Plan for Retirement

New employees of the City of Seattle are automatically enrolled as members of Seattle City Employees' Retirement System (SCERS), unless they are exempt employees or temporary employees.

Existing members hired and enrolled before January 1, 2017 will continue in SCERS Plan 1.  New members with a hire date of January 1, 2017 or later will be enrolled in SCERS Plan 2 unless they have service time eligible for redeposit in SCERS 1.

Exempt employees have the option to become members immediately.  To become a member, exempt employees must complete and submit the Membership Application for Exempt Employees.

If you join and your eligibility date is on or after January 1, 2017, you will be enrolled in SCERS Plan 2.  If you join and your eligibility date is before January 1, 2017, you will be enrolled in SCERS Plan 1.  You will then have the option to switch to SCERS Plan 2 within sixty (60) days.  If you switch to SCERS Plan 2, you give up the right to buy retirement service credit earned before joining SCERS.

Temporary employees may become members after working 1,044 hours. Contact us to review your eligibility and join the system.

Returning employees:

If you leave City employment and then return in a permanent, non-exempt position, your membership in Seattle City Employees' Retirement System will automatically be reinstated. If you withdrew your contributions to the retirement plan, you have the option to redeposit those funds and buy back service time.

If you leave City employment and are rehired in an exempt position your membership will only be automatically reinstated if you were previously a member and you did not withdraw your contributions. If you withdrew your contributions, you have the option to redeposit those funds and buy back service time.  Contact us to re-join the system.

If you leave employment with the City and are rehired in a temporary position, your membership in Seattle City Employees' Retirement System is automatically reinstated if you were previously a member and did not withdraw your contributions. If you withdrew your contributions, you would be eligible to rejoin Seattle City Employees' Retirement System after working at least 1,044 hours. You also have the option to buy back previous service time.

If you are redepositing funds you previously withdrew, you can cover some or all of the cost with a rollover from another retirement account.  Inform us in writing using the Rollover Request to Purchase Service Credit form. 

After January 1, 2017, former SCERS Plan 1 members who withdrew their contributions, returned to City employment, and are eligible to redeposit will be re-enrolled in SCERS 1 with the option to switch to SCERS Plan 2 within sixty (60) days.  Members who make the permanent election to switch will give up the right to redeposit retirement service credit earned in SCERS Plan 1.

Seattle City Employees' Retirement System offers various workshops to help members prepare for retirement.  Workshops include Planning for Retirement, Social Security, and Financial Planning.

Workshops will be held virtually unless otherwise noted. Check the calendar for upcoming dates/locations and to sign up.  View the recorded Planning for Retirement presentation.

Seattle Department of Human Resources (SDHR) and Deferred Compensation also offer various workshops.  Topics include: Deferred Compensation, Social Security, and Health Plan Options for Retiring Employees.  Their seminars and webinar dates are posted throughout the year on their Benefits Calendar.  Check the calendar for upcoming dates/locations and if enrollment is necessary.

Under certain conditions, the Seattle City Employees' Retirement System allows members to buy back service credit for unpaid leave. These purchases, called "buy backs," can occur in a variety of instances. Review this list to see if any may apply to you. If you think you may be eligible to buy back time, contact us to review your options. If you are eligible, we can prepare an estimate of what it would cost to buy back the service time.

• Initial six months of employment. This applies to exempt employees who were hired at a time when they could not join the Retirement System until after their first six months of employment.
• Temporary employment. Employees who worked as a temporary employee before being hired as a regular employee may, in some cases, be able to buy back service time for the time worked in the temporary position after they were eligible to join the system.
• Exempt employees. Exempt employees who did not enroll in the Retirement System right away can buy back the service time they missed.
• Medical leave or injury time lost. In some cases, you can buy back time missed due to medical leave or injury.
• Military service time. You may be able to buy back some military leave before or during City employment as service time..
• Redeposit of withdrawn funds. If you left City employment, withdrew your contributions, and have now rejoined the City, you may be able to redeposit your contributions.
• Portability redeposit. If you withdrew contributions from another Washington state public system, you may be able to redeposit your contributions with the Seattle City Employees' Retirement System.

Some types of buy back purchases can only be made at the time of retirement or separation from the City, while others can be made at any time, and others are only available during specific time windows. 

More information is in Seattle Municipal Code 4.36.567.

Some buy backs require you to pay the actuarial cost of the benefits. The actuarial cost is the current value of the benefits that you will receive from the purchased time. In other words, you must pay the difference between the benefits you would have received without purchasing service time and those you will receive after doing so. 

Retirement specialists can help you understand your options. You can apply for a buy back by submitting a Service Credit Purchase Request form.