Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: A Washington State Patrol Retirement System (WSPRS) pension is 2% of Average Final Salary for each year of service credit, capped at 75% of that salary. Plan 1 averages the highest 24 months and Plan 2 the highest 60. Active members can retire at any age with 25 years or at 55 with any service. Plan 1 members choose Option A or Option B at retirement, with a spouse’s cosignature, and the choice is hard to change. Withdrawing contributions after leaving forfeits the pension, and 20% of a taxable payment to the member is withheld.
More on public pension COLAs for 2027: the Washington State Patrol COLA for 2027 and the 3% capped CPI rule.
What this page covers and what it does not
This page covers the Washington State Patrol Retirement System (WSPRS), administered by the Washington Department of Retirement Systems (DRS). The state’s annual report says “WSPRS is a single-employer retirement system composed of two pension plans, and membership includes only commissioned employees of the Washington State Patrol”. Plan 1 is for members “commissioned before January 1, 2003”, Plan 2 for members “commissioned on or after January 1, 2003”, and the report says “PERS Plan 1, TRS Plan 1, LEOFF Plan 1, WSPRS Plan 1, JRS and JRF are closed to new entrants” (Plan 1 is among them). Both plan pages print an employee contribution rate of 8.75%.
No stand-alone WSPRS handbook was among the documents read. The sources are the Plan 1 and Plan 2 plan pages (undated web pages read on October 30, 2026), three other DRS pages, the withdrawal form (edition 10/2026) and DRS’s annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026. The Plan 1 page is the fuller one. WSPRS is separate from the general public employees’ plans on Washington DRS retirement decisions and from the local police and fire plans on Washington LEOFF retirement decisions.
On size, the annual report prints the active member counts separately as of June 30, 2026: 88 active members in Plan 1 and 890 in Plan 2 (it says “Active plan members include both vested and non-vested members”). A computed sum of the two printed figures is 978. The same table prints 1,407 Plan 1 members and 18 Plan 2 members as receiving benefits.
When a pension can start
The plan pages give the same rules for both plans. An active member can retire with a full benefit at “Any age with at least 25 service credit years” or at “Age 55 or older with any amount of service credit”. An inactive member (one who has left) faces a different test: full benefit at age 60 with 5 or more years of service, or a reduced benefit as early as 55, which the page says reflects receiving it “over a longer period of time”.
| Status | Requirement | What the plan pages say it pays |
|---|---|---|
| Active member | Any age with 25 service credit years, or age 55 or older with any service | Full benefit |
| Inactive member | Age 60 with 5 or more years of service | Full benefit |
| Inactive member | Age 55 with 5 or more years of service | 61% of the full benefit |
| Inactive member | Age 56, 57, 58 or 59 | 67.2%, 74%, 81.7% or 90.3% of the full benefit |
A computed example from an assumed $3,000 monthly full benefit, not a WSPRS figure: an inactive member who retires at 55 receives 61% of it, a computed $1,830 a month. Vesting is separate. The annual report says “Active WSPRS Plan 1 and Plan 2 members do not have to meet a vesting requirement” and “Inactive WSPRS members are vested after the completion of five years of eligible service”. Unless the member is chief of the State Patrol, retirement is required by “the first of the month following the month you turn 65”.
How the pension is figured
Both plans print “2% x service credit years x Average Final Salary = monthly benefit”, and the Plan 1 page says “Your benefit can be no higher than 75% of your AFS”. Plan 1 averages “24 consecutive highest earning months” and Plan 2 averages “60 consecutive highest earning months”. A month of service credit requires pay for “70 or more hours of work” in the calendar month.
A computed example from assumed inputs, not a WSPRS figure: 2% times 20 service credit years times an assumed $6,000 Average Final Salary is a computed $2,400 a month. With an assumed 38 service credit years the formula alone would give a computed $4,560 a month, but 75% of the same $6,000 is a computed $4,500, and the cap is the stated ceiling. The plan pages print their own examples, “2% x 28 x $7,200 = $4,032” on the Plan 1 page and “2% x 25 x $6,500 = $3,250” on the Plan 2 page.
