Focus on Employees
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:
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Regular or Local 587 employee, you enroll in the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS)
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Deputy sheriff or paramedic, you enroll in the Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' (LEOFF) system
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Public safety employee, you enroll in the Public Safety Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS)
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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.
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.