Your pension is designed to grow over time to help keep up with inflation. All Plan 2 and Plan 3 retirees are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) every July. However, only Plan 3 and LEOFF 2 members can qualify for benefit indexing, which helps your pension grow with inflation before you retire. Here are…
Tag Archives: Planning
The basics of retiring with DRS
Once you’ve reached the required age and years of service for your plan, you can apply for your pension retirement through DRS. We have a complete retirement checklist as well as live and recorded seminars to guide you through the retirement process, but basically it goes like this: 1. Make sure you qualify for retirement. Do you meet the age requirements?…
Think pennies, save more: A simple shift that can enhance your retirement savings
There are two ways to contribute to Washington’s Deferred Compensation Program (DCP). You can choose to invest a set dollar amount every month, or you can opt to invest a percentage of your gross pay. DCP is a savings program, that helps you invest for the retirement lifestyle you want to achieve. One way to…
Did you choose the right plan?
Most of us don’t know exactly what we’ll be doing 30, 20 or even 10 years from now. And yet, when you chose a retirement plan, you were faced with deciding just that. Which plan will serve me better for my lifetime? It’s a big decision. And in the case of your DRS retirement plan,…
7 podcast episodes to get you ready to retire
One of the biggest challenges of prepping for retirement is understanding all the different pieces — like choosing the right health care, understanding the jargon and getting a clear picture of your finances. Since retirement looks different for everyone, it’s important to take the time to figure out what’ll work best for you. Luckily, our…
Retirees returning to work must wait 30 days
For a lot of people, retirement is a time to sit back and relax, or time to do some traveling. But some retirees like to stay busy by volunteering. They may even decide they want to go back to work after they retire. As a retiree, you can go back to work for a Department…
Hey millennials, plan for your future with 3 easy steps
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…
One teacher’s fulfilling solution
If you retired today, would you volunteer to work for free at the same place? Meet Cornelius Lopez. Cornelius is retired from Teachers’ Retirement System Plan 1. He taught math for 60 years; Forty-eight of those years were at McMurray Middle School on Vashon Island. After his retirement in June 2023, he began volunteering at…
Rumors we have heard
Rumors. They sure can be wild at times. At DRS, it’s not unusual for us to speak with customers who have heard a rumor that, as it so often turns out, is not exactly accurate. Some of the rumors we hear include:
Retirement planning email scam alert
A recent email scam has targeted our customers.