Option A or Option B: the survivor election
The Plan 1 page says “When you apply for retirement, you will choose between two benefit options”. The annual report adds that “WSPRS retirement benefits are actuarially reduced to reflect the choice of a survivor benefit”.
| Option | What the member receives | What a surviving spouse or partner receives |
|---|---|---|
| Option A | A monthly benefit for the member’s lifetime | The lesser of the member’s retirement benefit or 50% of the member’s Average Final Salary at retirement |
| Option B | A benefit lower than the Option A amount (the pages read do not state by how much) | The monthly benefit the member was receiving at death |
For Option A the page says the survivor receives “either a monthly benefit equal to your retirement benefit or a benefit equal to 50% of your AFS at the time of your retirement, whichever is less”. For Option B it says “You receive a benefit that is lower than the Option A benefit amount”.
A computed example from assumed inputs, not a WSPRS figure: take a member retiring with an assumed $4,032 monthly benefit and an assumed $7,200 Average Final Salary. Fifty percent of $7,200 is a computed $3,600, which is less than $4,032, so the Option A survivor would receive $3,600 a month. Under Option B the survivor would receive the full $4,032, while the member’s own check would be smaller than under Option A by an amount the pages do not state. The general trade-off is covered at single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension.
What is irrevocable and who must sign
The Plan 1 page warns that “Once you retire, you can change your option in only limited, specific circumstances, so choose carefully”. On the spouse’s role it says “If you are married or in a registered domestic partnership, the law requires that your spouse or partner consent to your benefit option choice by cosigning your retirement application”. See spousal consent to waive a joint and survivor annuity.
A survivor is not a beneficiary. The page says “You can only name one survivor, and this choice is usually permanent”. After retirement, “If you marry after retirement, you could be eligible to change your benefit option to add your spouse”, and the page adds “You need to be married at least a year and request DRS add your spouse during your second year of marriage”. On a survivor who dies first, the federal limits section says “If your survivor beneficiary dies before you do, your benefit increases as if you hadn’t chosen a survivor option” (another DRS page excludes WSPRS Plan 1 from a similar provision; see where the sources disagree below). Divorce is separate: “Upon divorce or separation, your monthly benefit is not subject to sharing or division unless it is court-ordered”.
The pages read state no deadline for choosing an option beyond the retirement application itself.
Lump sums and DROP: what the documents describe
The pages read describe no lump sum at retirement, no partial lump sum and no deferred retirement option plan (DROP) for WSPRS. They describe a monthly pension for life, plus two optional purchases at retirement (below). The only lump sums are the withdrawal of a member’s own contributions after leaving, and the payout when a member dies before retiring. The general framing is at pension refund versus leaving it.
Leaving before retirement: withdraw or leave the money
The Plan 1 page lists the paths after separation: “If you separate from WSPRS employment, you can either withdraw your funds, retire if you meet eligibility requirements or leave your funds in the plan if you are vested for a future retirement”. It adds that “Separating from WSPRS -covered employment is the only circumstance where you can withdraw your contributions”, and “Doing so cancels any rights and benefit you have accrued in WSPRS”.
| Choice | What the documents say happens to the money | What it does to the pension |
|---|---|---|
| Leave it in the plan | A vested member is entitled to a monthly pension for life once qualified, and the account keeps earning interest (the rate is not stated in the pages read) | Pension rights stay intact |
| Withdraw | The member’s own contributions and interest, paid directly or rolled over; employer and state contributions are not paid out | Service credit goes to zero and the pension is forfeited |
The DRS leaving-employment page says “If you withdraw your funds, you’re required to withdraw the entire amount and you become ineligible to receive a retirement benefit”. The withdrawal form says “If you have 5 or more years of service credit in your plan, you qualify for a lifetime monthly pension benefit when you retire” and “Withdrawing your contributions will forfeit this benefit”. On the money that stays behind, the form says “Employer and state contributions are not eligible for withdrawal”. Small accounts follow their own rule: “If you are inactive and non-vested with a balance of less than $1,000, DRS is required to close your account and return the funds to you”. See pension refund versus leaving it for the trade-off.
