When it comes to budgeting, you may have heard the term “Save more and spend less.” But that’s easier said than done. We know that retirement planning can be a lot. However, if you set up a plan now, it'll feel easy-peasy. When you think about it, planning for retirement is a lot like using a blueprint to build a house. Just as a blueprint outlines the structure of a home, a retirement plan maps out your financial goals and strategies for achieving them. When you have that blueprint in your hand, it can help to relieve a lot of that stress. Take a moment to think about your retirement blueprint. What kind of lifestyle do you want to have? Do you want to plan for an early retirement? What’s your risk tolerance when it comes to investing? Set aside some time to ask yourself these questions. The beginning of fall is a great time to take a fresh look at your plans and to review your budget. Draft a plan for your finances before the busy holidays start. This October, we’re hosting four free Q&As to help you lay the foundation to achieve your retirement goals. Each session is 30-min which includes a short 10-minute presentation followed by time for your questions. Sign up to get your spot. Special 30-min Q&As for October Tuesday, Oct. 1 – Planning for an early retirement Saving just a little more during your career can help you in retirement. Find out how contributing to DCP with a percent of your pay or a flat dollar amount could help you plan for an early retirement.Session has ended. Tuesday, Oct. 8 – DCP Roth and pretax options DCP offers Roth and pretax options. Compare these options and discover how DCP differs from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).Session has ended. Tuesday, Oct. 16 – What’s your risk tolerance? DCP and Plan 3 investments all have levels of risk. Find out about investing for the long term and what type of risk tolerance you have.This session still has spots that are open. Tuesday, Oct. 22 – How does a pension work? Defined benefit pensions in the U.S. are rare to have nowadays. Find out what it means to have a pension and how you can increase it.Session is full, but you can still join the waitlist. Sign up for a Q&A Financial resources to craft your perfect retirement blueprint DCP calculator Use the DCP calculator to estimate how much you’ll have in retirement with your current contribution. If you ever wished that you could have a crystal ball to look into your financial future, look no further.  Try estimating different contribution amounts. If you increase your monthly contribution by $100 or 1%, it can make a big difference over time. Benefit estimator tool Log in to your online account and select “Benefit Estimator” to get an idea of your monthly retirement income. By answering a few simple questions, this tool will allow you to see what your monthly income could look like. Retirement planner calculator The Retirement planner calculator projects how much (or how much more) you should be saving based on your current plan for retirement. It also allows you to stagger income sources. This can be especially helpful for Plan 3 customers who have different options for how they withdraw their retirement savings. TAP annuity calculator If you’re a Plan 3 customer, you can turn your Plan 3 Investments into a second lifetime benefit income option (guaranteed by the State of WA). Use the TAP annuity calculator to estimate what that income might look like. DRS podcast Listen to the podcast: Fund Your Future with DRS. Now available on all listening platforms. Explore some of the basics of financial planning, tools for managing your money and ideas for sparking conversations with friends and family. Join DRS employees as they tackle the stigma around money and share their personal financial journeys. Financial independence checklist Setting and maintaining your course toward financial independence could take less time than you think. The financial independence checklist has 5 easy steps you can take to set yourself up for success in retirement. DRS Webinars Watch a live or recorded webinar. Topics cover your retirement plan as well as tips for financial wellness. See the webinar schedule. More resources: Hey millennials, plan for your future with 3 easy steps Retirement guide for new hires Financial Wellness Video Library from VOYA America Saves – A nonprofit that encourages and supports average-income households to save money, reduce debt, and build wealth.

We often hear about email and phone schemes targeting public employees. Scammers disguise themselves as the Department of Retirement Systems representatives and request personally identifiable information from unsuspecting recipients. These days, we’re all on high alert for this type of fraudulent behavior. But the scams change because more and more people are savvy to them. It’s important to keep up-to-date and refresh your knowledge about how to avoid identity theft and recognize fraudulent calls, emails, texts and video calls (such as Zoom). What to doWe will never contact you to offer retirement planning assistance. If you would like to talk to someone at DRS about your retirement, you can schedule an appointment through your online account or call DRS. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be a retirement planner or advisor working for DRS, hang up the phone or don’t open the email. You can report the incident by contacting DRS. Because legitimate advisors may also call or email you, here are some resources you can use to verify them: The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) has many resources and urges extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals must be licensed with DFI. To check licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact DFI’s Securities Division at 360-902-8760. If you live outside of Washington state, contact your state securities regulator. The Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website is operated by the US government. You can look up advisors to find out if they’re fake. Plus, you can call 877-746-4334, for help verifying an advisor’s license. How we keep your account secureYour online account includes multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA allows us to combine things such as your email, and text messaging to confirm and authorize access. We also provide Account Security Information that includes a short video and a list of tips and steps to take if you think you’ve been a victim of fraud. Remember: Don’t share your passwords. Never provide your passwords through email, via text, on the phone, through the US mail or in a video call (such as Zoom). Also, if a company tells you about a breach – especially one involving your password – immediately change the password if it was used for your DRS account.

