Oregon Revised Statutes
For purposes of this chapter: “Active member” means a member who is presently employed by a participating public employer in a qualifying position and who has completed the six-month period of service required by ORS 238.015. “Annuity” means payments for life derived from contributions made by a member as provided in this chapter. “Board” means the Public…
For the purpose of computing salary under this chapter and ORS chapter 238A, salary includes retroactive payments of wages made to an employee to correct a clerical error. Retroactive payments described in this subsection shall be allocated to and deemed paid in the periods in which the work was done or in which the work would have been done. For the purpos…
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or ORS chapter 238A, benefits received by a member under ORS 657.370 to 657.390 shall be treated as salary. MEMBERSHIP (Membership Generally)
No person may become a member of the system unless that person is in the service of a public employer and has completed six months’ service uninterrupted by more than 30 consecutive working days during the six months’ period. Every employee of a participating employer shall become a member of the system at the beginning of the first full pay period of the em…
Within the limits hereinafter specified regarding absence from service, no leave of absence, sabbatical leave, illness, accident or emergency preventing or interrupting service by an employee to an employer participating in the system shall be deemed to break the continuity of the employee’s membership in the system.
A public employer that is not participating in the system may, by application to the board, designate any class of employees of the public employer to become members of the system at the time of entering the system. The board shall consider an application received under this section to be an application to become a participating employer under this chapter,…
Each circuit court judge who was a district court judge before January 15, 1998, and who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter applicable to other persons holding elective offices who may become members of the system.
238.050 [Amended by 1965 c.607 §3; repealed by 1981 c.126 §6]
On August 1, 1991, all judges receiving retirement pay from the Judges’ Retirement Fund and all surviving spouses of judges receiving a pension from the Judges’ Retirement Fund shall be retired members of the Public Employees Retirement System, except that: The amount of retirement pay or pension payable to the judge or surviving spouse of a judge and the t…
Any deputy district attorney receiving any compensation from the state or from a county participating in the Public Employees Retirement System shall establish membership in the system after service for six months without having been absent 30 working days. Any contributions required to be paid by any such deputy district attorney shall be based on salary pa…
Notwithstanding ORS 238.015, any person who is a member of the Legislative Assembly at any time on or after September 13, 1975, and before January 1, 1988, regardless of whether the person has reached the age of 65 years, may become a member of the Public Employees Retirement System by giving the Public Employees Retirement Board, before January 1, 1990, wri…
An employee shall not be considered to have ceased to be a member of the system under ORS 238.095 (2) by reason of any year in which the employee is employed by the Legislative Assembly or either house thereof, or by a committee of the Legislative Assembly or either house thereof, for periods aggregating eight months or more during the year, whether or not c…
For purposes of calculating hours of employment of an academic employee of a community college operated under ORS chapter 341 or a public university listed in ORS 352.002, each hour assigned to the academic employee as an hour of lecture time or as an hour of classroom time constitutes 2.67 hours of employment. Nothing in this section is intended to affect t…
(Membership of Retired Employees)
A member who has been retired for service for more than six consecutive calendar months may be reemployed by a participating public employer in the manner provided by this subsection. Any person reemployed as provided in this subsection shall resume making employee contributions, and the employer shall make contributions on behalf of the person as provided …
Subject to the limitations in this section, any public employer may employ any member who is retired for service if the administrative head of the public employer is satisfied that such employment is in the public interest. Except as provided in this section, the period or periods of employment by one or more public employers of a retired member who is reem…
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person who is elected to a full-time salaried office of the state or one of the participating political subdivisions thereof, or who is appointed to a full-time salaried office having a term fixed by statute or charter, whether or not the person has been retired, does not forfeit any rights accrued or a…
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter: A retired member of the Public Employees Retirement System who has retired as other than a member of the Legislative Assembly and who is thereafter appointed or elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly may elect, by giving the Public Employees Retirement Board written notice, to receive the pension…
An employee shall cease to be a member of the Public Employees Retirement System if the employee withdraws the member account, if any, of the member in the manner provided by ORS 238.265. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, an inactive member ceases to be a member of the system if the member is not vested and is inactive for a period of fi…
RETIREMENT CREDIT (Restoration of Forfeited Credit)
Whenever, within five years after the employee is separated from all service entitling the employee to membership in the Public Employees Retirement System, an employee who has withdrawn the amount credited to the member account of the member reenters the service of an employer participating in the system, the employee’s rights in the system that were forfei…
A member of the Public Employees Retirement System who, after separation from all service entitling the employee to membership in the system and withdrawal of the amount credited to the member account of the member, reenters the service of an employer participating in the system and serves as an active member of the system for 10 years after that reentry, an…