How a withdrawal is paid, taxed and rolled over
To withdraw, the form requires that the member be “separated from service” and that the form be “complete and notarized”. It adds that “Withdrawals can take up to 90 days from the date your employment ends”. The form offers “Option 1, Direct Payment: Pay my contributions and interest directly to me”; “Option 2, Tax-Deferred Rollover: Roll over all or part of my tax-deferred contributions and interest to a qualified retirement account”; or a partial rollover.
On tax, the DRS leaving-employment page says “The law requires DRS withhold 20% federal income tax on all tax-deferred contributions and interest paid directly to you”. It adds that “If you’re younger than age 59½, you might also have to pay an additional 10% for withdrawing early when you file your taxes”, and that “Taxes aren’t withheld on qualified rollovers”. A computed example from an assumed $10,000 taxable withdrawal paid to the member, not a WSPRS figure: 20% of $10,000 is a computed $2,000 withheld, leaving a computed $8,000 in cash before any further tax. See 20% withholding on a pension lump sum.
The Plan 1 page says “You can roll out your pension account contributions, DCP and Plan 3 investment balances at any time once you separate from service”. For cash taken first, “If you make a cash withdrawal, you’ll have 60 days from the date you receive payment to deposit the funds into a traditional IRA or another eligible plan that accepts rollovers”. The form warns that “If the institution rejects the rollover, your payment will be issued directly to you, with applicable tax withholding”.
Restoring withdrawn service credit and buying more
A member who withdrew and later returns can restore the credit only by meeting this condition: “you must repay the total amount of the contributions you withdrew plus interest within five years of returning to work or before you retire, whichever comes first”. The page does not print the interest rate used, and the cost can only be had from DRS.
Two optional purchases are made at retirement. For the service credit annuity, “You can purchase between one and 60 months of service credit in whole months”, and “This additional service credit is available at the time of your retirement only”. “The increase to your benefit is calculated using the same formula as your retirement benefit”. For the cost, the page points to the online account and says “Here you can find the estimated cost and income increase per month you purchase”. The pages read do not print a price per month. The plan annuity has this limit: “Minimum: $25,000; There is no maximum”.
Survivor treatment follows the option chosen: “if you select survivor Option A, your service credit annuity does not continue to your survivor after your death”, and “The annuity will be paid to your survivor ONLY if you select Option B”. On cancelling, the Plan 1 page says “Annuities are fixed income sources”, that “If you have not completed the annuity purchase, you can still change or cancel the annuity”, and that “Once you make the purchase, you’ll have 15 days to cancel the transaction”.
Cost of living adjustments
The DRS COLA page says “The following table includes COLA percentages that apply to most DRS plans”, and its list of those plans names “WSPRS Plans 1 and 2”. It says “You need to have been retired for at least one year by July 1”, and “You don’t need to apply to receive the COLA”. On the cap: “The maximum annual COLA you can receive for most DRS plans is 3%”.
| Retirement date | COLA effective July 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Before January 1, 2025 | 3.00% |
| January 1, 2025 to July 1, 2025 | 2.55% |
| July 2, 2025 to July 1, 2026 | 0.00% |
If a member dies, and what a beneficiary gets
Before retirement, the DRS death page says “If a member passes before separating from their Washington public service position, their contribution balance plus interest will be paid out to their beneficiaries”. It adds that “if they worked for at least ten years, a surviving spouse or partner could have the option to inherit the account as pension payments”. Without a named beneficiary, the Plan 1 page says “If you don’t name a beneficiary, any benefits due will be paid to your surviving spouse or minor child”. Among the benefits it lists for WSPRS is “a one-time duty-related death benefit, if the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries finds the member eligible”. After retirement, the death page says “If the retiree chose a survivor benefit, we must update the account for payments to continue”, and “If the retiree did not select a survivor option, we need to stop monthly benefits to avoid an overpayment”.
What the IRS adds on tax
A refund or lump sum from a public pension is a distribution, so the IRS rules apply on top of WSPRS’s own. On withholding, the IRS says that a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you “is subject to mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%), even if you intend to roll it over later”, and that if you roll it over yourself “you’ll have to add funds from other sources equal to the amount withheld”. The DRS leaving-employment page and the withdrawal form describe the same 20% withholding on a direct payment, and the form offers a direct rollover as the alternative. The rollover clock, if the money is paid to you: “you have 60 days from the date you receive it to roll it over to another eligible retirement plan”.
