Chapter 2: Membership

In this section

Employer responsibilities

DRS relies on you to help us ensure your employees are enrolled and reported accurately. Employees cannot begin to build their retirement benefit until these steps are completed:

  • Properly classifying workers (employee or independent contractor)
  • Verifying the retirement status of all employees including third-party workers being compensated for services performed for your agency
  • Making the initial determination of an employee’s eligibility for membership
  • Annually reviewing, monitoring and documenting determination of an employee’s eligibility for membership
  • Enrolling each employee who is eligible for membership
  • Reporting all eligible employees from the first day of eligibility
  • Informing elected and governor-appointed officials of their optional membership
  • Informing DRS when a Washington state retirement system retiree is hired as an employee, including third-party workers being compensated for services performed for your agency
  • Transmitting timely, required employer and employee contributions to DRS

How to evaluate membership

ERA Member Management helps you determine an employee’s eligibility for membership. Information on membership rules used to determine eligibility are included as a guide in each system and plan.

The ERA member management summary below does not give you the complete details about membership rules for each system. Please refer to the appropriate sections later in this chapter for those details.

Step 1:

 You are required by statute RCW 41.50.139 to ask all new employees, including third-party workers being compensated for services performed for your agency, whether they have retired from a Washington state retirement system or from certain first class cities (Tacoma, Seattle or Spokane). 

You must document that you verified the retirement status of employees. Have employees complete a Retirement Status Verification form. Use this form, or one you have developed, and retain it for your records.

If an employee has ever established membership in a Washington state retirement system, this might affect their current membership eligibility. Additionally, if an employee has previously retired from a Washington state retirement system, returning to work might affect their benefits.

good to know:

Failure to properly report a retiree to DRS can result in a significant liability to the employer for pension overpayments.

DRS recommends that you do not hire employees via a third party to fill positions that are retirement eligible. An employee filling a retirement eligible position must be enrolled into the retirement plan, but if your agency is not paying the person through payroll, it is very difficult to manage the member contribution deductions, reporting of earnings data and the payment of contributions due. 

Step 2:

Use ERA Member Management to verify the information provided by the worker on the Retirement Status Verification form.

When you hire a retiree, you must use the transmittal report to inform DRS. If you fail to inform DRS, you could be liable for any pension overpayments made to the retiree. Please refer to the employing retirees section in Chapter 5 for details about reporting and membership requirements for retirees.

Step 3:

After pulling up the member’s history for your review, select ‘determine member eligibility’. Continue with ERA Member Management to evaluate the employee’s eligibility for membership under the rules that apply for the appropriate system and plan.

Step 4:

Determine which forms the employee needs to complete if they’re hired into an eligible position:

Before submitting forms to DRS, ensure that both the employee and employer portions are complete and correct. If there are errors on the forms, DRS will return them to you. 

Step 5:

Report the employee or worker on the transmittal report. All employees filling eligible positions must be reported to DRS on the transmittal report. You should report each member every payroll. The first time you report an eligible employee, be sure to report a begin date, gender code, address and birth date.

good to know:

There are special reporting requirements for reporting retirees to DRS. See Chapter 5 for more information. School Districts and Educational Service Districts must also report employees working in ineligible positions (also known as substitutes). If you are completing the first transmittal for a new member with a plan choice, a newly hired existing Plan 3 member changing employers or a January Transfer Option, refer to those sections for instructions.

Step 6:

Pay contributions due. Refer to Chapter 6 for details about calculating and paying retirement contributions.

If the member’s enrollment date is more than two years before the current date, the system will prompt you to manually enter the eligibility result or contact DRS for assistance.

If the member’s enrollment date is within the last two years, use ERA Member Management/determine member eligibility to determine retirement eligibility; or you can use the Position Eligibility Worksheet if you prefer.


Membership rules

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