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November 3, 2026

Retirement rumors we’d like to correct

Rumors can spread quickly, even among people you trust. It’s important to always check the source. When it comes to your retirement, not having the right facts can be an especially costly mistake. Read below to learn the true story behind common retirement-related rumors: Rumor: DRS Administers health insurance coverage. Not true. DRS may deduct health care premiums from your pension, but those premiums are determined by your retiree health care provider. Health Care Authority manages Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) retiree insurance coverage. Rumor: My contributions to my DRS Retirement plan are like a 401(k) that I will get when I retire. Sort of true. If you’re a Plan 2 member, your pension is a defined benefit 401(a) plan based on your years of service credit and your average final compensation. Read more about how Plan 2 works. If you are a Plan 3 member, your contributions are directed to investments you select. Once you are separated from a DRS-covered employer you can choose to either leave your contributions in the plan or withdraw them. This is separate from your pension, which is a defined benefit funded by your employer. Read more about how Plan 3 works. Rumor: I can take a loan from my pension contributions. Not true. You cannot take a loan from the contributions you make to any DRS-administered retirement plan. You can withdraw funds after you have separated from a DRS-covered employer. Also, you cannot take a loan from the Deferred Compensation Program. If you are a DCP participant, there are certain situations that allow for unforeseen emergency withdrawals. Rumor: My pension benefit is based on the last five years of my career. Not true. If you are a Plan 2 or Plan 3 member, your AFC or Average Final Compensation is calculated on your highest consecutive five years of earnings, which isn’t necessarily your last five years. If you’re a Plan 1 member, your benefit is generally based on your highest two years of earnings, but this varies by plan. Review the rules for your plan. Rumor: You don’t need to get to a round number of years to see the increase to your benefit. True. DRS prorates retirement service credit by month so a person with 24 years and 11 months would get nearly the same benefit as someone with 25 years. Rumor: Years of service are not the same as calendar years. Reaching your 20-year anniversary with your employer doesn’t necessarily mean you have 20 years of service credit. True. If you’ve missed work due to a disability leave or family medical leave, you would not have earned service credit during those absences. You may be able to restore that missing credit. Rumor: You cannot use the Purchase Service Credit annuity to become vested or to become eligible for early retirement. This one is true. While you can increase your pension by purchasing up to 60 months of service credit at the time you retire, you cannot purchase service credit in order to become vested or eligible for retirement. Find out more about the service credit annuity. Rumor: DRS has an ‘80/30’ Rule. When my age and my years of service credit equals 80, and I have at least 30 years of service, I’m eligible for an unreduced benefit. Not true. There are no “80/30” or “Rule of 85” or “Rule of 90” pension laws. Each plan has specific requirements for retirement eligibility. Find out more about your plan’s rules. Have you heard any other retirement-related rumors? You can find accurate information any time on the DRS website.

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Beyond the numbers

This section beyond the numbers shares some high level statistics for DRS - in 2026, we have 15 plans, 952 thousand members and annuitants, 8.9 billion in annual payments and 218 billion trust fund assets. Visit our about page for more information about DRS. Skip this content
15

Plans

952K

Members and annuitants

$8.9B

Annual payments

$218B

Trust fund assets

Beyond the numbers

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