Wash. Admin. Code § 415-02-320

Current through Register Vol. 24-12, June 15, 2024

Section 415-02-320 - Early retirement factors

(1)What are early retirement factors? Early retirement factors (ERFs) are used by the department to reduce a monthly retirement benefit when that payment begins before the member has qualified for normal retirement based on age and service. This reduction offsets the cost to the plan of paying the monthly benefit for a longer time.

(2)In what situations will the department use an ERF?

(a) The department will use an ERF to reduce a monthly benefit in any of the following situations, subject to the law governing your plan, and subject to the exceptions in (b) of this subsection:

(i) You choose to retire early.

(ii) You retire due to a disability before you are eligible for normal retirement.

(iii) You die before you are eligible for normal retirement, and your beneficiary is eligible for a monthly benefit.

(b) An ERF is not used in the following circumstances, although another method may be used to reduce benefits as required by the laws governing each plan:

(i) You meet your plan's requirements for "alternate early retirement";

(ii) You meet PSERS requirements for "early retirement";

(iii) You retire for service or due to a disability, from PERS Plan 1 or TRS Plan 1;

(iv) You are a member of LEOFF Plan 1;

(v) You retire due to a duty-related disability from LEOFF Plan 2;

(vi) You retire due to a disability or die before retirement from WSPRS Plan 1; or

(vii) You retire due to a disability from WSPRS Plan 2.

(c) The following table shows the law governing plans that use an ERF:

	Early Retirement	Disability Retirement	Death Prior to Retirement
LEOFF Plan 1:	N/A	N/A	N/A
LEOFF Plan 2:	RCW 41.26.430	RCW 41.26.470	RCW 41.26.510
PERS Plan 1:	N/A	N/A	RCW 41.40.270
PERS Plan 2:	RCW 41.40.630	RCW 41.40.670	RCW 41.40.700
PERS Plan 3:	RCW 41.40.820	RCW 41.40.825	RCW 41.40.835
PSERS:	N/A	RCW 41.37.230	RCW 41.37.250
SERS Plan 2:	RCW 41.35.420	RCW 41.35.440	RCW 41.35.460
SERS Plan 3:	RCW 41.35.680	RCW 41.35.690	RCW 41.35.710
TRS Plan 1:	N/A	N/A	RCW 41.32.520
TRS Plan 2:	RCW 41.32.765	RCW 41.32.790	RCW 41.32.805
TRS Plan 3:	RCW 41.32.875	RCW 41.32.880	RCW 41.32.895
WSPRS Plan 1:	RCW 43.43.280	N/A	N/A
WSPRS Plan 2:	RCW 43.43.280	N/A	RCW 43.43.295

(3)How does the department determine the number of years on which to base the ERF? The calculation varies among plans:

(a) ERFs are based on the number of years between the age at which you retire, or die, and the age at which you would have qualified for normal retirement based on age and service.

Example - early retirement: Sandy, a PERS Plan 2 member, applies for retirement at age 56 years and one month with a total of 21.11 years of service. Her average final compensation (AFC) is $3,500.00.

PERS Plan 2 provides for two percent (.02) of AFC per year of service. A PERS Plan 2 member must be age 65 to retire with an unreduced benefit (i.e., normal retirement), but is eligible to retire with an actuarially reduced benefit (i.e., early retirement) at age 55 with 20 years of service credit.

The difference between Sandy's age now (56) and the age at which she would have qualified for normal retirement (age 65) is 8 years and 11 months. The corresponding ERF is 0.3987. Therefore, the department will multiply Sandy's AFC of $3,500 x .02 x 21.11 (service credit years) x 0.3987 (ERF). Sandy's monthly retirement benefit will be $589.16.

(b) WSPRS Plan 2 only: The ERF used to calculate your survivor's monthly benefit if you die before retirement is based on the number of years between the age at which you die and age fifty-five (55) or when you could have attained twenty-five (25) years of service, whichever is less. See RCW 43.43.295.

Example - early retirement: The survivor benefit, in this example, will also have a reduction applied for 100% joint and survivor option, based on the difference between John's age and his survivor's age.

John, a WSPRS Plan 2 member dies prior to retirement. John is age 40 and has 15 years of service at the time of his death. John's Average Final Salary (AFS) is $4,000. John's surviving spouse is also age 40.

