Short answer: in Plans 2 and 3, yes: each July after your first full year of retirement your pension rises with Seattle-area prices, up to 3% a year, and any inflation above that is banked. Plan 1 pensions rise only if you chose the Optional COLA, which lowers your starting check (see payment options). Not sure of your plan? Which plan am I? See also survivor benefits, or estimate your starting pension.
Plans 2 and 3: automatic
On July 1 of every year after your first full year of retirement, your monthly benefit is adjusted by the change in the Seattle-area CPI, up to 3% a year. If inflation is above 3%, the excess is banked for future years. DRS COLA page, When will I receive a COLA? / How much will the COLA be? / COLA banking; DRS TRS23RAPP 11/2022, p. 14, Glossary (Cost-of-Living Adjustment); RCW 41.32.770, 41.32.845
The July 1, 2026 COLA
| You retired | COLA |
|---|---|
| July 2, 2025 - July 1, 2026 | 0% |
| January 1, 2025 - July 1, 2025 | 2.55% |
| Before January 1, 2025 | 3% |
In dollars: DRS's $2,484 pension, retiring July 1, 2026
| July 1 | Prices +3% a year | Prices vary | COLA paid | Banked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $2,484 | $2,484 | — | — |
| 2027 | $2,559 | $2,559 | 3% prices 4.5% | 1.5% |
| 2028 | $2,635 | $2,635 | 3% prices 4% | 2.5% |
| 2029 | $2,714 | $2,714 | 3% prices 1.5% | 1% |
| 2030 | $2,796 | $2,796 | 3% prices 2% | 0% |
| 2031 | $2,880 | $2,866 | 2.5% prices 2.5% | 0% |
The "prices vary" column is made-up inflation to show banking: years above 3% bank the extra, which is paid out in later years below 3%.
DRS pages don't say whether a Plan 2 or 3 COLA can be negative when prices fall. The law never lets your benefit fall below its starting amount.
What we use: the COLA can go down when prices fall, but never below your starting benefit.
Plan 1: the Optional COLA
Plan 1 has a COLA only if you choose the Optional COLA when you apply. It reduces your initial benefit (by an age-based factor from the State Actuary) and then adjusts the benefit each July, after you have been retired one full year, by the Seattle-area CPI-W, up to 3% up or down, never below your initial benefit. Excess over 3% is banked. Continues to your survivor. DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, Plan 1 optional COLA; DRS TRS1RAPP 11/2022, p. 3, Optional Cost-of-Living Adjustment; DRS Administrative Factors workbook 2026, sheet Appx F (Plan1 Opt COLA); RCW 41.32.530(1)(d)
The Plan 1 Optional COLA lowers your starting check by an age-based factor. The sources don't say exactly which amount the factor applies to.
What we use: the factor times the option you pick.
DRS's Optional COLA examples
- $1,500 x 0.44% (July 1, 2010 COLA) = $6.60; new monthly benefit $1,506.60. DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, How is the optional COLA increase calculated?
- Initial $1,500; +1% -> $1,515; next year CPI -2% but COLA only -1% because the benefit cannot fall below $1,500. DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, If the CPI rate is negative, will my benefit be reduced?
- Year one CPI 6.48%: 3% paid, 3.48% banked; year two CPI -0.27%: 3% paid, 0.21% banked. Retiree from August of year one: July year two not eligible (6.48% banked), July year three 3% paid, 3.21% banked. DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, What is COLA banking?
- An August 2019 retiree had only 11 months retired by July 2020, so the first optional COLA was July 2021. DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, Why is my first optional COLA delayed by two calendar years?
Other Plan 1 increases
- Qualifying Plan 1 retirees get an annual adjusted minimum benefit if they have at least 25 years of service and have been retired at least 20 years, or at least 20 years of service and retired at least 25 years, and their pension is below the current minimum (2022 minimum: $2,138). DRS COLA page, Other PERS and Washington TRS Plan 1 COLA provisions; RCW 41.32.4851
- Legislation approved in 2026 gives eligible PERS 1 and Washington TRS 1 retirees a one-time, permanent 3% increase beginning July 2026. DRS COLA page, Will PERS 1 and Washington TRS 1 receive a benefit increase this year?
- Only retirees who chose this COLA in 1995 are eligible. Annual increase amounts stopped after June 30, 2011 except for minimum-benefit recipients. DRS COLA page, Age 65 COLA; RCW 41.32.489(1), 41.32.483(3)
A 2026 law gives eligible Plan 1 retirees a one-time, permanent 3% increase from July 2026. Who is eligible is in a DRS news article we don't have.
What we use: nothing; the calculator doesn't add this increase.
What the sources say
- Plans 2 and 3 get an automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each July once you've been retired a full year. It follows the Seattle-area consumer price index, up to 3% a year, and inflation above 3% is banked for later years.DRS COLA page, When will I receive a COLA? / How much will the COLA be?; RCW 41.32.770
- July 1, 2026 COLA for Plans 2 and 3: 3% if you retired before 2025, 2.55% if you retired Jan. 1 - July 1, 2025, and none if you retired later.DRS COLA page, COLA percentages for most DRS plans (effective July 1, 2026)
- Plan 1 has a COLA only if you choose the Optional COLA when you apply. It lowers your starting benefit, then adjusts the benefit each July by the change in prices, up to 3% up or down. Your benefit never drops below the starting amount.DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, Plan 1 optional COLA; DRS TRS1RAPP 11/2022, p. 3
- Check with DRSSome Plan 1 retirees with long service and long retirements get an adjusted minimum benefit. A 2026 law gives eligible Plan 1 retirees a one-time, permanent 3% increase starting July 2026.DRS COLA page, Will PERS 1 and Washington TRS 1 receive a benefit increase this year? / Other PERS and Washington TRS Plan 1 COLA provisionsEligibility for the 2026 increase is in a DRS news article that wasn't saved.
Questions
When is my first COLA?
Plans 2 and 3: the first July 1 after you've been retired a full year. Retire July 1, 2026 and your first COLA is July 1, 2027; retire Aug. 1, 2026 and it's July 1, 2028.
How big is it?
The change in Seattle-area consumer prices (CPI-W), up to 3% a year. Inflation above 3% is banked and paid in later years when inflation is lower.
Does Plan 1 get a COLA?
Not automatically. Plan 1 members can choose the Optional COLA when they apply. It lowers the starting pension, then adjusts it each July with prices, up to 3% up or down, never below the starting amount.
What was the July 2026 COLA?
For Plans 2 and 3: 3% if you retired before 2025, 2.55% if you retired Jan. 1 - July 1, 2025, and none if you retired later.
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 page (Plan 1); DRS COLA page; TRS23RAPP (11/2022) p. 14; TRS1RAPP (11/2022) p. 3; DRS administrative factors 2026; RCW 41.32.483, 41.32.489, 41.32.530, 41.32.770, 41.32.845, 41.32.4851. Last reviewed .