you can choose to retire from all of them.
Age requirements remain. And early retirement rules apply if you retire before normal retirement age (see the chart below). To learn more, read PERS/SERS/TRS Plans 2 and 3:
Thinking About Retiring Early? on the DRS website.
| Early Retirement Factors (ERFs) | ||||
| 30 years or more of service credit (prorated monthly) | ||||
| Age when you retire | 20 years of service credit | 3% ERF | 2008 ERF | 5% ERF* |
| 55 | 0.386 | 0.70 | 0.80 | 0.50 |
| 56 | 0.423 | 0.73 | 0.83 | 0.55 |
| 57 | 0.463 | 0.76 | 0.86 | 0.60 |
| 58 | 0.507 | 0.79 | 0.89 | 0.65 |
| 59 | 0.556 | 0.82 | 0.92 | 0.70 |
| 60 | 0.611 | 0.85 | 0.95 | 0.75 |
| 61 | 0.672 | 0.88 | 0.98 | 0.80 |
| 62 | 0.741 | 0.91 | 1.00 | 0.85 |
| 63 | 0.817 | 0.94 | 1.00 | 0.90 |
| 64 | 0.903 | 0.97 | 1.00 | 0.95 |
* If you were hired on or after May 1, 2013, have 30 years of service credit and are age 55 or older,
your ERF reduces your benefit by 5% for each year (prorated monthly) before age 65.
The ERFs are subject to change based on State Actuary figures. The administrative factors used in the table above are for illustrative purposes only. You can review the complete table of factors here.
Restoring service credit
Each time you become a dual member, you can repay any contributions you took out of a previous dual member system. Doing so will restore your service credit. You have 24 months from the time you became a dual member to pay back the funds plus interest.
To learn more, read Recovery of Withdrawn or Optional Service Credit for your retirement plan on the DRS website.
Options for retirement date
When you decide to stop working for your most recent employer in your active retirement system and start your benefit, you need to decide on a retirement date for your prior dual member system. Here are your choices for the prior system:
Benefit amount: You will receive separate monthly benefits from each of your dual systems. Each system calculates its payment amount in its own way (see “Calculating benefits,” beginning on page 8). But they are all composed of three factors:
Example 1: Not eligible for retroactive retirement
Let’s say you were an active PERS Plan 2 member who was working for Seattle School District as an instructional aide. During the school year, you earned a teaching certificate and began teaching for Seattle School District without separating from employment.
Until age 67, you work continuously as a teacher in TRS Plan 2 for Seattle School District. You start your TRS benefit. You also want to retroactively retire to age 65 in PERS Plan 2.
Because you didn’t separate from employment with Seattle School District when you changed jobs, you aren’t eligible for a retroactive retirement date in the PERS system.
Example 2: Eligible for retroactive retirement
Let’s say you started your career in TRS 2 working for Olympia School District. You resign from teaching and you later start working for the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in a PERS 3 position. You work at OSPI until age 67. At this point you start your PERS benefit, and because there was a valid separation when leaving your TRS position, you need to decide on a retirement date from your TRS system. You can start the benefit at age 67, or you can choose a retroactive date back to age 65. The age 65 benefit will be based on earnings prior to age 65.
Example 3: If eligible, how do I decide?
Let’s use example 2 as an illustration. Your average TRS salary was $4,000.00 per month and your PERS base salary from OSPI is $7,000.00 per month. You can retire at age 67 from the TRS system using the higher $7,000.00 salary in your calculation, or you can retire retroactively to age 65, using the PERS salary prior to age 65. The PERS base salary prior to age 65 is $6,000.00 per month. You have 10 years of service in TRS.
TRS Age 67 Calculation: 2% X 10 years X 7000 = $1,400.00 per month
TRS Age 65 Calculation: 2% X 10 years X 6000 = $1,200.00 per month plus a retroactive
(24 X 1200) payment of $28,800
So while you start out $28,800 ahead with the age 65 retirement you are losing $200.00 per month compared to the age 67 retirement date. It would take approximately 144 months of receiving the higher age 67 benefit for the additional $200.00 to add up to the forgone $28,800 under the age 65 retroactive scenario. DRS recommends consulting with a tax professional to evaluate IRS tax implications of each choice.
Important: To be eligible for a retroactive retirement date for your prior system, you must have separated from employment with your prior system’s employer.
Highest average earnings
Each plan has its own rules for calculating highest average earnings (see “Calculating benefits,” beginning on page 8). DRS will use the highest base salary to calculate your benefit in each system based on the rules of that plan.
If you retire retroactively, your earnings when working in that position will set your base salary.
However, you can choose a more current retirement date and use higher earnings for your base salary. For more information, please contact us.
Base salary includes wages and salaries deferred under federal tax codes. It might include overtime and other cash payments if all your dual systems accept them. Base salary doesn’t include:
What if I become disabled?
If you receive a disability retirement from your active dual member system, you can receive a service retirement from your inactive dual member system. However, benefits from your inactive system might be reduced to reflect receiving them for longer.
