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…
Tag Archives: Retiring
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…
The basics of retiring with DRS
Once you’ve reached the required age and years of service for your plan, you can apply for your pension retirement through DRS. We have a complete retirement checklist as well as live and recorded seminars to guide you through the retirement process, but basically it goes like this: 1. Make sure you qualify for retirement. Do you meet the age requirements?…
Stay on track with an online retirement check up
Can you live comfortably in retirement? If you don’t know the answer, there’s an easy way to check. From this website you can log in to your online account and use the retirement benefit estimator tool. While you’re employed, you can use your online account to take the following actions: Don’t forget to check your…
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…
The ins and outs of retirement service credits
We’re often asked to explain what service credit is and how it works. Customers want to know about topics related to service credit, such as portability (also known as reciprocity), dual membership and out-of-state credit. Here’s a rundown along with some links to helpful resources. Retirement service credit basics Service credits are the units used…
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…
Is it a bear or a bull?
Understanding the market’s animal-like behavior You’ve most likely heard the words “bear” and “bull” when the topic of the stock market comes up. But what do they mean when applied to investing and saving for retirement? These symbolic animals, known for their strength and stubbornness, are used to represent market volatility; bear markets fall, and…
Episode 51 – Credit scores and freezing your credit
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Today, we have Lyn and Nathan with us from the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. Also known as DFI. And today we wanted to talk with them about some of the great resources that DFI offers, as well as talking about…
