Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Today we’re looking at the difference between separation date and retirement date. When you apply for retirement with DRS these are two very different dates. But they’re both super important to know. So, let’s kind of dig in. So, the separation date…
Category Archives: Podcast
Episode 56 – Affordable staycations in Washington state
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. And on this podcast we like to talk a lot about pensions and government programs, but we also like to share money tips. And one of the things we wanted to talk about today was staycations in Washington, especially during those winter…
Episode 55 – ABLE savings plans for people with disabilities
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Today we’re talking about kind of a new-ish type of savings plan for individuals with disabilities and their families called an ABLE savings plan. And it allows folks with disabilities to put away money without worrying about losing some of those disability…
Episode 54 – Pension plan funding with the WA state actuary
Episode transcript: [music intro] Seth Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Today we have the Washington State Actuary, Matt Smith, with us here to talk about the recent actuarial valuation report that his office released in August. Actuarial valuations are technical reports providing full disclosure of the financial and funding status of public…
Episode 53 – New Retirement Strategy Fund for DCP and Plan 3
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. And this January we are updating the target date fund options for investment accounts in DCP, Plan 3 and JRA. So today we’ve got Chris from AllianceBernstein here as our guest. He helps manage the Retirement Strategy Funds and here to talk…
Episode 52 – A guide to Washington state parks and passes
Episode transcript: [music intro] Seth Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Washington has more than 140 state parks, which provide budget-friendly ways to recreate and socialize across our state. Today, we’re happy to have Ariel here with us from the Washington State Parks who can share with us the many ways you can…
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…
Episode 50 – Social Security: understanding provisions for public employees
Editors’ note: This episode was updated in Dec. 2024. Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny In December 2024, Congress repealed the two provisions within Social Security benefits that we discuss in this episode: the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Governmental Pension Offset. Though these features no longer apply to public employees we’ve left this episode available…
Episode 49 – Social Security basics
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. Today we’re diving into the wonderful world of Social Security benefits. And when people start to think about retirement, they usually think about how much money they might receive from Social Security. So, it’s no surprise that at DRS we get a…
Episode 48 – Changes to Medicare Part D
Episode transcript: [music intro] Jenny Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS. We’re excited to welcome Ellen back to the studio with us from the Washington State Health Care Authority. Ellen works there as the Retiree Benefits Manager. And Ellen’s back to talk about some exciting changes coming to PEBB Medicare plans in 2025.…
