Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Washington State Patrol Retirement System (WSPRS) retirees who have been retired at least one year by July 1 get an automatic COLA each July, starting with the end of July payment. It follows the Seattle-area CPI and is capped at 3%, with inflation above 3% banked. The latest table gives 3.00% for those retired before January 1, 2025, 2.55% for January 1, 2025 to July 1, 2025, and 0.00% for July 2, 2025 to July 1, 2026. The 2027 table is not published.
The rule in the statute
RCW 43.43.260 reads: “The value of the ratio obtained shall be the annual adjustment to the original retirement allowance and shall be applied beginning with the July payment.” “In no event, however, shall the annual adjustment: (i) Produce a retirement allowance which is lower than the original retirement allowance; (ii) Exceed three percent in the initial annual adjustment; or (iii) Differ from the previous year’s annual adjustment by more than three percent.” On the index, the statute says it “means, for any calendar year, that year’s average consumer price index for the Seattle, Washington area for urban wage earners and clerical workers, all items”.
How DRS describes it
The DRS COLA page says: “You need to have been retired for at least one year by July 1. Once you are eligible, you will receive any COLA starting with the pension payment issued at the end of July, and every year after.” On the cap it says: “The maximum annual COLA you can receive for most DRS plans is 3%. If inflation that year is above 3%, the additional amount is applied to future adjustments (this is called COLA banking).” It names the plans covered: “The following table includes COLA percentages that apply to most DRS plans. This includes: PERS Plans 2 and 3, SERS Plans 2 and 3, TRS Plans 2 and 3, LEOFF Plan 2, WSPRS Plans 1 and 2 and PSERS Plan 2.”
The latest table
The DRS table reads: “July 2, 2025-July 1, 2026 0.00% January 1, 2025-July 1, 2025 2.55% Prior to January 1, 2025 3.00%”. The Office of the State Actuary role is stated in the rule: “The office of the state actuary (OSA) bases the percentages of the COLAs on the Consumer Price Index.”
What the documents do not say
The DRS page labels the table as effective July 1, 2026 but does not name the report that set it.
Where 2027 stands
The 2027 WSPRS COLA is not published: the DRS page shows only the 2026 table, and the 2026 average index must exist before the percentages can be calculated.
Common mistakes
- Expecting the 3% cap to apply to everyone. The 0.00% row shows a recent retiree can get nothing in a year.
- Looking for the COLA in the first year of retirement. You need to have been retired at least one year by July 1.
- Assuming inflation above 3% is lost. The DRS page says the excess is banked for later adjustments.
Related: Washington State Patrol Retirement System retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Washington taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 43.43.260 Benefits, military service credit: app.leg.wa.gov
- Washington Department of Retirement Systems, COLA: Cost of Living Adjustment: www.drs.wa.gov
- Washington State Legislature (DRS rule), WAC 415-02-350 What are cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) and how are they calculated?: app.leg.wa.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 411, Pensions: the General Rule and the Simplified Method: www.irs.gov
Read from the primary documents linked above on October 30, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.