Photos by Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Retired DSHS employee Troyce Warner (right) is assisted by retirement services analyst Emily Nichols on Thursday at the Department of Retirement Systems office in Tumwater.

Bob and Sandra Lemcke are in the process of planning for Sandra Lemcke's retirement from state employment.

Everything you always wanted to know about Retirement

Don't be afraid to ask -- the Department of Retirement Systems is there to help

BRAD SHANNON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Monday, February 25, 2002

OLYMPIA -- With her 62nd birthday around the corner, Sandra Lemcke has her eye on retirement. The big question in her mind last week was how to time her retirement for the best payout.

A quick visit with Terry Sammons at the Department of Retirement Systems' headquarters in Tumwater gave all the answers she and her retired husband, Bob, wanted. Sandra will leave her job supervising the mailroom at the Department of Ecology, but she'll hold off collecting benefits until age 65.

"We had some other questions to ask. I carried Bob on my (medical) insurance. We're trying to figure out the best way to do this," she said.

"We're just looking at damage control," said Bob Lemcke, who retired a few years ago from his job at Ecology.

About 350 to 500 people a month trot into the Department of Retirement Systems headquarters. Thousands more call or find answers to their questions over the Internet.

Customer-oriented

Sammons said the Lemckes' 15-minute counseling session was typical, made quicker by technology that lets retirement services analysts like her call up data instantly by computer. Unlike past years, when the Retirement Services department was divided among several buildings, workers can get everything they need in one stop.

And unlike years ago when files were all on paper, people can drop in off the street without making an appointment and still get a thorough look at the state-employment share of their retirement.

If someone like Sammons doesn't have the answer, the customer -- who is referred to as "a member" by agency staffers -- is referred right away to a staff expert or agency who does.

"The department is very customer-oriented," said Susi Sinclair, who leads the central reception operation at DRS's headquarters.

Visitors can drop in from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week, and business wraps up by 6 p.m. Other information is available by phone or Internet.

"Yesterday I had 48 members come in here. That was a very busy day. That was because it is spring break. Many were retiring teachers," Sinclair said.

The emphasis on customer service is almost second nature to Sinclair, who worked as a bartender until joining the state work force three years ago.

No matter who arrives at the door, the retirement agency strives to make good on a promise to refer the customer to a specialist within four minutes, Sinclair said. Callers who hit a voice message are supposed to be referred to a human within 30 seconds.

Give the right answer

Despite the emphasis on speed, the biggest sin in the agency is not to take too much time -- some consultations easily take an hour or 90 minutes -- but to give a wrong answer or bad information, said Sinclair.

Every case that comes up is unique. Retirement checks can range from as little as $50 per month for someone who spent only a few years in state employment to $6,000 or $7,000 a month, said Jack Bryan, an administrator for a couple of retirement plans.

Health and traffic education teacher Ron Gentry dropped in Thursday afternoon because he will retire soon from Auburn High School after a 31-year career. Gentry said he has anxiety about jumping into retirement, but he felt a lot more at ease after a 90-minute discussion with specialists Thursday afternoon.

"They make you feel comfortable," he said. "The estimates I've seen are very, very close. So I feel a whole lot better."

Recent news has highlighted such problems as the state's loss of about $100 million in investments because of the Enron crash, and state retirement investments overall have lost a few billion dollars in recent years because of the stock market downturn. Those events have triggered a few calls to the agency, but not many.

Overall, the health of state accounts is considered sound, and that's what Sinclair and others with the agency tell callers.

More recently, questions are being asked about the state's new Plan 3 retirement that will let some state workers split a portion of their state-funded retirement into a managed account, rather than put it all into a defined benefit plan. The agency has held seminars across the state to answer many questions.

Other state workers are asking about a law approved by the Legislature in 2001 that lets some highly regarded teachers retire, collect retirement checks and still return to the classroom for a full salary, according to teacher-retirement specialist Brian Kennedy.

No more paper trails

Kennedy said his work is easier than when he arrived at the agency 11 years ago, when paper files were the norm and state workers had to make an appointment a day in advance for complicated cases.

"You had a big paper file. ... You just had paper on top of paper on top of paper. Now that's a thing of the past," he said.

With computers and new databases, a worker's whole state-employment history is available in the snap of Kennedy's fingers.

Technology is helping in other divisions at Retirement Services, including the Deferred Compensation Program, where workers contribute an extra share of their pay into tax-sheltered accounts managed by the state.

A system installed in July 2000 lets state workers and retirees call in by phone or check the Internet for daily account balance information instead of relying on monthly status reports, said Anne Holdren, system administrator.

That kind of instant information isn't available yet for other divisions of Retirement Systems, but it's where the agency hopes to go, according to Lucille Christenson, agency assistant director.

As budget cuts loom for all state agencies, the 277-employee Department of Retirement Systems has been preparing by leaving positions open since the Sept. 11 attacks disrupted the economy, Christenson said.

Although they may have to squeeze their operations further, she said they'll do everything possible to retain their prompt responses for those who ask for assistance.

Retirement System facts

- The Department of Retirement Systems has 277 employees.

- The state's trust funds managed by the agency in June had a total value of $46 billion.

- Of the roughly 500,000 retirees and current public or state employees in the retirement system, about 7,000 retire each year.

- Retirement pay averages $404 for a Public Employees' Retirement System Plan 1 participant with five to 10 years of service, and increases to an average of $2,254 for someone with 26 to 30 years of service.

- Retirement pay averages $297 for a Teachers' Retire-ment System Plan 1 participant with five to 10 years of service, increasing to an average of $2,006 for someone with 26 to 30 years of service.

- The agency also manages the Deferred Compensation Program, which has 42,765 participants, and a dependent- care assistance program.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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