Retirement Plans

As a King County employee, you enroll in one of the retirement plans offered by the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) when you become eligible.

If you are a:

• Regular or Local 587 employee, you enroll in the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS)

• Deputy sheriff or paramedic, you enroll in the Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' (LEOFF) system

• Public safety employee, you enroll in the Public Safety Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS)

• Former City of Seattle employee, you enroll in the Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) if you were formally grandfathered with continued participation in the city retirement system.

When you become a county employee, you receive retirement plan information and forms at your New Employee Orientation unless you're a part-time transit operator. If you're a part-time transit operator, Benefits and Retirement Operations mails the information and forms to you at your work site after you work at least 70 hours a month for any five months during a 12-month period.

If you were a member of a PERS plan (Plan 1, 2 or 3) before you began work at the county, you automatically resume participation in the same plan after you begin county employment.

Forms
All state retirement system forms, including the Member Information Form and Beneficiary Designation form you receive from Benefits and Retirement Operations when you become eligible to enroll in the state retirement system, are available on the DRS Web site.

Member Information Form
Use this form if you're new to PERS, if you're a grandfathered Plan 2 member choosing to transfer to Plan 3 during open enrollment, or if you're a Plan 3 member returning to eligible employment and changing the amount of your defined contribution.

Beneficiary Designation
In addition to naming beneficiaries for your retirement funds, use this form to designate who should receive your $150,000 death benefit should you die from injury or occupational disease occuring as a result of your county employment.