The following are service units that are part of the Division of Retirement and Benefits that can give help and advice to retirees and those who are planning to retire soon:
Pre-Retirement Services Unit
Assists members who have not yet retired. Provides general retirement plan information, calculates claimed service, corrects service, produces benefit estimates for those within 3-5 years of retirement.
preretirementservices@admin.state.ak.us
Retirement Processing Unit
Assists members who are in the process of retiring and commencing pension and health benefits. Calculates retirement benefits, enrolls retirees in the medical plans, reports eligibility to the Health Benefits section, issues first pension check.
preretirementservices@admin.state.ak.us
Retiree Services
Assists retired members and their survivors. Provides information on returning to work from retirement, determines eligibility for and calculates Alaska Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) payments, provides survivor benefit information and calculates survivor benefits for all plans administered by the Division of Retirement and Benefits.
retireeservices@admin.state.ak.us
survivorbenefits@admin.state.ak.us
Disability/Appeals Unit
Assists members, who are applying for disability, monitors continuing eligibility, processes and schedules appeals before the Public Employees' Retirement System Board.
mailto:disability@admin.state.ak.us
Divorce/Dissolution Unit
Assists members and/or their attorneys when there is either a pre-retirement or post-retirement divorce or dissolution. Provides information and assistance regarding the effect of divorce/dissolution and the requirements necessary to file a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).
Retiree Payroll Section
Assists members, who have received at least one retirement check, regarding late checks, missing checks, change of address, electronic deposit, tax withholding elections and 1099R reporting.
retireepayroll@admin.state.ak.us
Benefits Section
Assists members with questions
regarding the State of Alaska Retiree Medical Plan.
Retirement Counseling
Member's who are in the process of retiring should contact their regional counselor for an appointment, either in person or over the telephone.
When arranging for an appointment the member will be asked if they have had a benefit estimate done in the past 3-6 months. If not, estimates will be done and sent to the member for review. A retirement packet will also be sent if the member is retiring in the near future.
Once the member has been able to review the benefit estimates and the retirement packet, a counseling appointment can be made. Setting appointments allows the division to provide better counseling to its members. Members are able to work with one counselor through the retirement process for information regarding PERS, SBS and DCP. We encourage our members to make an appointment with a counselor so we can provide them the best service. We also encourage our married members to bring their spouses to the appointment so they can receive information regarding the survivor benefits available to them.
The division continues to see members on a walk-in basis. Walk-in customers see one of the available in-house counselors. Walk-in counseling works best for members inquiring about a specific topic, such as effects of divorce, claiming service or service correction. It is difficult for the counselors to do a good job of retirement counseling if the member has not seen their benefit estimates and doesn't know what questions to ask that are particular to his or her situation. A walk-in retirement counseling session will cover all the general information regarding retirement.
To make arrangements for an in-person appointment call:
269-0288 Anchorage Office
465-5698 Juneau Office
To arrange for a telephonic appointment for retirement counseling, members should contact their regional counselor. The direct link to the regional counselor contact information page is
Regional Counselor PageMembers can also check the field travel schedule on DRB's web site or with their employer to arrange for an appointment when the regional counselor is in their area. Regional counselors travel to employer sites for counseling between September and May of each year.