Since John would have attained 25 years of service before he would have attained age 55, the ERF used to calculate his survivor's benefit will be based on the 10 years it would have taken him to reach 25 years of service. The corresponding ERF for 10 years early retirement is 0.403. The corresponding joint and survivor (J&S) factor that will also be applied to the benefit is 0.889.

Therefore, the department will multiply John's AFS of $4,000 x .02 x 15 (service credit years) x 0.403 (ERF) x 0.889 (J&S). John's survivor will receive a monthly benefit of $429.92.

(c) TRS Plan 1 only: The ERF used to calculate your survivor's monthly benefit if you die before retirement is based on the number of years between the age at which you die and the age at which you would have first become eligible to retire under RCW 41.32.480. See RCW 41.32.520.

Example - death before retirement: Robert, a 56 year-old TRS Plan 1 member, died April 1, 2006, with 23.17 years of service credit. His AFC is $3,171.74.

TRS Plan 1 provides an unreduced benefit (i.e., normal retirement) at age 55 with 25 years of service credit.

Robert's wife, Karen, will receive an actuarially reduced benefit based on the date Robert would have first qualified for an unreduced benefit (i.e., normal retirement). If Robert had continued in service, he would have met eligibility requirements in one year and 10 months, when he earned 25 years of service credit. The ERF for one year and 10 months is 0.8410.

Karen's monthly benefit will be further reduced by the Option 2 survivor factor, which is based on the age difference between her and Robert. Karen is age 58, two years older than Robert. The Option 2 survivor factor for a beneficiary two years older is 0.918 (see WAC 415-02-380(12) ).

The department will multiply 23.17 (Robert's service credit years) x .02 x $3,171.74 (AFC) x 0.8410 (ERF) x 0.918 (the Option 2 factor). Karen's monthly benefit will be $1,134.73.

(4)Table - This table contains the early retirement factors (ERFs) for members who retire from active service in PERS Plan 1, TRS Plan 1, and WSPRS Plan 2. The ERFs are effective September 1, 2010.

Yrs Early	Month 0	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5	Month 6	Month 7	Month 8	Month 9	Month 10	Month 11
0	1.0000	.9924	.9848	.9772	.9696	.9620	.9544	.9468	.9392	.9316	.9240	.9164
1	.9090	.9022	.8954	.8886	.8818	.8750	.8682	.8614	.8546	.8478	.8410	.8342
2	.8270	.8209	.8148	.8087	.8026	.7965	.7904	.7843	.7782	.7721	.7660	.7599
3	.7540	.7485	.7430	.7375	.7320	.7265	.7210	.7155	.7100	.7045	.6990	.6935
4	.6880	.6830	.6780	.6730	.6680	.6630	.6580	.6530	.6480	.6430	.6380	.6330
5	.6280	.6235	.6190	.6145	.6100	.6055	.6010	.5965	.5920	.5875	.5830	.5785
6	.5740	.5698	.5656	.5614	.5572	.5530	.5488	.5446	.5404	.5362	.5320	.5278
7	.5240	.5203	.5166	.5129	.5092	.5055	.5018	.4981	.4944	.4907	.4870	.4833
8	.4800	.4767	.4734	.4701	.4668	.4635	.4602	.4569	.4536	.4503	.4470	.4437
9	.4400	.4369	.4338	.4307	.4276	.4245	.4214	.4183	.4152	.4121	.4090	.4059
10	.4030	.4002	.3974	.3946	.3918	.3890	.3862	.3834	.3806	.3778	.3750	.3722
11	.3690	.3665	.3640	.3615	.3590	.3565	.3540	.3515	.3490	.3465	.3440	.3415
12	.3390	.3367	.3344	.3321	.3298	.3275	.3252	.3229	.3206	.3183	.3160	.3137
13	.3110	.3088	.3066	.3044	.3022	.3000	.2978	.2956	.2934	.2912	.2890	.2868
14	.2850	.2831	.2812	.2793	.2774	.2755	.2736	.2717	.2698	.2679	.2660	.2641
15	.2620	.2603	.2586	.2569	.2552	.2535	.2518	.2501	.2484	.2467	.2450	.2433
16	.2410	.2393	.2376	.2359	.2342	.2325	.2308	.2291	.2274	.2257	.2240	.2223
17	.2210	.2195	.2180	.2165	.2150	.2135	.2120	.2105	.2090	.2075	.2060	.2045
18	.2030	.2017	.2004	.1991	.1978	.1965	.1952	.1939	.1926	.1913	.1900	.1887
19	.1870	.1857	.1844	.1831	.1818	.1805	.1792	.1779	.1766	.1753	.1740	.1727
20	.1710	.1699	.1688	.1677	.1666	.1655	.1644	.1633	.1622	.1611	.1600	.1589
21	.1580	.1569	.1558	.1547	.1536	.1525	.1514	.1503	.1492	.1481	.1470	.1459
22	.1450	.1440	.1430	.1420	.1410	.1400	.1390	.1380	.1370	.1360	.1350	.1340
23	.1330	.1322	.1314	.1306	.1298	.1290	.1282	.1274	.1266	.1258	.1250	.1242
24	.1230	.1222	.1214	.1206	.1198	.1190	.1182	.1174	.1166	.1158	.1150	.1142
25	.1130	.1123	.1116	.1109	.1102	.1095	.1088	.1081	.1074	.1067	.1060	.1053
26	.1040	.1037	.1034	.1031	.1028	.1025	.1022	.1019	.1016	.1013	.1010	.1007
27	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
28	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
29	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
30+	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000