(Credit for Probationary Periods)
A member of the system who has a combined total of 10 years or more of creditable service in the system and prior service credit at the time of retirement, and who was required to complete one or more periods of six months or less in the service of an employer participating in the system before becoming a member of the system, shall receive retirement credit…
A member of the system who has 10 years or more of creditable service in the system at the time of retirement, and who served for less than six months working full-time in a seasonal position with a public employer participating in the system before becoming a member of the system, shall receive retirement credit for those periods of less than six months if …
(Credit for Periods of Service With Other Employers)
A member of the system employed as a police officer or firefighter shall be entitled to receive retirement credit as provided in subsection (3) of this section if: The member was employed by a public employer as a police officer or firefighter prior to becoming a member of the system; The public employer that had previously employed the member was not a pa…
A member of the Public Employees Retirement System who is a police officer is entitled to receive retirement credit as provided in subsection (2) of this section if: The member was employed as a public safety officer by another state, or political subdivision of another state, before being employed in a position that entitled the member to credit in the sys…
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, but subject to subsection (4) of this section, an employee who leaves a qualifying position for the purpose of performing service in the uniformed services is entitled to receive contributions, benefits and service credit for the period under rules adopted by the Public Employees Retirement Board pursuant …
As used in this section, “uniformed services” has the meaning given that term in ORS 238.156. Any person who entered or reentered active service in the uniformed services after January 1, 1950, or who was in active service in the uniformed services on January 1, 1950, and who, after being other than dishonorably discharged therefrom, entered the employ of a…
Any employee of an employer participating in the system shall receive retirement credit, subject to the limitations of this chapter, for the period of employment with the participating employer prior to July 1, 1946, and for employment in any branch or department of the United States Government, and for military service in the Armed Forces of the United Stat…
A member of the Public Employees Retirement System who is a teacher as described in subsection (3) of this section is entitled to receive retirement credit as provided in subsection (2) of this section if: The member was employed as a teacher in a public school in another state before being employed in a position that entitled the member to credit in the sy…
As used in this section, “legislative employee” means any person employed by the Legislative Assembly, either of its houses or any of its committees prior or subsequent to July 22, 1973, during any period or periods of such employment qualifying the person for membership and participation in the Public Employees Retirement System under the provisions of this…
A member of the Public Employees Retirement System who receives a disability retirement allowance or disability payments under ORS chapter 656 shall receive retirement credit for the period during which the member receives the disability retirement allowance or disability payments if the member receives the allowance or payments by reason of injury or diseas…
CONTRIBUTIONS (Employee Contributions)
An active member of the Public Employees Retirement System shall contribute to the Public Employees Retirement Fund and there shall be withheld from salary of the member six percent of that salary as an employee contribution. Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, an employee who is an active member of the system on August 21, 1981, shall contrib…
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and subject to the provisions of this section, a public employer participating in the system may agree, by a written employment policy or agreement in effect on or after July 1, 1979, to “pick-up,” assume or pay the full amount of employee contributions required or permitted by ORS 238.200 for all or less …
The state shall “pick-up,” assume or pay the full amount of contributions to the fund required of circuit court judges who were district court judges before January 15, 1998, and who are members of the system, but not judge members under ORS 238.500 to 238.585. The full amount of those contributions “picked-up,” assumed or paid by the state shall be treated …
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter: An employee, as defined in ORS 243.910 (2), who is an active member of the system and who has elected, and not canceled that election, to be assisted under ORS 243.920 (1) by the governing board of a public university listed in ORS 352.002, may not contribute to the fund on any part of the annual salary o…
The Public Employees Retirement Board may, at its discretion, accept rollover contributions from an active member. The board may accept rollover contributions under this section only if the amounts contributed qualify for pretax rollover treatment under the federal income tax laws governing qualified retirement plans. If the board accepts a rollover contrib…
Notwithstanding ORS 238.220, a member of the Public Employees Retirement System who is eligible to obtain restoration of forfeited creditable service under ORS 238.115, or to purchase retirement credit under ORS 238.125, 238.135, 238.145, 238.148, 238.156, 238.157, 238.160, 238.162, 238.165, 238.175 or 526.052, and who participates in an eligible retirement …
A participating public employer shall, at intervals designated by the Public Employees Retirement Board, transmit to the board those amounts the board determines to be actuarially necessary to adequately fund the benefits to be provided by the contributions of the employer under this chapter and the benefits to be provided under the pension program establish…
For the purpose of computing the employer contributions required under ORS 238.225 for benefits to be provided under this chapter: The Public Employees Retirement Board shall group together the school districts of the state and treat the school districts of the state as a single employer for actuarial purposes; and The board shall group together all commun…
