Title 41 — Title 41 PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, CIVIL SERVICE, AND PENSIONS
37 chapters · 1,408 sections in this title.
RCW 41.32.500 Termination of membership.
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Membership in the retirement system is terminated when a member retires for service or disability, dies, or withdraws his or her accumulated contributions.The prior service certificate becomes void when a member dies or withdraws the accumulated contributions, and any prior admin…
RCW 41.32.510 Payment on withdrawal—Reentry.
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(1) Should a member cease to be employed by an employer and request upon a form provided by the department a refund of the member's accumulated contributions with interest, this amount shall be paid to the individual less any withdrawal fee which may be assessed by the director w…
RCW 41.32.520 Payment on death before retirement or within sixty days following application for disability retirement—Military service.
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(1) Except as specified in subsection (3) of this section, upon receipt of proper proofs of death of any member before retirement or before the first installment of his or her retirement allowance shall become due his or her accumulated contributions, less any amount identified a…
RCW 41.32.522 Death benefits.
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(1) The department shall pay a death benefit of six hundred dollars to a member's estate or to the persons, trust, or organization the member nominates by written designation duly executed and filed with the department or to the persons as may otherwise qualify as the beneficiary…
RCW 41.32.523 Death benefits—Members not qualified for benefits under RCW 41.32.522 and retired former members.
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Upon receipt of proper proof of death of a member who does not qualify for the death benefit of six hundred dollars under RCW 41.32.522, or a former member who was retired for age, service, or disability, a death benefit of four hundred dollars shall be paid to the member's estat…
RCW 41.32.530 Options available—Retirement allowance adjustment—Court-approved property settlement.
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(1) Upon an application for retirement for service under RCW 41.32.480 or retirement for disability under RCW 41.32.550, approved by the department, every member shall receive the maximum retirement allowance available to him or her throughout life unless prior to the time the fi…
RCW 41.32.540 Disability allowance—Temporary.
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Upon application of a member in service or of his or her employer or of his or her legal guardian or of the legal representative of a deceased member who was eligible to apply for a temporary disability allowance based on the final illness a member shall be granted a temporary di…
RCW 41.32.550 Options and allowances on report that disability will be permanent—Reexamination.
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(1) Should the director determine from the report of the medical director that a member employed under an annual contract with an employer has become permanently disabled for the performance of his or her duties or at any time while a member is receiving temporary disability bene…
RCW 41.32.555 Persons with annual half-time contracts—Eligibility for benefits under RCW 41.32.550.
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Persons who were under an annual half-time contract with an employer anytime during the period of September 1, 1986, through August 31, 1987, shall be eligible for benefits provided by RCW 41.32.550, as amended by chapter 365, Laws of 1991, effective beginning the month following…
RCW 41.32.570 Postretirement employment—Reduction or suspension of pension payments.
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(1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked during that month. This reduction will be appl…
RCW 41.32.581 End of participation in judicial retirement account plan—Newly elected or appointed judges.
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Beginning January 1, 2007, any newly elected or appointed supreme court justice, court of appeals judge, or superior court judge, who is a member of plan 1, shall not participate in the judicial retirement account plan under chapter 2.14 RCW in lieu of prospective contribution an…
RCW 41.32.584 Additional benefit for justices or judges—One-time irrevocable election.
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(1) Between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2007, a member of plan 1 employed as a supreme court justice, court of appeals judge, or superior court judge may make a one-time irrevocable election, filed in writing with the member's employer, the department, and the administrativ…
RCW 41.32.587 Justices or judges retirement allowance—In lieu of RCW 41.32.498.
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(1) In lieu of the retirement allowance provided under RCW 41.32.498, the retirement allowance payable for service as a supreme court justice, court of appeals judge, or superior court judge, for those justices or judges who elected to participate under RCW 41.32.584(1), shall be…
RCW 41.32.755 Provisions applicable to plan 2.
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RCW 41.32.760 through 41.32.825 shall apply only to plan 2 members.[ 1992 c 72 s 7; 1977 ex.s. c 293 s 2.]Notes:Effective date—1977 ex.s. c 293: "This 1977 amendatory act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state…
RCW 41.32.760 Computation of the retirement allowance.
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A member of the retirement system shall receive a retirement allowance equal to two percent of such member's average final compensation for each year of service.[ 1977 ex.s. c 293 s 3.]Notes:Effective date—Severability—Legislative direction and placement—Section headings—1977 ex.…
RCW 41.32.762 Lump sum retirement allowance—Reentry—Conditions for reinstatement of service.
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*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2124.SL) ***(1) On or after June 10, 1982, the director may pay a beneficiary, subject to the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, a lump sum payment in lieu of a monthly benefit if the initial monthly benefit computed in accordance with RCW 4…
RCW 41.32.765 Retirement for service.
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(1) NORMAL RETIREMENT. Any member with at least five service credit years of service who has attained at least age sixty-five shall be eligible to retire and to receive a retirement allowance computed according to the provisions of RCW 41.32.760.(2) EARLY RETIREMENT. Any member w…
RCW 41.32.768 Member with terminal illness—Removal from system.
