By Heather Case
PERS Senior Policy Advisor

Due to the forward-looking nature of pension benefits, people often wonder if the retirement benefits they have worked for will still be around after they retire. Your PERS retirement benefits are secure, and here’s why:

First, the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (OPERF) is a trust that contains all of the assets used to pay for PERS, and it is healthy.

OPERF invests a total of about $97.7 billion in assets. OPERF is one of the largest public sector pension funds in the United States, ranking 16th. Due to its size, ongoing contributions, and continuous investment of funds, OPERF is unlikely to run out of money.

Second, the PERS pension system itself is healthy, too. According to the National Conference on Public Pension Systems 2024 Public Retirement Systems Study, which surveyed 157 state and local government pension funds in the United States, the average funded level of all respondents was 75.4%.

PERS’ funded status, as of our 2023 actuarial valuation, is 72%. PERS’ funded status is around the average of other state and local government pension funds and does not need to be 100% funded to continue paying your retirement benefits.

Third, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled in Moro v. State of Oregon, 357 Or 167 (2015), that your PERS benefits are a contract between you and your employer. This ruling means that benefits promised to you and earned by you (through working) cannot be retroactively decreased or withdrawn.

When you see changes made by the Oregon Legislature to PERS benefits, those changes are prospective, meaning they apply to the benefits that currently working public employees are earning now and/or will earn in the future.

Finally, PERS keeps itself accountable. PERS is required to hire consultants who complete an annual actuarial valuation of the PERS plan. This valuation measures the “health” of the plan — how well it is able to pay current and future retirement benefits.

Retirement plans are structured to be “prefunded,” meaning you earn your benefits now but aren’t paid those benefits until you retire. Because of this, PERS’ consultants take into account the plan’s current obligations (e.g., the benefits it’s paying retirees now) when assessing the health of the plan itself. The graphic above is a snapshot from the 2023 actuarial valuation (go to page 86), showing expected benefit payments out to 2054.

The security of your retirement benefits through PERS is sound.

With a substantial asset base of nearly $100 billion and a commitment to ongoing investment, OPERF is unlikely to run out of money.

Moreover, PERS maintains a competitive funded status relative to other pension systems, reinforcing its stability.

The legal protections afforded by the Oregon Supreme Court ensure that your earned benefits remain secure, while the annual actuarial valuations guarantee ongoing accountability and transparency.

Rest assured that the framework supporting your retirement benefits is robust, ensuring that your ongoing retirement benefits are secure.

New PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP) premiums for 2025 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? Check out the 2025 Medicare and non-Medicare rates online.

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

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 2024 performance on February 1, 2025.

You also will receive a letter from PERS showing the amount of the adjustment in January 2025.

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

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, direct deposit, tax, and residency changes

If you're moving or otherwise need to change your address, direct deposit information, tax withholding, or residency status (Tier One retirees only), you can find details about how to make changes on our Moving webpage.

Divorce

If you're getting a divorce, contact Member Services about divorce and your PERS benefits.

Account access

If you become ill or incapacitated, do you want someone else to manage your PERS accounts on your behalf? If so, you will need to complete one or both of these forms, depending on the level of account access you want them to have:

• An Authorization to Release Account Information form allows you to authorize a third party to obtain information regarding your PERS account or benefits.
• A 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.

Reporting a death

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. 

Are you planning to work for a PERS-participating employer after retirement? Be sure you’re familiar with the latest guidelines.

Senate Bill (SB) 1049 (2019) simplified some previous work-after-retirement rules as of January 1, 2020. House Bill (HB) 2296 (2023) extended the rules set by SB 1049 through 2034. These rules, however, do not apply to some early retirees and disability retirees.

Read more on our SB 1049 and HB 2296 Changes: Work After Retirement and our working after retirement webpages.

Note: PERS is not involved in hiring decisions between retirees and employers. Whether a PERS-participating employer hires you, or places limits on you as a PERS retiree, is between you and your employer.

Thank you to the more than 8,800 members who took our 2024 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 October meeting packet online. The member survey presentation begins on page 120 of the packet.

You also can check out a recording of the full board meeting online.

Oregon PERS paid about $4.74 billion in benefits to retired members or their beneficiaries living in Oregon in 2023. The $4.74 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 $4.74 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 $5.44 billion.

Read the full Economic Impact Study 2023 online.

The Oregon Attorney General’s (AG) Consumer Advocate Program is recruiting volunteers to answer its consumer hotline. 

Program volunteers will answer callers’ consumer questions, provide appropriate referral information to other agencies and service providers, and send out forms and brochures. 

Volunteer shifts are available from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Training and reference materials are provided to help volunteers with answering calls. A staff member is on site at all times to guide volunteers.

For more information, email help@oregonconsumer.gov. The AG's Consumer Advocate Program and consumer hotline are part of the state Department of Justice.