If a participating public employer is grouped with any other public employer for the purpose of computing employer contributions under ORS 238.225 and the individual public employer makes a lump sum payment that is in addition to the normal employer contribution of the public employer, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall adjust the amount of employer…
If a participating public employer makes a lump sum payment from moneys not borrowed by the employer to an account established under ORS 238.229 in an amount equal to or greater than $10 million, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall allow the participating public employer to choose an amortization period of six years, 10 years, 16 years or 20 years fo…
If a participating public employer transfers employees who are members of the Public Employees Retirement System to another public employer, the two public employers must enter into a written agreement that addresses the manner in which any unfunded liability or surplus of the transferring public employer under the system will be paid or credited. If two or…
The board shall provide for a regular account for each active and inactive member of the system who has made contributions to the fund. The regular account of the member shall show the amount of the member’s contributions to the fund and the interest which they have earned. The board shall furnish a written statement thereof upon request by any member or ben…
The regular account for an active or inactive member of the Public Employees Retirement System shall be examined each year. If the regular account is credited with earnings for the previous year in an amount less than the earnings that would have been credited pursuant to the assumed interest rate for that year determined by the Public Employees Retirement B…
The purpose of this section is to establish a well balanced, broadly diversified investment program for certain contributions and portions of the member accounts so as to provide retirement benefits for members of the system that will fluctuate as the value and earnings of the investments vary in relation to changes in the general economy. It is anticipated …
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a member of the Public Employees Retirement System may withdraw from the Public Employees Retirement Fund the amount credited to the member account, if any, for the member if: The member is separated from all service with participating public employers; The member is separated from all service with employers wh…
Whenever a person who is past the earliest service retirement age separates from the service of a public employer participating in the Public Employees Retirement System and who thereafter, but before applying to the Public Employees Retirement Board for retirement benefits, is employed in a position that entitles the person to membership in another public e…
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a member of the Public Employees Retirement System who attains the age of 55 shall be retired upon written application by the member to the Public Employees Retirement Board on a reduced service retirement allowance, that is the actuarial equivalent of the service retirement allowance provided for in ORS 238.300 …
Not earlier than two years before a member’s earliest service retirement age, a member may request a verification of retirement data from the Public Employees Retirement Board. Upon receiving a request under this section, the board shall notify all of the member’s participating public employers of the request. In a manner specified by rules of the board, the…
Upon retiring from service at normal retirement age or thereafter, a member of the Public Employees Retirement System shall receive a service retirement allowance which shall consist of the following annuity and pensions: A refund annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of accumulated contributions, if any, by the member under this chapter and inter…
Not later than 60 days after the first benefit payment is made to a retired member of the Public Employees Retirement System, the member may elect to convert the allowance described by ORS 238.300 as payable after retirement into a service retirement annuity of equivalent actuarial value of one of the optional forms named below. The election of Option 2, 2A,…
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the service retirement allowance of a member who has 15 or more years of creditable service shall be not less than $100 a month, computed under the nonrefund plan: For a member who retires and begins receiving a service retirement allowance before or on reaching the age of 65 years, on the basis of retire…
A member of the system who has separated from the service of all participating employers, who retires for service and whose total service retirement allowance on the effective date of retirement, as computed by the board in accordance with the nonrefund plan, is less than $200 per month, shall receive, in lieu of any and all retirement allowance or other ben…
Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, an employee who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System is considered to be disabled if the employee is found, after being examined by one or more physicians selected by the Public Employees Retirement Board, to be mentally or physically incapacitated for an extended duration, as determi…
At any time after establishing membership, but before the expiration of 90 days after the Public Employees Retirement Board makes its finding that the employee is disabled, an employee who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System may elect to convert the disability retirement allowance otherwise payable on the member account of the member into a…
Whenever an active or inactive member of the system has been found to be entitled to a disability retirement allowance as provided in ORS 238.320, the member shall receive not less than an aggregate of $100 a month under the nonrefund plan, subject to reduction to equivalent actuarial value in the event of the member’s exercising any option provided by ORS 2…
The board shall require medical examinations for all applicants for retirement for disability under such general rules as it prescribes, and may provide for the discontinuance of any disability retirement allowance and the forfeiture of all rights under this chapter, in the case of any person who refuses to submit to such an examination.
