DRS Notice 24-007, Letter and Form for Transferring Eligible PERS Public Safety Telecommunicators into Public Safety Officers’ Retirement System (PSERS) Plan 2

DRS Notice: 24-007
Date: April 08, 2024
Applies to: All PERS Employers
Subject: DRS Notice 24-007, Letter and Form for Transferring Eligible PERS Public Safety Telecommunicators into Public Safety Officers’ Retirement System (PSERS) Plan 2

Please note: We are emailing this notice to only the primary main contact for each employer. If this is not part of your responsibilities, we ask that you forward your email to the appropriate person or unit.

This is a follow up notice for you and your employees about PSERS Plan 2 eligibility.

Your PERS Plan 2 or 3 employees who are existing public safety telecommunicators and meet the eligibility requirements on June 1, 2024, will be eligible to transfer to PSERS Plan 2 during the election period beginning June 1, 2024, and ending Sept. 1, 2024.

To help your qualified employees make their decision, we are providing an election letter and dual membership flyer.

All your eligible employees must either elect membership in PSERS Plan 2 or elect to stay in PERS. To document their choice, this election form is required. We encourage you to attach the election letter and form to an email; this will give you an electronic record you can use to document that you notified your eligible employees. Ask them to fill it out, sign it and return it to you. You will also use the information on the forms to report them in ERA.

Note: Please let us know if you have employees who meet the new eligibility requirements by emailing us at drs.employersupport@drs.wa.gov.

In May, we will send you another notice along with a reminder letter for your qualified employees about the election period which starts in June.

Reminder: To qualify as a PSERS employer, you must be a PERS Plan 2 or 3 employer that has employees who are public safety telecommunicators whose primary responsibility is to receive, process, transmit, or dispatch 911 emergency and nonemergency calls for law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, or other public safety services (see the definitions in RCW 41.37.010 and WAC 415-106-010).

Please review the employer frequently asked questions.

If you have questions about this notice, please contact Employer Support Services at 360-664-7200, option 2, or 800-547-6657, option 6, option 2.