For more information, contact DRS.
Does my retirement benefit have a maximum benefit amount?
Maybe. If you have 15 or more years in a retirement plan that has a capped benefit and have a combined total of at least 30 service credit years, then contact DRS for more information. (see example 6 on page 9.)
These systems are capped at the following percentages of highest average earnings*:
* Exceptions to this formula might apply depending on your retirement date.
Dual membership by the numbers
How could dual membership affect my benefit?
The following examples show common ways dual membership can affect a monthly benefit. The administrative factors used are for illustrative purposes only. See Administrative Factors on the DRS website for current numbers.
Example 1: Retire early from one system
Let’s say you’re age 52. You have four service credit years in LEOFF Plan 2 and 21 in PERS Plan 1. You can combine your service credit from both systems to qualify to retire.
PERS Plan 1 rules say you need to be at least age 55 with 25 or more service credit years to retire. But since you have at least 20 years of service credit and are older than 50, you qualify to retire using LEOFF Plan 2 rules.
You can retire right away and receive reduced benefits from both systems. The reduction reflects that you’ll be receiving your benefit for longer than the system’s eligibility rules call for.
2% x service credit years x Average Final Compensation (AFC) = monthly benefit
2% x service credit years x AFC = monthly benefit
1% service credit years x AFC = monthly benefit
AFC: The average of your 24 consecutive highest paid service credit months. Your benefit can be no higher than 60% of your AFC.
AFC: The monthly average of your 60 consecutive highest paid service credit months.
2% x service credit years x Average Final Compensation (AFC) = monthly benefit
2% x service credit years x AFC = monthly benefit
1% service credit years x AFC = monthly benefit
AFC: The average of your two consecutive highest paid fiscal years. Your benefit can be no higher than 60% of your AFC.
AFC: The monthly average of your 60 consecutive highest paid service credit months.
2% x service credit years x AFC = monthly benefit
1% service credit years x AFC = monthly benefit
AFC: The monthly average of your 60 consecutive highest paid service credit months.
2% x service credit years x AFC = monthly benefit
AFC: The monthly average of your 60 consecutive highest paid service credit months.
Example 2: Retire early from two systems
Let’s say you’re 57 years of age and a former WSPRS member. Now you’re a member of PERS Plan 2. You want to retire as soon as possible. But you want your benefit to still reach a particular amount and want to know your options. In WSPRS Plan 1, you have 14 years of service credit and an Average Final Salary (AFS) of $6,000. In PERS Plan 2, you have 8 years of service credit and an Average Final Compensation (AFC) of $4,000.
As an inactive WSPRS Plan 1 member, you become eligible for normal retirement at age 60. If you retire now at age 57, your benefit will be reduced to 73.6% of its full value to reflect retiring early. As an active PERS Plan 2 member, you become eligible for normal retirement at age 65. So if you retire now, you benefit will be reduced to 43.5% of its full value to reflect retiring early.
Retiring now
WSPRS Plan 1 benefit
2% x 14 x $6,000 = $1,680
73.6% x $1,680 = $1,236.48
PERS Plan 2 benefit
2% x 8 x $4,000 = $640
43.5% x $640 = $278.40
Total monthly benefits at age 57
$1,236.48 + $278.40 = $1,514.88
If you remain an active PERS Plan 2 member for three more years, you can claim a normal retirement from WSPRS at age 60.
Retiring in three years
WSPRS Plan 1 benefit
2% x 14 x $6,000 = $1,680
100% x $1,680 = $1,680
PERS Plan 2 benefit
2% x 11 x $4,000 = $880
58.8% x $880 = $517.44
Total monthly benefits at age 60
$1,680 + $517.44 = $2,197.44
If you wait until age 60, your monthly benefit total will be higher than if you retire now.
Example 3: Highest average earnings
Let’s say you’re age 65. You worked for 10 years as a teacher in TRS Plan 1. For the past 15 years, you’ve worked in a PERS Plan 3 position. Ellen’s service credit and highest average monthly earnings are:
In TRS Plan 1, you have 10 years of service credit and an AFC of $2,600. In PERS Plan 3, you have 15 years of service credit and an AFC of $4,600.
Based on your age and service credit, you are eligible to retire from each system without using your dual membership to qualify. However, if you retire as a dual member, you can use your base salary from PERS Plan 3 to calculate your TRS Plan 1 benefit.
TRS Plan 1 benefit
2% x 10 x $2,600 = $520
PERS Plan 3 benefit
1% x 15 x $4,600 = $690
Total monthly benefits without dual membership
$520 + $690 = $1,210
TRS Plan 1 benefit
2% x 10 x $4,600 = $920
PERS Plan 3 benefit
1% x 15 x $4,600 = $690
Total monthly benefits using dual membership
$920 + $690 = $1,610
If you use your dual membership to retire, your benefit will be $400 more a month. You can choose your TRS Plan 1 retirement date. And you might want to receive a retroactive payment to make the most of your benefit options.