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, when a member retired because of disability is determined by the Public Employees Retirement Board to be not incapacitated to the extent that the member is disabled from the performance of any work for which the member is qualified, the disability retirement shall be canceled forthwith, the member shall b…
A police officer or firefighter, other than a volunteer firefighter, who would be entitled to receive disability benefits as a member of the Public Employees Retirement System under ORS 238.320 (1), may elect to receive the service-connected disability retirement allowance authorized under this section. The allowance authorized under this section is an amoun…
If a member who is a police officer or a firefighter requests a contested case hearing to dispute a final denial of an application for a disability retirement allowance under ORS 238.320, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall ensure that the contested case is referred for a hearing no later than 180 days after the member requests the hearing, or, if th…
Upon the request by a public employer that its employees be compensated for accumulated unused sick leave with pay in the form of increased retirement benefits upon service or disability retirement, the board shall establish a procedure for adding to the gross amount of salary used in determining final average salary the monetary value of one-half of the acc…
Notwithstanding ORS 238.350 (2)(a), unused sick leave for community college employees shall accumulate for an unlimited number of days and shall accumulate at the rate of 10 days per school year or one day per month employed, whichever is greater. Except as provided in ORS 238.350 (1)(b), unused sick leave accumulated by community college employees shall be …
On July 1 of each year, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall increase the yearly allowance that a member or member’s beneficiary receives or is entitled to receive, as provided in subsection (2) of this section. The increase is first payable with the allowance that the member or the member’s beneficiary receives or is entitled to receive on August 1. …
When the Public Employees Retirement Board is required to use a consumer price index to calculate cost-of-living adjustments to benefits payable under ORS chapter 238 or 238A, the board shall use the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. …
Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 3 to 10, chapter 569, Oregon Laws 1995, the increased benefits payable under ORS 238.364 and 238.368 (2), including all increased benefits payable to judge members by reason of the application of ORS 238.364 and 238.368 (2) to judge members, and under section 10, chapter 569, Oregon Laws 1995: Shall not be pai…
Upon retirement of an employee who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System and computation of that member’s service retirement allowance under ORS 238.300, 238.305 or 238.425, or computation of any disability retirement allowance under ORS 238.320, 238.325, 238.330, 238.345 or 238.425, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall add to the amou…
Upon retirement of an employee who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System and computation of that member’s service retirement allowance under ORS 238.300, 238.305 or 238.425, or computation of any disability retirement allowance under ORS 238.320, 238.325, 238.330, 238.345 or 238.425, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall add to the amou…
In addition to any increase under ORS 238.360, first effective for the month of December 1990, payable January 1, 1991, the monthly retirement allowance payable to or on account of any person who has retired as a member of the Public Employees Retirement System shall be increased by the following percentages: If the member was serving as other than a police…
Except as provided in ORS 238.372 to 238.384, the Public Employees Retirement Board may not pay the increased benefits provided by chapter 796, Oregon Laws 1991, or chapter 569, Oregon Laws 1995, if the board receives notice under ORS 238.372 to 238.384 that the payments made to the person under this chapter are not subject to Oregon personal income tax unde…
A person applying for payments under this chapter shall give a written statement to the Public Employees Retirement Board that indicates whether the payments will be subject to Oregon personal income tax under ORS 316.127 (9). If the person fails to provide the statement required by this subsection, or the statement indicates that the payments will not be su…
If a person is receiving payments under this chapter, and after the payments commence the payments cease to be subject to Oregon personal income tax under ORS 316.127 (9), the person shall promptly notify the Public Employees Retirement Board by written statement that the payments are no longer subject to Oregon personal income tax under ORS 316.127 (9). The…
Not less than once each calendar year, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall provide to the Department of Revenue information identifying persons to whom payments have been made under this chapter. The Department of Revenue shall provide to the board such information on Oregon personal income tax returns as the board deems necessary to determine whethe…
A statement required under ORS 238.372 to 238.384 constitutes a declaration under penalty of perjury and must include the following sentence in prominent letters immediately above the signature of the declarant: “I hereby declare that the above statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief, and that I understand it is subject to penalty for perjur…
The Public Employees Retirement Board may establish rules for the administration of ORS 238.372 to 238.384.
(Death Benefits)
If a member of the system dies before retiring, the amount of money, if any, credited at the time of death to the member account of the member in the fund shall be paid to the beneficiaries designated by the member. For this purpose a member may designate as a beneficiary any person or the executor or administrator of the estate of the member or a trustee na…
In addition to any other benefits under this chapter, a death benefit, provided by contributions of the public employer under ORS 238.225 and, for benefits that accrue on or after July 1, 2020, amounts in the employee pension stability account established for the member under ORS 238A.353, shall be paid to the beneficiaries designated under ORS 238.390 (1) o…
If a member of the system, who has attained normal retirement age and has retired from service, dies prior to the expiration of the time an election could be made by the member to change the member’s service retirement benefit option under ORS 238.305, and the records of the Public Employees Retirement Board indicate that the member’s surviving spouse is the…
