Efficient, Effective and Accountable Government

The Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) serves nearly a million active, retired, and inactive members of the Public Employees, School Employees, Teachers, Law Enforcement and Firefighters, Washington State Patrol, Public Safety Employees, and Judicial retirement systems. Services include receiving and processing essential member information submitted by almost 1,400 public employers, determining member eligibility for retirement, educating and counseling prospective retirees, processing disability and death adjustments, and computing retirement benefits, deductions, and benefit adjustments. The authority for DRS is established by RCW 41.50. Authority for administering the retirement systems is contained in RCW 2.10, 2.12, 41.26, 41.32, 41.34, 41.35, 41.37, 41.40, and 43.43. DRS also must conform to legislative mandates established in RCW 28.B10, 41.44, 41.45, 41.54, and 44.44.

This program enables eligible public employees to defer a portion of their earnings under a series of investment plans until retirement or termination of public employment. At the end of Fiscal Year 2023, the program had $6.18 billion in assets, serving approximately 132,000 participants from state government, higher education, and political subdivisions. This activity also includes a supplemental retirement program serving 90 judges. Authority for the Deferred Compensation Plan is contained in RCW 41.50 and Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code, while authority for the Judges program is contained in RCW 2.12.

This activity contains the one-time costs associated with legislative projects approved and funded each session, which are then removed in the carry forward level calculation process each biennium.

This activity administers the Social Security and Medicare coverage program, also known as Old Age Survivor Insurance (OASI), for all state and local (public) government employers throughout the state of Washington, by serving as a facilitator and communication bridge between those employers and the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service.