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
Longevity on the job is not uncommon among public service workers; teachers and judges often come to mind, their careers sometimes spanning decades. But what about firefighters? “I started working as a firefighter on Oct. 1, 1976. I thought it would be fulfilling to help other people,” says Dave Kaiser. He’s the Battalion Chief over…
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%…
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…
COLA rates established for 2025
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 2025 COLA percentages by retirement date and plan.…
Episode 58 – Returning to work after retirement
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Now, for a lot of people, retirement is a time to kind of sit back and enjoy, maybe sit on a beach or do some gardening or maybe some volunteering. But some people may even decide that they want to go back…
Retirees returning to work must wait 30 days
For a lot of people, retirement is a time to sit back and relax, or time to do some traveling. But some retirees like to stay busy by volunteering. They may even decide they want to go back to work after they retire. As a retiree, you can go back to work for a Department…