The surviving spouse or child of a police officer or firefighter, who died a member of the Public Employees Retirement System while retired either for service or disability and while receiving or being entitled to receive a benefit under ORS 238.345 or under this chapter, is entitled to a benefit under this section. The benefit shall be equal to 25 percent o…
If a benefit is payable under this chapter to a beneficiary by reason of the death of a member of the system, the beneficiary may elect to have all or part of the distribution of the death benefit paid in an eligible rollover distribution to an individual retirement plan described in 26 U.S.C. 408(a), or an individual retirement annuity, other than an endowm…
As used in this section: “Carrier” means an insurance company or health care service contractor holding a valid certificate of authority from the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, an insurance company or health care service contractor licensed or certified in another state that is operating under the laws of that state, or two or…
As used in this section: “Board” means the Public Employees Retirement Board. “Eligible retired state employee” means: A retired member of the Public Employees Retirement System who was a state employee at the time of retirement, is retired for service or disability, is receiving a retirement allowance or benefit under the system, had eight years or more …
As used in this section, “eligible retired member” means: A retired member of the Public Employees Retirement System who is retired for service or disability, is receiving a retirement allowance or benefit under the system, had eight years or more of qualifying service in the system at the time of retirement or is receiving a disability retirement allowance…
In the event that an employee who is a vested member of the system and who has not attained earliest service retirement age is separated, for any reason other than death or disability, from all service entitling the employee to membership in the system, the member account, if any, of the member shall remain to the member’s credit in the fund unless the membe…
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, a person who establishes membership in the Public Employees Retirement System on or after January 1, 1996, is entitled to receive only the benefits provided under ORS 238.435 for periods of service with participating public employers after January 1, 1996, and has no right or claim to any other benefit pr…
Notwithstanding the definition of “salary” or “other advantages” provided by ORS 238.005, for the purpose of calculating the retirement allowance of a person who establishes membership in the system on or after January 1, 1996, as described in ORS 238.430, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall not include any lump sum payment for accrued vacation pay m…
A police officer or firefighter who is a member of the system may elect to make additional contributions to the fund to purchase increased benefits between the date of retirement and age 65. The rate of additional contribution shall be determined by the actuary, dependent upon the age of the police officer or firefighter at the date of election, so as to pro…
Subject to the rules of the Public Employees Retirement Board, upon commencing participation in the system a public employer that is not a school district may elect to provide prior service credit for employees of the employer who are employees of the employer on the date on which the employer commences participation. Prior service credit may be provided onl…
Except as provided in this section, the right of a person to a pension, an annuity or a retirement allowance, to the return of contribution, the pension, annuity or retirement allowance itself, any optional benefit or death benefit, or any other right accrued or accruing to any person under the provisions of this chapter or ORS chapter 238A, and the money in…
Notwithstanding ORS 238.445, any retirement allowance, pension payment, lump sum payment or other distribution payable under this chapter or ORS chapter 238A to a person convicted of a felony is subject to execution, garnishment, attachment or other process to collect, and may be assigned to satisfy, the portion of a money award described in subsection (2) o…
Upon receiving an application for a retirement allowance or benefit from a member of the Public Employees Retirement System and obtaining information necessary for computation of the retirement allowance or benefit to which the member is entitled upon retirement, the system shall provide to the member a written computation of the retirement allowance or bene…
Whenever a member of the system is retired for service and is entitled to receive a retirement allowance or benefit that is payable monthly, and the Public Employees Retirement Board is unable to calculate the amount of the monthly payment in time to allow mailing of the monthly payment to the member within 62 days of the date the first monthly payment is du…
A benefit that is owed to a member or beneficiary of a member under the Public Employees Retirement System shall be forfeited at the end of the system’s plan year in which the benefit becomes due if the Public Employees Retirement Board is unable to locate the member or beneficiary. If the member, beneficiary or any other person thereafter establishes a righ…
If receipt in full by a person of a retirement allowance or other benefit under this chapter or ORS chapter 238A would prevent such person from receiving in full any other governmental pension to which the person is entitled, such person may waive for a calendar year sufficient monthly payments, or portions thereof, of retirement allowance or other benefit u…
A member of the Public Employees Retirement System who is married on the effective date of the member’s retirement shall receive a service retirement allowance in the form provided for in Option 3 under ORS 238.305 (1) or a disability retirement allowance in the form provided for in Option 3 under ORS 238.325 (1) unless the member provides proof of spousal c…
Notwithstanding ORS 238.445 or any other provision of law, payments under this chapter or ORS chapter 238A of any pension, annuity, retirement allowance, disability benefit, death benefit, refund benefit or other benefit that would otherwise be made to a person entitled thereto under this chapter or ORS chapter 238A shall be paid, in whole or in part, by the…
Interest is not payable on any payment from the Public Employees Retirement Fund unless specifically provided for in this chapter.
No transfer after July 1, 1946, by a member of the system from the service of one employer participating in the system to the service of another such employer shall impair any rights or deprive the member of any credits accruing to the member as a result of membership in the system after July 1, 1946, and prior to the transfer.