Each October National Cybersecurity Awareness Month focuses on raising awareness of the importance of cybersecurity. This month is a great time to do a security check on your retirement accounts. Here are three tips that will help ensure that your accounts are safe: Use strong passwords and a password manager: Strong passwords are critical to protecting data. They are long, random, unique, and include all four character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols).Password managers are a powerful tool to help you create long, random, and unique passwords for each of your accounts. Plus, they make storing passwords and user IDs easy. Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA): Enable multi-factor authentication on all your online accounts that offer it, especially email, social media, and financial accounts, and use authentication apps or hardware tokens for added security.  Update software: Ensuring your software is up to date is the best way to make sure you have the latest security patches and updates on your devices. Install updates as soon as they become available. And here’s another great tip that’s easy to do right now while you’re visiting the DRS website. If you haven’t already done so, set up your retirement accounts. If you haven’t done this yet, then someone who gets their hands on your information could set it up for themselves. If you have DCP, Plan 3 or JRA, you’ll also want to establish an account through the record keeper, even if you never plan to use it. Find out more about keeping your accounts safe in the Account Security section of the DRS website.

Millennials are defined by Pew Research as being born between 1981 and 1996 and are now ages 28 to 43. That means most are somewhere in the middle of their career. If that sounds like you, here are some things you can do now to ensure a successful retirement. 1. Understand your retirement plan benefits You probably know that you’re paying into a retirement plan with an automatic deduction from each paycheck. But do you know if you’ve met the vesting requirements, or how your retirement benefit is calculated, or how to increase your pension income? By taking the time to get to know your plan, you can make informed decisions about your career and financial future. Explore your plan: Watch a recorded plan webinar or review your plan page. Log in to your online account and check for any gaps in your service credit. Review who is listed as your beneficiary for your account. Find out when you can retire. For most plans you need at least 5-10 years of service before you are vested (or qualify) for a retirement plan. 2. Run retirement estimates You can use the Benefit Estimator tool in your online account to get an idea of your monthly retirement income. The best part about this tool is that you can use it at any point in your career. Use it to create an estimate using different factors as many times as you like. It will allow you to see a private preview of what your monthly retirement income could look like.  How to estimate your pension benefit: Log in to your online account. In the menu bar, select your plan name – such as PERS 2. This will open a dropdown menu. Select Benefit Estimator. Read how to use the estimator and select Accept & Continue. For first-time users, we recommend using the four-step process. This helps you learn how your benefit is calculated.  Social Security estimates In addition to your pension, you will likely to be eligible to receive money from Social Security. Create an account or log in with the Social Security Administration to review reported earnings and see a projection of your benefit amount. 3. Supplement with Deferred Compensation In addition to your pension and Social Security income, the Washington state Deferred Compensation Program is an extra source of income for your retirement years. DCP is one of the best ways to take advantage of compound interest. It allows your money to grow faster, because you earn interest on your interest. Estimate your future DCP balance Use the DCP calculator to estimate how much you’ll have in retirement with your current contribution. If you don’t know how much you’re currently contributing to DCP, log into your online account. Example: If you put $200 per month into a retirement account like DCP, your balance could grow to around $200,000 in about 30 years. The amount you gain will be small at first but get larger over time. That is why it’s so important to start early and make contribution increases regularly. Here are the gains for a monthly $200 deposit at a 6% rate of return: $8,000 of additional earnings over 10 years $44,000 of additional earnings over 20 years $130,000 of additional earnings over 30 years Don’t have a DCP account? If your employer offers Washington's DCP, you're eligible to participate. Complete and sign the enrollment form. If DCP isn't offered where you work, ask your employer about other retirement savings options.