On early distributions the IRS says “the law imposes a 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from certain retirement plans”. Its list of exceptions includes “Distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55” and “Distributions made to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan”. Whether an exception fits a particular refund depends on your own plan and facts, so confirm it with a tax preparer before you take one.
Where the sources disagree
First, a widowed retiree. The Plan 1 page says “If you become widowed after retiring, you can have your benefit option changed to the single-life option with no survivor reduction”. The DRS death page says “If your named survivor dies after you retire, you can have your pension benefit changed to the single-life option with no survivor reduction”, and then “This provision applies to all DRS plans except for LEOFF and WSPRS Plan 1”. Because the second page excludes Plan 1, a Plan 1 retiree whose spouse has died should ask DRS in writing which statement applies.
Second, disability. The Plan 1 page and the Plan 2 page say “Note that DRS is not involved in the WSPRS disability process”, and direct a member to “please contact your WSPRS employer’s HR or benefits office”. The withdrawal form says “If you ended employment due to illness or disability, contact DRS before withdrawing” and adds “You may be eligible for a disability retirement benefit”. A member who left work for health reasons should confirm with both DRS and the employer before withdrawing anything.
What this page could not settle
- The pages read do not state how much Option B reduces a member’s monthly benefit; the annual report says only that benefits are actuarially reduced for a survivor benefit.
- The Plan 2 page has a heading for survivor benefit options with no text under it, so the pages read do not describe Plan 2 survivor options or any post-retirement change for a Plan 2 member. The Plan 2 page names a survivor option only inside its annuity answers. The Option A and Option B text on this page comes from the Plan 1 page.
- The pages read do not describe a lump sum at retirement, a partial lump sum or a DROP for WSPRS.
- The pages read do not state the interest rate credited to an account left in the plan or paid on a withdrawal, or the rate charged to restore withdrawn service credit.
- The pages read do not print a cost per month for the service credit annuity or the plan annuity; DRS says to use its online account.
- The COLA page paragraph that explains COLA eligibility and banking names Plan 2, Plan 3, WSPRS Plan 1 and JRS, while the table list above it names WSPRS Plans 1 and 2. This page treats the table list as covering both plans, and a Plan 2 retiree should confirm that with DRS.
- The plan pages are undated web pages read on October 30, 2026, so DRS’s current wording should be confirmed before acting.
- Disability retirement, health insurance in retirement and military service credit were not examined in depth.
Common mistakes
- Choosing a survivor option without the spouse or partner signing; the Plan 1 page says the law requires the cosignature when the member is married or in a registered domestic partnership.
- Treating Option A and Option B as reversible; the page says an option can be changed only in limited, specific circumstances.
- Withdrawing contributions without weighing the pension; for a vested member the withdrawal form says it forfeits the pension and sets service to zero.
- Expecting the full withdrawal check; 20% of the taxable part is withheld on a payment made directly to the member.
Related on this site: Washington DRS retirement decisions, Washington LEOFF retirement decisions, pension refund versus leaving it, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, spousal consent to waive a joint and survivor annuity, 20% withholding on a pension lump sum and public pension retirement decisions by system.
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Answer againSources
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, WSPRS Plan 1 plan page (undated web page, read October 30, 2026): https://www.drs.wa.gov/plan/wsprs1/
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, WSPRS Plan 2 plan page (undated web page, read October 30, 2026): https://www.drs.wa.gov/plan/wsprs2/
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) page (percentages effective July 1, 2026): https://www.drs.wa.gov/life/retired/cola/
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, Leaving Employment page (undated web page, read October 30, 2026): https://www.drs.wa.gov/life/separation/
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, Plan 1 or Plan 2 Contribution Withdrawal form DRS MS 287 (10/2026): https://www.drs.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/drsms287.pdf
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, Report a Death page (undated web page, read October 30, 2026): https://www.drs.wa.gov/life/death/
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, fiscal year ended June 30, 2026: https://www.drs.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-ACFR-Document-102226.pdf
- IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
- IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 30, 2026. General information from each system’s own published materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own member statement and the system’s current rules decide your benefit, and a pension counsellor at the system or a fee-only adviser is the right place to confirm anything consequential.