All contributions made and all service credit earned under the Public Employes’ Retirement Act of 1953 prior to January 1, 1956, on the basis of a fiscal year shall not be affected by the change from fiscal year basis to calendar year basis on January 1, 1956, under the 1955 amendments of the Public Employes’ Retirement Act of 1953, and such contributions an…
Pursuant to section 415(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, there is established a Public Employee Benefit Equalization Fund, separate and distinct from the General Fund and from the Public Employees Retirement Fund. The Public Employee Benefit Equalization Fund is declared to be a trust fund. Interest earned on the fund, if any, shall inure to the benefit of t…
A member of the Public Employees Retirement System, or the beneficiary of that member, who by reason of the benefit limitations imposed by Internal Revenue Code section 415 receives a retirement allowance under the system that is less than the allowance the member or beneficiary would otherwise have received under ORS chapter 238, excluding any payments the …
The administrative expenses incurred by the Public Employees Retirement Board in administering the Public Employee Benefit Equalization Fund shall be paid from interest earned by the fund. If the interest is insufficient, the excess expense shall be paid from the contributions by participating employers under ORS 238.488. In order to facilitate financing th…
The Public Employees Retirement Board may adopt rules for the administration of ORS 238.485, 238.488 and 238.490. In adopting rules under this section, the board shall consider and take into account all federal law requirements relating to deferred compensation plans, including the requirements imposed for the deferral of income tax on deferred compensation …
As used in ORS 238.500 to 238.585, unless the context requires otherwise: “Court” means the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Oregon Tax Court and a circuit court. “Judge” means a judge of any court. “Judge member” means a judge who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System subject to ORS 238.500 to 238.585. “Service as a judge” means …
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person who is not a judge on December 31, 1983, and who is elected or appointed to the office of judge on or after January 1, 1984, shall become a judge member on the date the person takes the office. A person who, by reason of the age at which becoming a judge, could not make contributions to the Publ…
Each judge member shall contribute monthly to the Public Employees Retirement Fund seven percent of the monthly salary of the judge member. The contributions of a judge member and earnings on the contributions shall be credited to the member account of the judge member. The state shall pick-up, assume or pay the full amount of contributions to the fund requ…
A judge member shall be retired from judicial office at the end of the calendar year in which the judge member attains the age of 75 years.
Prior to attaining 60 years of age, all judge members shall elect in writing to retire under either paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection. The election shall be irrevocable after the judge member attains 60 years of age. Any judge member who fails to make the election provided for in this subsection prior to attaining 60 years of age shall be retired under…
A judge member who elects to retire under ORS 238.535 (1)(b): Shall continue to be eligible as a nonretired employee for health benefit plans contracted for under ORS 243.135 during the time that the judge member is serving as a pro tem judge under ORS 238.535 (1)(c); and Subject to availability of funding, shall continue to receive the monthly state contr…
Except as otherwise provided in this section: A judge member who has five or more years of service as a judge may withdraw from the Public Employees Retirement Fund the amount credited to the member account of the judge member if: The judge member is separated from all service with participating public employers; The judge member is separated from all ser…
A judge member who has not attained the age of 65 years and who is found to be mentally or physically incapacitated for an extended duration, as determined by medical examination by one or more physicians selected by the board, and thereby unable to perform any work for which qualified, by injury or disease sustained while in actual performance of duty and n…
For the purposes of this section, a judge member may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the Public Employees Retirement Board before the death of the judge member. Beneficiaries designated by a judge member may include any persons, the personal representative of the estate of the judge member or t…
Every monthly retirement allowance or pension payable to a judge member or surviving spouse of a judge member under ORS 238.500 to 238.585 shall be adjusted annually as provided in ORS 238.360. ORS 238.368 applies to judge members, and for that purpose the monthly retirement allowance referred to in ORS 238.368 shall be the monthly retirement allowance paya…
Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, ORS 238.005 (4) and (27), 238.025, 238.078, 238.082, 238.092, 238.115 (1), 238.250, 238.255, 238.260, 238.350, 238.362, 238.364, 238.372 to 238.384, 238.410, 238.415, 238.420, 238.445, 238.458, 238.460, 238.465, 238.475, 238.600, 238.605, 238.610, 238.618, 238.630, 238.635, 238.645, 238.650, 238.655, 238.…
A judge member who has creditable service as other than a judge member is entitled to the use of all creditable service as a judge member for the purpose of establishing eligibility under ORS 238.115, 238.125, 238.135 or any other provision of this chapter that requires a specified number of years of creditable service. A judge member who has creditable ser…
A system of retirement and of benefits at retirement or death for employees of public employers hereby is established and shall be known as the Public Employees Retirement System. The Public Employees Retirement System consists of this chapter and ORS chapter 238A. It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly that the system be qualified and maintained under…
The Legislative Assembly finds that the maintenance of a solid, affordable public employees retirement plan is essential to providing effective, efficient services to the citizens of Oregon by allowing the state and political subdivisions of the state to hire and retain employees who are committed to providing those services. It is the intent of the Legislat…