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(1) Upon application of the member, a member who is diagnosed with a terminal illness shall be removed from the system subject to the following conditions:(a) That the medical adviser, after a medical examination of the member made by or under the direction of the medical adviser…
RCW 41.32.770 Post-retirement cost-of-living.
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Beginning July 1, 1979, and every year thereafter, the department shall determine the following information for each retired member or beneficiary whose retirement allowance has been in effect for at least one year:(1) The original dollar amount of the retirement allowance;(2) Th…
RCW 41.32.780 Teachers required to be members.
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All teachers who become employed by an employer in an eligible position on or after October 1, 1977, shall be members of the retirement system and shall be governed by the provisions of RCW 41.32.755 through 41.32.825.[ 1991 c 35 s 67; 1990 c 274 s 15; 1979 ex.s. c 45 s 5; 1977 e…
RCW 41.32.785 Options for payment of retirement allowances—Retirement allowance adjustment—Court-approved property settlement.
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(1) Upon retirement for service as prescribed in RCW 41.32.765 or retirement for disability under RCW 41.32.790, a member shall elect to have the retirement allowance paid pursuant to the following options, calculated so as to be actuarially equivalent to each other.(a) Standard …
RCW 41.32.790 Earned disability allowance—Eligibility—Disposition upon death of recipient.
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(1) A member of the retirement system who becomes totally incapacitated for continued employment by an employer as determined by the department upon recommendation of the department shall be eligible to receive an allowance under the provisions of RCW 41.32.755 through 41.32.825.…
RCW 41.32.795 Application for and effective date of retirement allowances.
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Any member or beneficiary eligible to receive a retirement allowance under the provisions of RCW 41.32.765, 41.32.790, or 41.32.805 shall be eligible to commence receiving a retirement allowance after having filed written application with the department.(1) Retirement allowances …
RCW 41.32.800 Suspension of retirement allowance upon reemployment or if covered by a plan under RCW 28B.10.400—Reinstatement.
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*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1) Except as provided in RCW 41.32.802, no retiree under the provisions of plan 2 shall be eligible to receive such retiree's monthly retirement allowance if he or she is employed in an eligible position as defined in RCW 41.40.010, 41.…
RCW 41.32.802 Reduction of retirement allowance upon reemployment or if covered by a plan under RCW 28B.10.400—Reestablishment of membership.
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*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked dur…
RCW 41.32.805 Death benefits.
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(1) Except as provided in RCW 11.07.010, if a member or a vested member who has not completed at least ten years of service dies, the amount of the accumulated contributions standing to such member's credit in the retirement system, less any amount identified as owing to an oblig…
RCW 41.32.810 Service credit for paid leave of absence, officers of labor organizations, unpaid leave of absence, military service.
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(1) A member who is on a paid leave of absence authorized by a member's employer shall continue to receive service credit as provided for under the provisions of RCW 41.32.755 through 41.32.825.(2) A member who receives compensation from an employer while on an authorized leave o…
RCW 41.32.812 Service credit for half-time employment from October 1, 1977, through December 31, 1986.
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The department of retirement systems shall credit at least one-half service credit month for each month of each school year, as defined by *RCW 28A.150.040, from October 1, 1977, through December 31, 1986, to a member of the teachers' retirement system plan 2 who was employed by …
RCW 41.32.813 One-time purchase of service credit—Conditions—Payment—Rules.
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(1) An active member who has completed a minimum of two years of creditable service in the teachers' retirement system may, upon written application to the department, make a one-time purchase of up to seven years of service credit for public education experience outside the Wash…
RCW 41.32.815 Vested membership.
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A member who separates or has separated after having completed at least five years of service may remain a member during the period of such member's absence from service for the exclusive purpose only of receiving a retirement allowance under the provisions of RCW 41.32.765 if su…
RCW 41.32.817 Transfer to plan 3—Irrevocable option.
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(1) Every plan 2 member employed by an employer in an eligible position may make an irrevocable option to transfer to plan 3.(2) Any plan 2 member who is a substitute teacher may make an irrevocable option to transfer to plan 3 at the time the member purchases substitute service …
RCW 41.32.818 Public employees' retirement system members who previously declined membership in the teachers' retirement system—Transfer to plan 3—Irrevocable option.
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Any member of the public employees' retirement system plan 2 who is employed in an eligible position as an educational staff associate and who elected pursuant to RCW 41.32.032(2)(a) to remain a member of the public employees' retirement system under chapter 41.40 RCW may make an…
RCW 41.32.820 Refund of contributions on termination.
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A member who ceases to be an employee of an employer except by service or disability retirement may request a refund of the member's accumulated contributions. The refund shall be made within ninety days following the receipt of the request and notification of termination through…
RCW 41.32.825 Reentry.
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(1) A member, who had left service and withdrawn the member's accumulated contributions, shall, upon reestablishment of membership under RCW 41.32.240, receive service credit for such prior service if the member restores all withdrawn accumulated contributions together with inter…
RCW 41.32.831 Provisions applicable to plan 3—Plan 3 elements.