Consider Example 4.
Example 4: Retroactive retirement
Let’s say you worked for 4 years in PERS Plan 1 and left your job but didn’t withdraw your contributions. You then teach in a TRS Plan 1 position for 23 years. Your last day on the job was June 30, 2018. You are age 56 and have 27 years of combined service credit.
Because you are older than 55 and have more than 25 years of combined service credit, you can retire right away from TRS (that is, July 1, 2018).
You have a choice of PERS retirement dates. To receive an unreduced benefit, you can retire July
1, 2018, or retroactively on July 1, 2017. The 2017 date is the earliest you qualify for an unreduced PERS retirement. (It’s based on your age and combined service credit.)
If you choose July 1, 2018, your highest average earnings will be $3,600 a month. If you choose
July 1, 2017, your highest average earnings will be $3,500 a month.
July 1, 2018
PERS Plan 1 benefit
2% x 4 x $3,600 = $288
July 1, 2017
PERS Plan 1 benefit plus one-time retroactive payment
2% x 4 x $3,500 = $280
$280 x 12 = $3,360
If you use the 2018 date, you’ll earn $8 more a month. But it would take 40 years of earning that extra $8 a month to add up to the retroactive payment you’ll receive if you take the 2017 retirement date.
Example 5: When to retire from systems separately
Let’s say you’re age 60 and an active PERS Plan 2 member.
In TRS Plan 1, you have 30 years of service credit and an AFC of $6,000. In PERS Plan 2, you have 5 years of service credit and an AFC of $4,150.
Based on your age and service credit, you are eligible to retire from each system without using your dual membership to qualify.
Retiring without dual membership
TRS Plan 1 benefit
2% x 30 x $6,000 = $3,600
PERS Plan 2 benefit
2% x 5 x $4,150 = $415
Total monthly benefits without dual membership
$3,600 + $415 = $4,015
If you use your dual membership to retire, you can use your TRS highest average earnings for both your benefits. However, TRS Plan 1 rules apply because it has the highest benefit. That means your benefit will be capped at 60% of your AFC.
Retiring with dual membership
TRS Plan 1 benefit
2% x 30 x $6,000 = $3,600
PERS Plan 2 benefit
2% x 5 x $6,000 = $600
Total monthly benefits using dual membership
$3,600 + $600 = $4,200
60% x $4,200 = $2,520
In this case, retiring separately would bring you
the highest monthly benefit payments.
Example 6: Capped benefit
Let’s say you’re age 60 and have worked in TRS Plan 1 for 20 years. You earned an Average Final Compensation (AFC) of $4,100. And you’ve been an active member in PERS Plan 1 for the past 11 years and have an AFC of $3,950. Both plans have a 60% cap at 30 years of service.
Retiring with dual membership
Step 1: Calculate the maximum benefit for each of your dual systems as though all your service credit were earned within the system whose AFC is highest for you.
2% x 31 x $4,100 = $2,542
60% x $4,100 = $2,460
Step 2: Calculate the individual benefit for each system’s earned service credit within that system.
TRS Plan 1
2% x 20 x $4,100 = $1,640
PERS Plan 1
2% x 11 x $3,950 = $869
Step 3: Compare the amounts. If the individual totals together exceed the maximum benefit, the individual ones will be proportionally reduced until the combined total equals the maximum allowed amount.
$1,640 + $869 = $2,447
$2,509 – $2,460 = $49 (over) Total benefit: $2,460
If you would like to know how we calculate the proportional reduction, please contact us.
You also have the option to retire from each system independently. In this case, the maximum benefit rule doesn’t apply.
Retiring with dual membership
TRS Plan 1
2% x 20 x $4,100 = $1,640
PERS Plan 1
2% x 11 x $3,950 = $869
Total benefit
$1,640 + $869 = $2,509
Example 7: Retire from one or both systems?
Let’s say you’re age 60 and are an active PSERS Plan 2 member. You have 20 years of PSERS Plan 2 service and 8 years of PERS Plan 3 service. Your PSERS highest average earnings were $5,600. Your PERS highest average earnings were $3,400. You’re eligible for a normal retirement in PSERS. But retiring from PERS now would be an early retirement. And that would reduce your monthly defined benefit to 59.4% of its full value.
PSERS Plan 2 benefit
2% x 20 x $5,600 = $2,240
PERS Plan 3 Defined Benefit now
1% x 8 x $5,600 = $448
58.8% x $448 = $263.42
PERS Plan 3 Defined Benefit at age 65
1% x 8 x $5,600 = $448
Online access
You can review your service credit details as well as update your beneficiary and contact information in your online account.
Active members: Update your name and/or address through your employer. That new information will soon appear in your online retirement account.
(If you prefer to fill out and mail in a printed form, select this link.)
Members, you can update your beneficiary information from your online retirement account. Select “My Account” in the navigation menu and then “View/Edit” beside “Beneficiary.”
(If you prefer to fill out and mail in a printed form, select this link.)