At least once every two years the Public Employees Retirement Board shall cause a competent actuary familiar with public systems of retirement and death benefits to prepare a report evaluating the current and prospective assets and liabilities of the system and indicating its current and prospective financial condition. In preparing the report the actuary sh…
At least once every four years, the Secretary of State shall contract with a firm qualified to perform an independent actuarial review of the report on the Public Employees Retirement System prepared under ORS 238.605. The firm shall review the report that was most recently used to calculate employer contribution rates under ORS 238.225. The firm conducting…
Once every two calendar years, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall adopt actuarial equivalency factor tables for the purpose of computing the payments to be made to members and their beneficiaries, alternate payees and judge members and their spouses and beneficiaries. The tables may be adopted in conjunction with the system evaluation required by OR…
The Public Employees Retirement Board shall conduct a study of the life expectancy of members of the Public Employees Retirement System in the categories described in subsection (2) of this section. If the board determines that members in the categories described in subsection (2) of this section have a life expectancy that is substantially shorter than the …
The administrative expenses of the Public Employees Retirement System shall be paid from interest earned by the Public Employees Retirement Fund; provided, that if such interest be insufficient the expense in excess thereof shall be paid from the contributions which this chapter and ORS 238A.220 and 238A.240 require participating employers to pay into the Pu…
On request from the Public Employees Retirement System, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall draw warrants on amounts authorized for payment of the administrative expenses of the system for use by the system as a revolving fund. The revolving fund shall not exceed the aggregate sum of $5,000 including unreimbursed advances. The revolving fu…
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Public Employees Retirement Board may deny or terminate participation by an employer in the Public Employees Retirement System, and may deny or terminate membership in the system for any employee, if the board determines that allowing participation by the employer or membership for the employee would cause the …
At least 30 days before the Public Employees Retirement Board adopts changes to actuarial methods and assumptions used for purposes of the Public Employees Retirement System, the board shall submit a report to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means or the Joint Interim Committee on Ways and Means detailing the proposed changes and the associated, actuarially …
(Public Employees Retirement Board)
The governing authority of the system shall be a board known as the Public Employees Retirement Board and consisting of five members appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the Senate in the manner provided in ORS 171.562 and 171.565. Except as otherwise provided in ORS 238.640, the term of each member shall be three years. The Governor shall de…
The Public Employees Retirement Board shall include a study of accounting, reporting and related subjects when considering the goals and objectives of the Public Employees Retirement System.
All members of the Public Employees Retirement Board must be at least 21 years of age, be citizens of the United States and have been residents of the state for at least two years immediately preceding appointment to the board. One member of the board must be: An employee of the state in a management position at the time of appointment and throughout the t…
The system shall be administered, subject to the limitations of this chapter, ORS chapter 238A and the budget prescribed by the board, by the director provided for by ORS 238.630 and by a staff which the board authorizes and which the director appoints. The director shall hold that position during the discretion of the board and the members of the staff shal…
For the purpose of requesting a state or nationwide criminal records check under ORS 181A.195, the Director of the Public Employees Retirement System may require the fingerprints of a person who: Is employed or applying for employment by the system; or Provides services or seeks to provide services to the system as a contractor, vendor or volunteer; and I…
Subject to the limitations of this chapter and ORS chapter 238A, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall, from time to time, establish rules for transacting its business and administering the system in accordance with the requirements of ORS chapter 183. All rules adopted by the board become part of the written plan document of the Public Employees Reti…
In order to determine any facts necessary to the administration of the retirement system, the board may conduct hearings, subpoena and examine witnesses and require any person having custody thereof to bring before the board any book, record, document, certificate, writing, article or thing necessary to a determination of facts. The chairperson or member of …
The Attorney General shall consult with the Governor on appointment of separate counsel pursuant to ORS 180.235 to represent the Public Employees Retirement Board in any matter or in any class of matters in which the benefits payable under the Public Employees Retirement System are at issue, including but not limited to defending the provisions of chapter 67…
The Public Employees Retirement Fund is declared to be a trust fund, separate and distinct from the General Fund, for the uses and purposes set forth in this chapter and ORS chapter 238A and ORS 237.950 to 237.980, and for no other use or purpose, except that this provision shall not be deemed to amend or impair the force or effect of any law of this state s…
Moneys in the Public Employees Retirement Fund are continuously appropriated to the Public Employees Retirement Board to carry out the purposes of this chapter and ORS chapter 238A.
Contributions required by this chapter or ORS chapter 238A to be placed in the retirement fund, and interest required to be allocated to the member accounts of members of the retirement system and to participating employers, shall not be included in the biennial departmental budget of the board.