(5)Table - The following early retirement factors (ERFs) for PERS Plans 2 and 3, SERS Plans 2 and 3, and TRS Plans 2 and 3 are effective September 1, 2010.

Yrs Early	Month 0	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5	Month 6	Month 7	Month 8	Month 9	Month 10	Month 11
0	1.0000	.9913	.9826	.9739	.9652	.9565	.9478	.9391	.9304	.9217	.9130	.9043
1	.8960	.8884	.8808	.8732	.8656	.8580	.8504	.8428	.8352	.8276	.8200	.8124
2	.8050	.7983	.7916	.7849	.7782	.7715	.7648	.7581	.7514	.7447	.7380	.7313
3	.7240	.7180	.7120	.7060	.7000	.6940	.6880	.6820	.6760	.6700	.6640	.6580
4	.6520	.6467	.6414	.6361	.6308	.6255	.6202	.6149	.6096	.6043	.5990	.5937
5	.5880	.5833	.5786	.5739	.5692	.5645	.5598	.5551	.5504	.5457	.5410	.5363
6	.5310	.5268	.5226	.5184	.5142	.5100	.5058	.5016	.4974	.4932	.4890	.4848
7	.4810	.4772	.4734	.4696	.4658	.4620	.4582	.4544	.4506	.4468	.4430	.4392
8	.4350	.4317	.4284	.4251	.4218	.4185	.4152	.4119	.4086	.4053	.4020	.3987
9	.3950	.3919	.3888	.3857	.3826	.3795	.3764	.3733	.3702	.3671	.3640	.3609
10	.3580	.3553	.3526	.3499	.3472	.3445	.3418	.3391	.3364	.3337	.3310	.3283
11	.3260	.3235	.3210	.3185	.3160	.3135	.3110	.3085	.3060	.3035	.3010	.2985
12	.2960	.2938	.2916	.2894	.2872	.2850	.2828	.2806	.2784	.2762	.2740	.2718
13	.2690	.2670	.2650	.2630	.2610	.2590	.2570	.2550	.2530	.2510	.2490	.2470
14	.2450	.2432	.2414	.2396	.2378	.2360	.2342	.2324	.2306	.2288	.2270	.2252
15	.2230	.2214	.2198	.2182	.2166	.2150	.2134	.2118	.2102	.2086	.2070	.2054
16	.2040	.2025	.2010	.1995	.1980	.1965	.1950	.1935	.1920	.1905	.1890	.1875
17	.1860	.1846	.1832	.1818	.1804	.1790	.1776	.1762	.1748	.1734	.1720	.1706
18	.1690	.1678	.1666	.1654	.1642	.1630	.1618	.1606	.1594	.1582	.1570	.1558
19	.1550	.1538	.1526	.1514	.1502	.1490	.1478	.1466	.1454	.1442	.1430	.1418
20	.1410	.1400	.1390	.1380	.1370	.1360	.1350	.1340	.1330	.1320	.1310	.1300
21	.1290	.1281	.1272	.1263	.1254	.1245	.1236	.1227	.1218	.1209	.1200	.1191
22	.1180	.1172	.1164	.1156	.1148	.1140	.1132	.1124	.1116	.1108	.1100	.1092
23	.1080	.1074	.1068	.1062	.1056	.1050	.1044	.1038	.1032	.1026	.1020	.1014
24	.1010	.1009	.1008	.1007	.1006	.1005	.1004	.1003	.1002	.1001	.1000	.1000
25	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
26	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
27	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
28	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
29	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
30+	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000

