Staff brief outlines structure, funding and legal limits of Washington state pension systems

Amanda Cecil, staff to the Senate Ways & Means Committee, opened the committee’s Jan. 23 work session with an overview of Washington State’s public retirement systems, describing plan types, benefit calculations, governance, funding measures and a recent federal change affecting a small group of retirees.

Cecil said Washington’s public pensions include multiple systems commonly referred to by acronyms (PERS, TRS, LEOFF and others) and that within each system members generally fall into one of three plans: Plan 1 (closed defined benefit), Plan 2 (defined benefit with a 50/50 employer/employee cost split) and Plan 3 (a hybrid with a defined‑benefit portion plus a defined‑contribution account). “Within Washington state, there’s also hybrid plans that includes a little bit of both,” she said.

Why it matters: the committee is considering several bills that would change benefit formulas,…