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In this issue

Tips for reporting a new hire in a special situation • Teaching your new employee about PERS • Announcing a new cycle of the Employer Incentive Fund • Tip: Protecting employee personal information when calling ESC for a status check • For schools: Submitting a new-hire record in September

For employer reporters and human resources professionals

Tips for reporting a new hire in a special situation

The Employer Service Center (ESC) teaches employers the basic steps of reporting your new employee to PERS. We cover it in:

• The Beginner Employer Reporting Training and Beginner Training 2 Manual, section, “Reporting a New Hire.”
• The video “Reporting a New Employee.”
• Employer reporting guide 7, Reporting a New Employee. 

But what about hiring situations that are not basic? Like hiring someone who is already a PERS member, an employee who used to be a member, a new employee who will be working from outside Oregon, or someone who is coming off a leave of absence?

These hiring situations require some extra steps that can lead to errors and frustration. So, to help you succeed with greater ease, ESC has expanded guide 7 to include tips for hiring these special types of employees: 

To read the tips

Open employer reporting guide 7, Reporting a New Employee, and go to the new section titled “How to Report a New Hire in a Special Situation."

For human resources professionals

Teaching your new employee about PERS

Qualifying PERS members earn a pension and an Individual Account Program (IAP) account that provide income for life.

Great! What’s a pension? How do I earn one? What’s an IAP? What plan am I in? When can I retire? What options do I have?

When new PERS members have questions, they often turn to their HR and management teams for answers. To help you with those answers, we provide resources for you through our website. Because PERS is adjusted by the Legislature nearly every year, providing resources online ensures that you have the most up-to-date information.   

Webpages

What Is PERS? How PERS works, the three pension plans, how to vest (in “About PERS Membership”), and how legislation affects PERS.

The Individual Account Program How the IAP works, how to vest, and about Employee Pension Stability Accounts (EPSA).

Overview of PERS Benefits for Your Employees List of PERS benefits, options and forms for new employees and those nearing retirement, and how to get help.

Employer guide

Employer reporting guide 1, Overview of PERS Descriptions of PERS’ three retirement plans, information about obtaining and maintaining membership, and lists of PERS retirement benefits per PERS plan and job classification.

Training manual

Beginner Training Manual 1, “Introduction & Overview,” pages 3 through 7. Explanations of PERS benefits, plans, job classifications, and system funding. 

For finance officers

Announcing a new cycle of the Employer Incentive Fund

PERS is getting ready for the second cycle of the Employer Incentive Fund (EIF). This program offers matching funds to qualifying employers who open or increase a side account under the program. The purpose of the program is to encourage employers to deposit funds in a side account, which is one of the best ways to reduce their PERS contribution rate. Before beginning the next cycle of the program, PERS Actuarial Services team is surveying financial officers and agency heads to learn how many organizations are interested in participating and what schedule suits most employers best.

Survey

The actuarial team is sending an email today that includes a link to a short survey. On the survey, financial officers and agency heads can indicate which program start date best suits their organization’s budgeting schedule.

Learn more

Employer Incentive Fund webpage

Side accounts webpage

For employer reporters

Tip: Protecting employee personal information when calling ESC for a status check

If you’re calling ESC from a public place where you could be overheard — such as a school where there are parents, a workplace with customers, or a coffee shop — do not give us your employee’s Social Security number.

Instead, be prepared to provide any three of the following:

• Name.
• Birthdate.
• Last four digits of their Social Security number.
• Mailing address.
• PERS ID (found in the View Employee Info function in EDX).

For school reporters

Submitting a new-hire record in September

When reporting the hire of a returning school employee this fall, you need to make sure to use the correct hire date. Returning school employees who have established membership will receive service credit for July and August if their hire date is on or before September 15 (September 31 for higher education employees) and they work at least half of each month of the school year through December 16. 

To review the guidelines for earning service credit, read the article “Receiving Service Credit for Summer Months” in the December 2023 issue of Employer News.

Need help?

Contact the Employer Service Center to ask questions and get one-on-one reporting help.