When people get close to retirement, they often wonder how much money they’ll get to take home. This means they want to understand the difference between their gross pay (total earnings before deductions) and their net pay (the amount that goes into their bank account). While you’re working, your paycheck has many deductions, like Social…
Tag Archives: Retired
What retirement? Tacoma firefighter going strong after 48 years
“I was still trying to find what I wanted to do,” he says. “I was taking a scuba diving class and one of the divers was a captain with the Tacoma Fire Department. He sparked my interest.” No pun intended; it was quite a spark indeed. This chance meeting set off Dave’s 48-year firefighting career…
Episode 69 – What is a record keeper?
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Well, if you’ve ever gotten an email or read a news story from us about DCP or Plan 3, chances are you’ve seen the name Voya Financial in the last couple of years. They are our current record keeper, but you might…
Are you considering working after retirement?
Thinking about returning to work after retirement? Keep in mind there are rules that apply to DRS retirees if you wish to return to work and continue receiving your retirement benefit. If you return to work for a non-DRS employer: Your benefit is not affected.Examples of non-DRS employers include local businesses like a coffee shop or grocery store. …
Do you have unclaimed funds?
Unclaimed funds are money or assets that are owed to you that you didn’t collect or that didn’t get refunded to you. Retirement contributions If you’re a former a public employee but didn’t become vested, you may have money remaining in your retirement account. Use the DRS inactive accounts search tool. If you’re still employed…
Episode 68 – Understanding COLAs and the CPI connection
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Today we’re talking about everyone’s favorite subject COLAs, which stands for Cost of Living Adjustment. So basically at the end of each July, most retirees receive a Cost of Living Adjustment on their pension and the COLA can increase up to 3%…
Episode 67 – Why the rule of 72 feels like magic (but isn’t)
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Find Your Future with DRS. Today, we’re breaking down the rule of 72. This is kind of a thing I hear a lot of finance folks talk about, but it’s basically just a quick way to estimate how long it can take your money to double when…
Episode 66 – DCP withdrawals, rollovers, and RMDs
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Well, we’ve talked a lot about DCP and putting your money in and why you should put money in. But we really wanted to talk today about when the time comes that you’re ready to take the money out of DCP and…
COLA vs benefit indexing
Your pension is designed to grow over time to help keep up with inflation. All Plan 2 and Plan 3 retirees are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) every July. However, only Plan 3 and LEOFF 2 members can qualify for benefit indexing, which helps your pension grow with inflation before you retire. Here are…
Do you have pension funds you don’t know about?
That might sound like an unnecessary question but read on to see why we’re asking. Our Retirement Specialists take calls from DRS customers who are often unaware they have retirement funds waiting for them in their accounts. There are several reasons this happens: Imagine her surprise Melissa is a Retirement Specialist at DRS who loves…