At the close of each calendar year in which the earnings on the Public Employees Retirement Fund equal or exceed the assumed interest rate established by the Public Employees Retirement Board under ORS 238.255, the board shall set aside, out of interest and other income received through investment of the Public Employees Retirement Fund during that calendar …
At least 30 days before crediting any interest or other income received through investment of moneys to any fund or account, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall submit a preliminary proposal for crediting to the appropriate legislative review agency, as defined in ORS 291.371, for its review and comment. The proposal shall identify gross earnings, in…
Upon the death or retirement of a member of the Public Employees Retirement System, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall credit earnings to the participating public employer or employers that employed the member. The board shall credit earnings to the amounts charged to each employer by reason of the death or retirement. The earnings rate used by the …
Any benefit payment that is payable as the result of the death of a member may be transferred by the Public Employees Retirement Board to another account or reserve in the fund if: The total benefit payable to the beneficiaries designated by the deceased member is less than $250 in amount; Ten years have passed since the death of the member; and No claim …
Employees whose membership in a previously established retirement system excludes them from membership in the system established by this chapter may apply to the Public Employees Retirement Board in writing for the former system to be integrated into the latter and for them to be allowed to become members of the latter. Whenever two-thirds of them and their …
The school district, which is or expects to become a party to a contract of integration described in ORS 238.680 (3), may provide for payment of all or any part of its unfunded obligation for previous service costs with respect to the association by any one or a combination of the following methods: By agreeing to pay such portion of the obligation to the P…
A retirement plan that has been adopted by a mass transit district organized under ORS 267.010 to 267.394 situated in a metropolitan statistical area with a population exceeding 400,000 may be integrated with, or the district may become a participant in, the Public Employees Retirement System in the manner prescribed in subsection (2) of this section. A pro…
As used in ORS 238.692 to 238.698: “Pension liability” means: Monetary obligations of a participating public employer for which the employer is or will be required to transmit amounts to the Public Employees Retirement Board under the provisions of ORS 238.225, including any obligations arising out of an integration contract under ORS 238.680, or any other…
The Legislative Assembly finds that authorizing issuance of revenue bonds to finance pension liabilities may reduce the cost of public pensions to taxpayers and that the reduction of those costs to taxpayers is a matter of statewide concern. Notwithstanding the limitation on indebtedness in ORS 287A.105 or any other limitation on indebtedness or borrowing u…
Public bodies may enter into intergovernmental agreements for the collective issuance, administration or payment of bonds authorized under ORS 238.694. An agreement for collective issuance, administration or payment of bonds under this subsection may provide for the contribution and pooling of the assets of the public bodies as security for the bonds, and ma…
A public body, or a group of public bodies that enter into an intergovernmental agreement under ORS 238.695, may establish a debt service trust fund for the purpose of paying the principal and interest on bonds issued under ORS 238.692 to 238.698. The trustee of the debt service trust fund shall hold the moneys paid into the trust fund solely for the purpose…
Before a public body, or an intergovernmental entity formed pursuant to ORS 238.695, may authorize the issuance of bonds under ORS 238.694, the public body or intergovernmental entity must first: Obtain a statistically based assessment from an independent economic or financial consulting firm regarding the likelihood that investment returns on bond proceeds…
A public body, or a group of public bodies that enter into an intergovernmental agreement under ORS 238.695, that receives funds from any state agency may enter into a funds diversion agreement with the state agency for the purpose of paying the principal and interest on bonds issued under ORS 238.692 to 238.698, and any premium on those bonds. A diversion a…
All provisions of ORS 238.655, 238.705, 238.710 and 238.715 hereby are made applicable for enforcement of the requirements of this chapter and ORS chapter 238A.
All public employers that are members of the system shall promptly and regularly remit to the Public Employees Retirement Board all contributions required of them by law and furnish all reports required by the board. Any public employer delinquent in remitting contributions shall be charged interest on the total amount of contributions due from it at the ra…
In accordance with ORS 238.705, a participating public employer shall submit timely and accurate data regarding members’ demographic information, salary, hours worked and unused sick leave. The Public Employees Retirement Board may, at its discretion, prevent an employer from altering member data reported and a member from challenging the data once the empl…
In addition to the remedies otherwise provided by ORS 238.705, the board may, by petition in usual form, apply to the circuit court for the county in which is located the public employer concerned, or the principal office or place of business of the public employer, for, and if warranted, to have issued, writs of mandamus to compel the public employer to sup…
If the Public Employees Retirement Board determines that a member of the Public Employees Retirement System or any other person receiving a monthly payment from the Public Employees Retirement Fund has received any amount in excess of the amounts that the member or other person is entitled to under this chapter and ORS chapter 238A, the board may recover the…
The Public Employees Retirement Board may accept rollover contributions from a retired member solely for the purpose of paying amounts claimed by the board as overpayments or other improperly made payments. The board may accept rollover contributions under this section only if the amounts contributed qualify for pretax rollover treatment under the federal in…
The Public Employees Retirement Board shall establish an Unfunded Actuarial Liability Resolution Program. Under the program, the board shall provide technical expertise to manage projected employer contribution rate changes. Funding plans developed under the program must be based on actuarial reports prepared under ORS 238.605. A participating public employ…
This chapter and ORS chapter 238A shall be known as the Public Employes’ Retirement Act of 1953. _______________