The 2025 COLA percentages effective July 1 for most plans have not been released. DRS will update the COLA information page when the information becomes available in 2025 (usually sometime in March). Review the current 2024 COLA adjustments on the COLA information page.
Tag Archives: Retired
Required minimum distributions begin at 73
Do you have DCP or Plan 3? If so, keep in mind that if you are separated from employment, federal law requires you to withdraw a minimum amount from your investment account when you reach age 73. The DRS record keeper, Voya, calculates this Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and pays this amount to you automatically…
Retirees may continue CFD donations
If you’re retired or are planning to retire soon, you can continue donating to the state’s Combined Fund Drive (CFD) after you retire. CFD is an “opt out” program. In other words, if you are currently donating, then retire, your donations continue into retirement until you elect to make changes. You can also begin making…
Managing health care in retirement
As life expectancy increases, the possibility that some Americans may face a physical or mental decline at some point in their lives is very real. Care can require considerable resources – physical, mental and financial. Now is the best time to create a plan that considers how you and your family will handle the potential…
PERS 1, TRS 1 one-time benefit increase in July
Certain retirees in Plan 1 of the Public Employees’ Retirement System and Plan 1 of the Teachers’ Retirement System (PERS 1 and TRS 1) will receive a one-time benefit increase in July of this year. This is the result of legislation approved in 2023. Under the law, eligible PERS 1 and TRS 1 retirees will…
Notice to Retirees – Public Records Request
The Department of Retirement Systems has received a public records request from Erin Raasch of American Transparency for the following information about members who received monthly payments in 2023: • Full Name• Retirement Date• Employer Name• Monthly Pension Amount Per Washington’s Public Records Act, these records are not exempt from disclosure, so DRS must share this information with the…
Retirement taxes FAQ
These are the tax questions we’re asked most often. Keep in mind you’ll need to work with a tax advisor if you have questions beyond the information we can provide. DRS and the investment record keeper Voya are not able to offer tax advice. Will my monthly DRS pension payments be taxed? Yes. Whether you…
Increasing your tax withholdings
Many retirees, especially early in their retirement, find that they need to increase the amount of tax (tax withholdings) that are deducted from their monthly pension. DRS is often asked: Is my pension taxed? If your contributions were made before they were taxed, for example non-Roth contributions to the Deferred Compensation Program, then yes, federal…
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…
New benefits for some retirees, including return to work rules
New legislation allows more flexibility in the number of hours some retirees can work for the public sector. Also, retirees who chose the 3% ERF option will receive an increase to their monthly benefit. More return to work hours Nursing positions Effective April 14, 2023 — July 1, 2026 If you retired under PERS or…
