Check with Washington TRSEstimate only, not an official benefit amount. Confirm with Washington TRS (800-547-6657) before you decide.
Your estimated monthly pension
Fill in the form and we'll show your monthly pension, your early retirement factor, the first day you'd get a full pension, your payment options in dollars, and what working longer would add.
Your early retirement factor
Your key dates
Start as planned, or later?
Your pension at every age
Your cost-of-living increases
If you go back to work
Your Plan 3 investment account
Common questions
Am I in Plan 1, Plan 2 or Plan 3?
If you first joined Washington TRS before Oct. 1, 1977, you're in Plan 1. Later members are in Plan 2 or Plan 3. Teachers first hired on or after July 1, 2007 had 90 days to choose. With no choice, they're in Plan 3 if hired before July 1, 2020, or Plan 2 if hired on or after that date. Your DRS account shows your plan.
How is a Washington TRS pension calculated?
Plans 1 and 2: 2% × years of service × your average final compensation (AFC). Plan 3: 1% × years × AFC, plus your own investment account. DRS's example: 23 years with a $5,400 monthly AFC pays $2,484 a month in Plans 1 and 2, and $1,242 in Plan 3. Plan 1 is capped at 60% of AFC.
When can I retire with a full pension?
Plan 1: at any age with 30 years, at 55 with 25 years, or at 60 with 5 years. Plans 2 and 3: at 65. If you were first hired before May 1, 2013 and have 30 years, Plans 2 and 3 also pay in full from 62.
How much does retiring early cost?
Plan 1 has no early reduction. Plans 2 and 3 can start at 55 (Plan 2 with 20 years, Plan 3 with 10). With fewer than 30 years, an actuarial factor applies: at exactly 55 you keep 40.92% of the full amount (2026 table). With 30 or more years it's much smaller: the 2008 factor takes 20% off at 55 and nothing from 62, or 5% a year before 65 if you were first hired on or after May 1, 2013.
Do Washington TRS retirees get a COLA?
Plans 2 and 3: yes, each July once you've been retired a full year, following Seattle-area prices up to 3% a year. Plan 1: only if you choose the Optional COLA when you apply, which lowers your starting pension.
What about the Plan 3 investment account?
It's the part of Plan 3 you pay into. Its value depends on your contributions and investment returns, so this calculator doesn't estimate it. Your DRS account shows the balance.
Does Washington TRS have a DROP?
No. We found no DROP-style program in DRS's pages or the law. The closest features are Plan 1's Post-30-Year refund program and Plan 3 benefit indexing.
Is this the official Washington TRS calculator?
No. This is an unofficial estimate built from DRS's published rules and factors. It isn't affiliated with the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS). Your DRS online account has official estimates, and DRS decides your benefit.
Compare Washington with other states
- States where teachers don't get Social Security
- Teacher DROP plans by state: No. Washington TRS has no DROP.
- Teacher pension COLAs by state: Plans 2 and 3: automatic each July after a year retired, following Seattle-area inflation, up to 3%. Plan 1: only if you chose it.
- State taxes on teacher pensions, by state: Washington law exempts TRS pensions from any state or local tax.
- Teacher pension multipliers by state: Plans 1 and 2: 2% a year. Plan 3: 1% plus an investment account. Average of best two years (Plan 1) or 60 months in a row (Plans 2, 3).
- Teacher retirement age by state: Plan 1: 30 years at any age, 55 with 25, or 60 with 5. Plans 2 and 3: age 65 (5 to 10 years to qualify).
Plain-English guides
How your pension works
Plan 1, 2 or 3?One date decides most of it. The three plans side by side, and one teacher's pension in each.→The pension formula2% (Plans 1 and 2) or 1% (Plan 3) × years × AFC, the 60% cap, and DRS's examples.→Early retirement factorsActuarial, 2008, 3% or 5%: which one is yours, with tables in dollars by age.→The Plan 3 investment accountRate options A-F, when you can withdraw, and the taxes. In words; we don't estimate it.→Buying service credit1-60 months at retirement, what it adds and costs with DRS's factors, plus military and out-of-state.→Washington TRS glossaryPlain-English definitions of the Washington TRS terms you'll run into.→
Planning your exit
Leaving teaching: withdraw or keep the pension?Vesting, Plan 1 and 2 refunds, the Plan 3 account, and Plan 3 indexing.→Taxes on your Washington TRS pensionFederal tax and withholding, the state-law exemption, and early withdrawal tax.→Social SecurityWhat our DRS sources say (very little), and how to check your own record.→
After you retire
Working after retirementThe 30-day wait, 867 hours, the school district exception, and the first-month cut.→COLA: up to 3% a yearPlans 2 and 3 automatic with banking; Plan 1's Optional COLA; the July 2026 table.→Health insurance in retirementPEBB through the Health Care Authority, the 60-day deadline, and delaying your pension.→Death and survivor benefitsWhat your family receives before and after you retire.→
More calculators
Some states have a DROP program. Washington TRS doesn't. To plan your last years of work, see One more year? DRS's own example, 23 years at a $5,400 AFC, pays $2,484 a month in Plan 2.
Source: DRS plan pages for Washington TRS Plan 1, Plan 2 and Plan 3 (the DRS member handbook is now published as these web pages), retrieved Nov. 11, 2026, DRS plan pages (Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 3); DRS COLA page; TRS23RAPP (11/2022) pp. 6, 14; TRS1RAPP (11/2022) p. 3; DRS administrative factors 2026; RCW 41.32.010, 41.32.470, 41.32.480, 41.32.498, 41.32.530, 41.32.760, 41.32.765, 41.32.770, 41.32.817, 41.32.835, 41.32.840, 41.32.845, 41.32.875; WAC 415-02-320. Last reviewed .