Starting July 1, 2026, changes in state law will affect disability coverage for most emergency dispatchers employed by participating political subdivisions.
Who Is Affected
- Eligible dispatchers employed by participating political subdivisions will move to the Virginia Local Disability Program or the employer’s comparable program, unless they opted out between February 1 and March 31.
- Dispatchers hired on or after July 1, 2025, will move to VLDP or the employer’s comparable program on July 1.
- VRS Plan 1 and Plan 2 dispatchers who opted out during the February 1-March 31 window, will remain covered under VRS disability retirement.
New Job Names for Emergency Dispatchers
To support the change in disability coverage, updated job names for emergency dispatchers are now available in myVRS Navigator.
Effective July 1, report all full-time emergency dispatchers as follows:
- Emergency Dispatcher for dispatchers employed generally by political subdivisions.
- Sheriff’s Emergency Dispatcher for dispatchers employed by sheriff’s offices.
Once you update the job name in myVRS Navigator, VRS will send affected dispatchers a letter explaining the change to their disability benefits.
e-Course
The myVRS Navigator Maintenance Activities e-course (login required) covers how to maintain your employee records so information remains up to date.
What Employers Need to Do
- Direct eligible dispatchers to online resources that explain their disability coverage.
- Encourage employees to review and update their contact information in myVRS.
- Questions? Email dispatcher@varetire.org.
