Need an Internal Revenue Service 1099-R form for tax purposes? 

PERS will mail the form to your address on file no later than January 31, 2023, if you were paid PERS benefits in 2022. The form cannot be mailed earlier than January.

Check that your address is current, and update it as needed by December 15, 2022. 

To check or change your address, use Online Member Services (OMS) or complete the Information Change Request form. PERS cannot update addresses via phone or email. 

If you do not receive your 1099-R by February 15, 2023, you can request a duplicate via
OMS or by contacting Member Services.

Some members may correctly receive more than one 1099-R form.

Read the Commonly Asked Questions: 1099-Rs webpage for details.

Thank you to the more than 6,300 members who took our 2022 member satisfaction survey earlier this year.

Your feedback will be used to help improve our services and how we assist you.

A presentation of survey results is available in the PERS Board’s September meeting packet online. The survey presentation begins on page 44 of the packet.

You also can listen to an audio recording of the full board meeting online.

The IRS revised its W-4P tax form in January 2022. PERS is now accepting the 2022 revised form.

If you wish to update your tax withholdings, use the PERS 2022 W-4P form for your membership type — Tier One/Tier Two or OPSRP. 

If you recently submitted a 2021 W-4P version, note that PERS will process 2021 forms received by November 17. After November 17, PERS can only process the 2022 version.

Be aware that the W-4P revision also has impacted how related tax information is displayed in Online Member Services (OMS). Areas where you might notice changes are to items such as filing status and adjustments.

Oregon PERS paid about $4.43 billion in benefits to retired members or their beneficiaries living in Oregon in 2021. The $4.43 billion figure does not include payments from the Individual Account Program (IAP).

PERS conducts an annual economic impact study to show how benefits paid to PERS retirees support the state’s economy. Funding for PERS retirement benefits comes mostly from investment earnings on contributions previously paid by PERS members and public employers.

The financial impact of PERS benefits is not limited to $4.43 billion. Benefit payments also generate tax revenue and support jobs and related wages.

When adjusted to include tax revenue, jobs and wages, the value of PERS retirement payments to Oregon’s economy grows to $4.83 billion.

Read the full Economic Impact Study 2021 online.

New PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP) premiums for 2023 are set to take effect on January 1.

If you’re a PHIP participant, your payments will automatically adjust to the new rate whether you have your insurance premiums deducted from your monthly pension benefit or from a checking or savings account.

If you:

• Pay with your pension benefit, PHIP will notify you by mail if your insurance premium exceeds your monthly pension income.
• Pay by automatic withdrawal and are enrolled in bill-pay through your financial institution, you will need to notify them of the change.

Wondering what the new rates will be? Find them online on the PHIP website.

If you have questions, contact PHIP at 503-224-7377 or 1-800-768-7377.

If you are about to become Medicare-eligible and are seeking health care options, the PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP) can help.

Eligibility, enrollment, and plan information is available in a series of videos.

You also can register for new enrollment presentations.

More information can be found on the PHIP website.

Want to know when your monthly PERS pension benefits will be paid this year? 

Check out the PERS Pay Dates webpage for more information.

If you receive variable annuity payments as part of your PERS retirement, you will soon receive an adjustment to this portion of your monthly benefit.

Each year, PERS adjusts variable annuity payments in January based on earnings and losses posted to variable accounts through October 31 of the prior year. You will receive your first adjusted payment based on 2022 performance on February 1, 2023.

You also will receive a letter from PERS showing the amount of the adjustment in January 2023.

Variable annuity payments and adjustments apply only to members who remained in the Variable Annuity Program at retirement.

Investment results are posted online by Oregon State Treasury.

By Richard Horsford
PERS Chief Financial Officer

The PERS Board is charged with crediting earnings to the various PERS funds each year.

This process begins shortly after the close of a calendar year and finishes near the end of the first quarter of the new year.

Two of the most common questions I am asked is why the various earnings crediting rates differ from the annual earnings as reported by Oregon State Treasury and why those differences vary from fund to fund.

To explore these questions, it is first important to understand that while the PERS Board is responsible for making sure that earnings are credited, Oregon laws and Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs) define how these earnings are to be credited to most funds. The one exception is the Contingency Reserve, which the board has discretion to replenish if the fund balance goes below $50 million.

In addition to the earnings crediting that happens at the end of the year, other fund activities take place throughout the year.

For example, when members retire and/or withdraw their funds during the year, a calculation is done to determine and credit the amount of earnings attributable to their account up to that point.

At the same time, new money is constantly coming into the plan in the form of employer and member contributions. These new funds are deposited throughout the year as they are received and are subject to earnings for only the portion of the year that remains.

The timing of these two factors — member retirements and new employer or member contributions —  accounts for most differences between PERS’ effective earnings crediting rates and the earnings reported by Treasury.

Looking at various funds, this tends to be more pronounced in the “younger” funds where the amount of new money being added to the fund is larger (more of the money in the fund is only there for a portion of the year after it is received).

Also, per OAR, PERS deducts administrative expenses from each fund. In 2021, expenses amounted to about 0.1% of fund balances.

In the end, PERS is a complicated retirement system, and applying earnings within it is equally complex. We take this complex process seriously to ensure that earnings for all of our funds are correctly calculated and credited.

Don’t be a stranger! Keep your information with PERS up to date, and mail or fax your forms to us in a timely manner. Find the forms you need online.

ADDRESS CHANGES: PERS Member Services cannot update addresses by phone or email for security reasons. Use Online Member Services or the Information Change Request form to make updates. To change your address with the PERS Health Insurance Program, you will need to use the PHIP Address Change Form.

DIRECT DEPOSIT: Forms received by the 15th of any month typically will be processed and effective for the following month’s benefit payment.

TAX WITHHOLDING: Updating your address or providing residency status certification does not automatically change your withholdings. Submit a W-4P form (Tier One/Tier Two or OPSRP) to update withholdings for your PERS pension and IAP payments. W-4P forms received by the third week of the month typically will be processed in time for the following month’s benefit payment. Note: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated the W-4P form in 2022. If you need to update your withholdings, be sure you are now using the updated form.

DIVORCE: Contact Member Services about divorce and PERS benefits.

ACCOUNT ACCESS: The Authorization to Release Account Information form allows you to authorize a third party to obtain information regarding your PERS account or benefits. The Special Power of Attorney for PERS form gives the person(s) you designate the power to make decisions for PERS-related matters on your behalf.

DEATH NOTICES: After a PERS member dies, a representative should contact Member Services as soon as possible. Failure to report a death in a timely manner may result in having to pay back retirement payments. PERS will require the date of death, city and state where the death occurred, a photocopy of the death certificate, and a spouse or personal representative contact information. For PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP) members, a representative also should contact PHIP as soon as possible to report the death.