{"id":268,"date":"2016-04-18T20:47:45","date_gmt":"2016-04-19T03:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/?page_id=268"},"modified":"2026-07-16T03:12:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:12:58","slug":"pers-2-preparing-to-retire","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/retirement-plans\/nearing-retirement\/pers-2-preparing-to-retire\/","title":{"rendered":"PERS 2: Preparing to retire"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/retirement-plans\/nearing-retirement\/pers-2-preparing-to-retire\/#When-can-I-retire\" >When can I retire?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/retirement-plans\/nearing-retirement\/pers-2-preparing-to-retire\/#Plan-as-you-near-retirement\" >Plan as you near retirement<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/retirement-plans\/nearing-retirement\/pers-2-preparing-to-retire\/#Retirement-Savings-Education-Resources\" >Retirement Savings Education &amp; Resources<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>You\u2019ve worked, you\u2019ve saved, and you\u2019ve envisioned your life in the years to come. Now as you near retirement, it\u2019s time to make a plan for ending your service here at UW.\u00a0The more you plan the smoother your transition will go &#8212; you may even realize you can retire sooner than you thought.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a member of the Public Employees\u2019 Retirement System (PERS) 2 retirement plan, start with the resources here to begin planning your retirement from UW. You can find comprehensive information about the plan in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drs.wa.gov\/plan\/pers2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PERS Plan 2 Handbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When-can-I-retire\"><\/span>When can I retire?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You can retire if you are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Age 65 and have 5 or more years of service credits<\/li>\n<li>Age 62 and have 30 or more years of service credits<\/li>\n<li>Age 55 and have 20 or more years of service credits (this will reduce your monthly benefit)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) provides comprehensive information for those <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/756560028\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">thinking about retiring early<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Plan-as-you-near-retirement\"><\/span>Plan as you near retirement<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s lots to consider as you approach retirement. Among other things, you\u2019ll need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Set a target date<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drs.wa.gov\/calculators\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Estimate your retirement benefit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/retirement-plans\/nearing-retirement\/workshops-prepare-to-retire-from-uw\/\">Attend a UW retirement workshop<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Complete the <a href=\"https:\/\/uw.service-now.com\/uwc.do?sysparm_direct=true#\/catalog_order\/b1557dc90f6a7e006cad419ce1050e73\">UW Retirement Application<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Consider increasing your benefit by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drs.wa.gov\/calculators\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">purchasing additional service credit<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Plan for health <a href=\"http:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/retirement-and-savings\/nearing-retirement\/insurance-during-retirement\/\">insurance during retirement<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Determine the impact taxes have on your income<\/li>\n<li>Estimate your Social Security using their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/retire\/estimator.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">retirement estimator<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For help planning, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drs.wa.gov\/life\/retire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DRS web resources for those nearing retirement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a good idea to create your own retirement planning calendar. It\u2019ll help you keep track of your plan and avoid missing any steps. Starting two years before your target date, begin using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drs.wa.gov\/retirement-planning\/checklist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DRS retirement planning checklist<\/a>. Also, during your last year of work, use the <a href=\"https:\/\/uwnetid.sharepoint.com\/sites\/uwhr_web_document_library\/Shared Documents\/hr-retirement-checklist-2026-a11y.pdf\">Investment Policy Statement (PDF)<\/a> as your career here comes to an end.<\/p>\n<p>For in-person guidance, the UW Benefits office organizes <a href=\"http:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/retirement-and-savings\/nearing-retirement\/workshops-prepare-to-retire-from-uw\/\">workshops to help you prepare for retiring<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Retirement-Savings-Education-Resources\"><\/span>Retirement Savings Education &amp; Resources<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) offers a wide range of resources to help you understand your retirement plan and meet your retirement savings goals. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drs.wa.gov\/webinars\/#getting-ready-for-retirement\">DRS Education<\/a> to find webinars, seminars, calculators and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For PERS 2 members, learn when you&#8217;re eligible to retire and how to begin making a plan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"parent":254,"menu_order":40,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"class_list":["post-268","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-retirement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10390,"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/268\/revisions\/10390"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}