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(1) RCW 41.32.831 through 41.32.895 shall apply only to plan 3 members.(2) Plan 3 shall consist of two separate elements: (a) A defined benefit portion covered under this subchapter; and (b) a defined contribution portion covered under chapter 41.34 RCW. (3) Unless otherwise spec…
RCW 41.32.835 Choice of membership in plan 2 or plan 3.
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(1) All teachers who first become employed by an employer in an eligible position on or after July 1, 2007, shall have a period of ninety days to make an irrevocable choice to become a member of plan 2 or plan 3. At the end of ninety days, if the member has not made a choice to b…
RCW 41.32.836 Higher education faculty—Option to transfer to plan 3—Limitation on supplemental benefits under RCW 28B.10.400.
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(1) All faculty members who are first employed by an institution of higher education in a position eligible for participation in old age annuities or retirement income plans under chapter 28B.10 RCW on or after July 1, 2011, have a period of thirty days to make an irrevocable cho…
RCW 41.32.837 Right to waive benefit—Irrevocable choice.
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Any member receiving or having received a distribution under chapter 41.34 RCW may make an irrevocable choice to waive all rights to a benefit under RCW 41.32.840 by notifying the department in writing of their intention.[ 2003 c 349 s 1.]Notes:Effective date—2003 c 349: "This ac…
RCW 41.32.840 Computation of the retirement allowance.
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(1) A member of the retirement system shall receive a retirement allowance equal to one percent of such member's average final compensation for each service credit year.(2) The retirement allowance payable under RCW 41.32.875 to a member who separates after having completed at le…
RCW 41.32.8401 Additional payment.
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(1) Anyone who requests to transfer under RCW 41.32.817 before January 1, 1998, and establishes service credit for January 1998, shall have their member account increased by forty percent of:(a) Plan 2 accumulated contributions as of January 1, 1996, less fifty percent of any pay…
RCW 41.32.845 Postretirement cost-of-living allowance.
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Retirement allowances paid under the defined benefit portion of plan 3 shall have a postretirement cost-of-living allowance calculated and paid as provided in RCW 41.32.770.[ 1995 c 239 s 107.]Notes:Intent—Purpose—1995 c 239: See note following RCW 41.32.831.Effective date—Part a…
RCW 41.32.851 Options for payment of retirement allowances—Court-approved property settlement.
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(1) Upon retirement for service as prescribed in RCW 41.32.875 or retirement for disability under RCW 41.32.880, a member shall elect to have the retirement allowance paid pursuant to one of the following options, calculated so as to be actuarially equivalent to each other.(a) St…
RCW 41.32.855 Application for and effective date of retirement allowances.
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Any member or beneficiary eligible to receive a retirement allowance under the provisions of RCW 41.32.875, 41.32.880, or 41.32.895 shall be eligible to commence receiving a retirement allowance after having filed written application with the department.(1) Retirement allowances …
RCW 41.32.860 Suspension of retirement allowance upon reemployment or if covered by a plan under RCW 28B.10.400—Reinstatement.
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*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1) Except under RCW 41.32.862, no retiree shall be eligible to receive such retiree's monthly retirement allowance if he or she is employed in an eligible position as defined in RCW 41.40.010, 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.37.010, or as a…
RCW 41.32.862 Reduction of retirement allowance upon reemployment or if covered by a plan under RCW 28B.10.400—Reestablishment of membership.
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*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked dur…
RCW 41.32.865 Service credit for paid leave of absence, officers of labor organizations, unpaid leave of absence, military service.
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(1) A member who is on a paid leave of absence authorized by a member's employer shall continue to receive service credit.(2) A member who receives compensation from an employer while on an authorized leave of absence to serve as an elected official of a labor organization, and w…
RCW 41.32.867 Purchased service credit—Allocation.
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(1) Contributions on behalf of the employer paid by the employee to purchase plan 3 service credit shall be allocated to the defined benefit portion of plan 3 and shall not be refundable when paid to the fund described in RCW 41.50.075(2). Contributions on behalf of the employee …
RCW 41.32.868 One-time purchase of service credit—Conditions—Payment—Rules.
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(1) An active member who has completed a minimum of two years of creditable service in the teachers' retirement system may, upon written application to the department, make a one-time purchase of up to seven years of service credit for public education experience outside the Wash…
RCW 41.32.870 Lump sum payments—Reentry.
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(1) The director may pay a member eligible to receive a retirement allowance or the member's beneficiary a lump sum payment in lieu of a monthly benefit if the initial monthly benefit would be less than one hundred dollars. The one hundred dollar limit shall be increased by three…
RCW 41.32.875 Retirement eligibility.
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(1) NORMAL RETIREMENT. Any member who is at least age sixty-five and who has:(a) Completed ten service credit years; or(b) Completed five service credit years, including twelve service credit months after attaining age forty-four; or(c) Completed five service credit years by July…