(6)Table - The following table contains early retirement factors (ERFs) for members who do not retire from active service in PERS Plan 1, PSERS Plan 2, and WSPRS Plans 1 and 2. The ERFs are effective September 1, 2010.

Yrs Early	Month 0	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5	Month 6	Month 7	Month 8	Month 9	Month 10	Month 11
0	1.0000	.9918	.9836	.9754	.9672	.9590	.9508	.9426	.9344	.9262	.9180	.9098
1	.9010	.8938	.8866	.8794	.8722	.8650	.8578	.8506	.8434	.8362	.8290	.8218
2	.8140	.8075	.8010	.7945	.7880	.7815	.7750	.7685	.7620	.7555	.7490	.7425
3	.7360	.7302	.7244	.7186	.7128	.7070	.7012	.6954	.6896	.6838	.6780	.6722
4	.6660	.6608	.6556	.6504	.6452	.6400	.6348	.6296	.6244	.6192	.6140	.6088
5	.6040	.5994	.5948	.5902	.5856	.5810	.5764	.5718	.5672	.5626	.5580	.5534
6	.5490	.5448	.5406	.5364	.5322	.5280	.5238	.5196	.5154	.5112	.5070	.5028
7	.4990	.4953	.4916	.4879	.4842	.4805	.4768	.4731	.4694	.4657	.4620	.4583
8	.4540	.4506	.4472	.4438	.4404	.4370	.4336	.4302	.4268	.4234	.4200	.4166
9	.4130	.4100	.4070	.4040	.4010	.3980	.3950	.3920	.3890	.3860	.3830	.3800
10	.3770	.3743	.3716	.3689	.3662	.3635	.3608	.3581	.3554	.3527	.3500	.3473
11	.3440	.3415	.3390	.3365	.3340	.3315	.3290	.3265	.3240	.3215	.3190	.3165
12	.3140	.3118	.3096	.3074	.3052	.3030	.3008	.2986	.2964	.2942	.2920	.2898
13	.2870	.2849	.2828	.2807	.2786	.2765	.2744	.2723	.2702	.2681	.2660	.2639
14	.2620	.2602	.2584	.2566	.2548	.2530	.2512	.2494	.2476	.2458	.2440	.2422
15	.2400	.2383	.2366	.2349	.2332	.2315	.2298	.2281	.2264	.2247	.2230	.2213
16	.2190	.2175	.2160	.2145	.2130	.2115	.2100	.2085	.2070	.2055	.2040	.2025
17	.2010	.1996	.1982	.1968	.1954	.1940	.1926	.1912	.1898	.1884	.1870	.1856
18	.1840	.1828	.1816	.1804	.1792	.1780	.1768	.1756	.1744	.1732	.1720	.1708
19	.1690	.1678	.1666	.1654	.1642	.1630	.1618	.1606	.1594	.1582	.1570	.1558
20	.1550	.1539	.1528	.1517	.1506	.1495	.1484	.1473	.1462	.1451	.1440	.1429
21	.1420	.1410	.1400	.1390	.1380	.1370	.1360	.1350	.1340	.1330	.1320	.1310
22	.1300	.1291	.1282	.1273	.1264	.1255	.1246	.1237	.1228	.1219	.1210	.1201
23	.1190	.1183	.1176	.1169	.1162	.1155	.1148	.1141	.1134	.1127	.1120	.1113
24	.1100	.1093	.1086	.1079	.1072	.1065	.1058	.1051	.1044	.1037	.1030	.1023
25	.1020	.1018	.1016	.1014	.1012	.1010	.1008	.1006	.1004	.1002	.1000	.1000
26	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
27	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
28	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
29	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
30+	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000

(7)Table - This table contains the early retirement factors (ERFs) for members who retire from active service in LEOFF Plan 2. The ERFs are effective January 1, 2010.

