Annual Payout Value & Tuition
Increases Over Time
The GET unit payout value for the 2024-25 academic year is $123.76 through July 31, 2025.
GET works on a unit system, with 100 GET units equal to one year of resident, undergraduate tuition and state-mandated fees at Washington’s highest-priced public university. For the 2024-25 academic year, the highest annual tuition and state-mandated fees at a public university in our state will be $12,376, meaning that the 2024-25 payout value for one GET unit is $123.76 (or 1/100th). Tuition is established at the state’s higher education institutions once a year by each school’s Board of Regents. Tuition is largely influenced by the funding each school receives from the state legislature.
2024-25 GET Unit Purchase Price Breakdown
The Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment and College Savings sets the GET unit purchase price before each enrollment year. The unit price is composed of three components:
- Expected Costs: Covers the expected present value of the cost of future Tuition and State-Mandated Fees.
- Program Expenses: The Unit Purchase Price includes an expense component that determines the amount each future unit sold should contribute to the program’s assets for the payment of future Program administrative expenses. OSA estimates this amount based on the long-term cost of administering current unredeemed units. OSA determines this estimate by dividing the present value of estimated program expenses (as provided by the Program) by the number of unredeemed units as of the program’s most recent valuation date and increases the resulting amount with one year of assumed interest at 4.75%.
- Reserve: Covers unexpected future costs such as higher-than-expected tuition growth or lower-than-expected investment returns.
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The 2024-25 GET unit purchase price is $123.76.
Setting an informed and well-researched unit purchase price is critical to maintaining the financial stability of the GET program and providing a fair price for customers. Annually, the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment and College Savings sets the GET unit purchase price. In 2011, the Committee adopted a unit pricing model that includes three components: the expected cost of future tuition, an expense component that contributes to the cost of administering GET, and a 15 percent reserve to ensure financial stability for the program. It also includes an optional amortization component that is not part of the current pricing. The Office of the State Actuary (OSA) supports the Committee by providing a pricing analysis that provides a unit price range and a best-estimate unit price. The Committee considers this analysis in setting the final unit price, which may or may not match the best-estimate unit price. See the GET Program Details Booklet for more information on how the Committee determines the unit purchase price.
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In-state tuition and GET payout value over time
Under Washington State law, 100 GET units equal one year of resident undergraduate tuition and state-mandated fees at our state’s most expensive public university (typically University of Washington or Washington State University). In 2015, the Washington State Legislature lowered tuition for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years and capped future annual tuition growth rates. The unit payout value remained at the 2014-15 academic year level of $117.82 for 2015-16 and 2016-17. In 2017-18, GET reset the unit payout value to match tuition and added units to existing customer accounts to ensure they would not lose value. -
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Program Funded Status
Annually, the Washington State Actuary conducts a valuation of GET that assesses the program’s financial health. The most recent actuarial valuation, as of June 30, 2023, indicated that the program's funded status is at 148%. The funded status reflects the amount of money the program would need in order to cover all current contracts as they come due in the future, compared to the assets on hand. The 148% funded status means the program is expected to be able to cover all of its current and future obligations without the need for state appropriations. It is important to remember that if funds were ever insufficient to cover all of the program’s obligations, GET customers are protected by Washington State Law (RCW 28B.95.050).
2023 GET Actuarial Valuation Report -