This bill amends existing law (RCW 41.32.4992 and RCW 41.40.1987) to provide specified percentage increases, subject to dollar caps, to monthly benefits for plan 1 beneficiaries of the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) and the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS). It does not create a new crime or change penalties; it is a benefits adjustment to existing retirement statutes. The schedule of increases is tied to whether a beneficiary was receiving a monthly benefit on certain July 1 dates and applies on the listed effective dates: beneficiaries receiving a monthly benefit on July 1, 2017 receive a 1.5% increase effective July 1, 2018 (cap $62.50); those receiving on July 1, 2019 receive a 3% increase effective July 1, 2020 (cap $62.50); those receiving on July 1, 2021 receive a 3% increase effective July 1, 2022 (cap $110.00); those receiving on July 1, 2022 receive a 3% increase effective July 1, 2023 (cap $110.00); those receiving on July 1, 2023 receive a 3% increase effective July 1, 2024 (cap $110.00); and those receiving on July 1, 2025 receive a 3% increase effective July 1, 2026 (cap $110.00). The amendments explicitly exclude application to persons receiving benefits under RCW 41.32.489 or 41.32.540 for TRS and RCW 41.40.1984 for PERS. The act is identified as Substitute Senate Bill 5862, was read in the Senate on February 9, 2026, passed the Senate on February 13, 2026, and passed the House on March 6, 2026, and the act’s effective date is July 1, 2026. The text provided does not define key terms such as "beneficiary," "monthly benefit," or "plan 1," does not give the contents of the referenced exclusion statutes, and includes no fiscal or administrative implementation details or a final filing/approval date.

If enacted, teachers’ retirement system (TRS) plan 1 and public employees’ retirement system (PERS) plan 1 members who were receiving monthly benefits on the specified July 1 dates will see modest, scheduled percentage increases to their monthly checks on the corresponding effective dates, but each increase is limited by a small dollar cap. Certain beneficiaries paid under the cited exclusion statutes will not get these increases. The act becomes effective July 1, 2026. The practical impact falls mainly on TRS and PERS plan 1 retirees (or their survivors) who qualify by the listed dates, who will likely receive slightly higher monthly payments, and on the retirement systems that must implement and pay those increases, which will raise benefit outflows. Important details are missing from the text provided: it does not define who exactly qualifies as a beneficiary for these adjustments, it does not explain the excluded statutes’ contents, and it contains no fiscal or administrative information about where the additional payments will be funded or whether any past-due amounts are owed.