Yrs Early	Month 0	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5	Month 6	Month 7	Month 8	Month 9	Month 10	Month 11
0	1.0000	.9925	.9850	.9775	.9700	.9625	.9550	.9475	.9400	.9325	.9250	.9175
1	.9100	.9033	.8966	.8899	.8832	.8765	.8698	.8631	.8564	.8497	.8430	.8363
2	.8300	.8239	.8178	.8117	.8056	.7995	.7934	.7873	.7812	.7751	.7690	.7629
3	.7570	.7515	.7460	.7405	.7350	.7295	.7240	.7185	.7130	.7075	.7020	.6965
4	.6910	.6860	.6810	.6760	.6710	.6660	.6610	.6560	.6510	.6460	.6410	.6360
5	.6310	.6265	.6220	.6175	.6130	.6085	.6040	.5995	.5950	.5905	.5860	.5815
6	.5770	.5728	.5686	.5644	.5602	.5560	.5518	.5476	.5434	.5392	.5350	.5308
7	.5270	.5233	.5196	.5159	.5122	.5085	.5048	.5011	.4974	.4937	.4900	.4863
8	.4830	.4796	.4762	.4728	.4694	.4660	.4626	.4592	.4558	.4524	.4490	.4456
9	.4420	.4389	.4358	.4327	.4296	.4265	.4234	.4203	.4172	.4141	.4110	.4079
10	.4050	.4022	.3994	.3966	.3938	.3910	.3882	.3854	.3826	.3798	.3770	.3742
11	.3710	.3685	.3660	.3635	.3610	.3585	.3560	.3535	.3510	.3485	.3460	.3435
12	.3410	.3387	.3364	.3341	.3318	.3295	.3272	.3249	.3226	.3203	.3180	.3157
13	.3130	.3108	.3086	.3064	.3042	.3020	.2998	.2976	.2954	.2932	.2910	.2888
14	.2870	.2851	.2832	.2813	.2794	.2775	.2756	.2737	.2718	.2699	.2680	.2661
15	.2640	.2622	.2604	.2586	.2568	.2550	.2532	.2514	.2496	.2478	.2460	.2442
16	.2420	.2404	.2388	.2372	.2356	.2340	.2324	.2308	.2292	.2276	.2260	.2244
17	.2230	.2215	.2200	.2185	.2170	.2155	.2140	.2125	.2110	.2095	.2080	.2065
18	.2050	.2036	.2022	.2008	.1994	.1980	.1966	.1952	.1938	.1924	.1910	.1896
19	.1880	.1868	.1856	.1844	.1832	.1820	.1808	.1796	.1784	.1772	.1760	.1748
20	.1730	.1718	.1706	.1694	.1682	.1670	.1658	.1646	.1634	.1622	.1610	.1598
21	.1590	.1580	.1570	.1560	.1550	.1540	.1530	.1520	.1510	.1500	.1490	.1480
22	.1470	.1460	.1450	.1440	.1430	.1420	.1410	.1400	.1390	.1380	.1370	.1360
23	.1350	.1342	.1334	.1326	.1318	.1310	.1302	.1294	.1286	.1278	.1270	.1262
24	.1250	.1242	.1234	.1226	.1218	.1210	.1202	.1194	.1186	.1178	.1170	.1162
25	.1150	.1143	.1136	.1129	.1122	.1115	.1108	.1101	.1094	.1087	.1080	.1073
26	.1060	.1055	.1050	.1045	.1040	.1035	.1030	.1025	.1020	.1015	.1010	.1005
27	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
28	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
29	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000
30+	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000	.1000

Wash. Admin. Code § 415-02-320

Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050(5). 10-16-086, § 415-02-320, filed 7/30/10, effective 9/1/10. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050(5), chapter 41.45 RCW. 06-18-009, § 415-02-320, filed 8/24/06, effective 9/24/06; 02-18-048, § 415-02-320, filed 8/28/02, effective 9/1/02.