Fund Your Future with DRS Washington State Department of Retirement Systems

We’ve received some great questions from our listeners asking about retirement. We jump into answering your questions:
If you leave state service, what are the options for your retirement money and how does that affect service credit if you come back to work for the state?If I die before retiring, will my spouse have an option to receive a pension benefit?Is my pension benefit based on the last five years of my career?How do I retire with DRS?

Generation Z recently joined the work force and they bring a new perspective. DRS team member Jacob describes his generation as growing up with “all internet, all the time.” He opens up about how he and his friends are strapping down to pay for rising rent costs and getting creative with their budgets.

Generation X was dubbed the "MTV Generation," and now some of them are getting ready to retire. We sit down with Terri, a DRS team member from Gen X. She shares that saving for retirement when you’re single can present its own challenges. Terri discusses her experience and tips for saving.

In April 2024, the Socially Responsible Balanced Fund (SRI) will change from a balanced fund – invested in stocks and bonds – to a new SRI that solely invests in stocks. Managed by AllianceBernstein (AB), the new Socially Responsible Equity Fund's strategy uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals to identify and invest in key sustainability themes. We sit down with Dan who works at AB to find out more.

These two terms are commonly used for retirement plans, but what's the difference? If you haven’t retired from your plan, you only have beneficiaries. If you are retired, you could have both. In this episode, we take a look at the difference between these two terms and what they can provide for your loved ones.

If you're a member of more than one Washington state retirement system, you're a member of multiple systems - also known as a dual member. In this episode, we look at what you should be aware of when you're approaching retirement. Our guest is Wendy, a DRS team member, who explains some of the advantages of being a dual member.