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 Orange-crowned warbler in a Douglas fir tree
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For employer reporters
Changing an employee’s qualification status
In 2024, your part-time employees may have worked too few or too many hours to maintain their current qualification status. If they have, you will need to ask the Employer Service Center (ESC) to change their position type.
Choose one of the options below to find the total hours your part-time employees have worked this year. Then, if needed, submit a Demographic Correction Request asking for a change to their position type.
How to find out if qualification status has changed
This is an overview; complete information is in employer reporting guide 9, Reporting Wages for a Qualifying Employee, section “Qualification Status Changes.”
Option one
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Run an eligibility exception report to see a list of all employees whose eligibility may have changed. The two types of eligibility reports are explained in employer guide 24, Running Reports.
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Option two
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Run a Year-to-Date Wage and Contribution Summary report to see total hours to date for an individual employee, as explained in employer guide 24, Running Reports.
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Option three
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Receive an error in EDX:
If an employee reaches 600 hours without your knowledge, the next time you report their wages as non-qualifying, EDX will give you an error message:
S – Employee has 600 or more hours of service reported in the plan year; wage code ‘02 – Regular/Non-Qualifying’ may not be used.
However, there is no error message for a qualifying employee who may not qualify this year. You can only capture these employees by doing option one or two.
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How to change a position from qualifying to non-qualifying or vice versa
For instructions on changing a position from qualifying to non-qualifying, read the “Qualification Status Changes” section in employer reporting guide 9, Reporting Wages for a Qualifying Employee.
For instructions on changing a position from non-qualifying to qualifying, read the “Changing From Non-Qualifying to Qualifying Status” section in employer reporting guide 10, Reporting Wages for a Non-Qualifying Employee.
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For schools
December reporting: How to ensure service credit for summer months
It’s important for school employees to understand how they earn service credit for summer months and winter break. This ensures that they receive a full year of retirement credit for every year in which they worked at least half of every month the school was open.
Credit for July and August
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School employees must work September 15* through December 16 to receive service credit for July and August of that year. To ensure they get credit for July through December, inform employees that if they terminate, retire, or go on unpaid leave before December 16, they will only receive service credit for September, October, and November. Remember that taking paid leave (e.g., sick leave, vacation, compensatory time) counts as work time.
*September 26 for higher education employees.
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Credit for June
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School employees must work January 7 through May 26 to receive service credit for June of that year. To ensure they get credit for January through June, inform them that if they terminate, retire, or go on unpaid leave before May 26, they will not receive service credit for June.
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Effect of leave without pay
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If an employee takes a leave without pay (LWOP) of 11+ working days in a month, they will not receive service credit for that month nor for the summer month or months they would have earned. For more information about LWOP, read employer reporting guide 11, Reporting a Leave.
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Learn more
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If employees need more detail about earning service credit, direct them to the School Employees webpage.
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For employer reporters
Contribution start dates for employees hired in December
Employees who are hired into a qualifying position on the first calendar day or first business day of December 2024 will complete their wait time on May 31, 2025. Their contribution start date (CSD) and first day of membership* will be June 1, 2025.
All employees who are hired between December 3 and 31, 2024, will complete their six-month wait time on June 30, 2025. Their CSD and first day of membership* will be July 1.
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If hire date is
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Membership starts on
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On December 1 or 2, 2024
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June 1, 2025
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Between December 3 and 31, 2024
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July 1, 2025
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*If they meet wait-time requirements. Requirements are listed in employer reporting guide 7, Reporting a New Employee, section “Qualifying for PERS Membership,” subsection “New, Non-PERS Member.”
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For finance professionals
New 2025 salary limit and Member Redirect rates coming in January
Every January, PERS updates the salary limit and Member Redirect threshold amounts to keep pace with the cost of living. When we have the new numbers, we will inform you through a News Bite email and the January Employer News.
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For employer reporters
How to report an employee death
When an employee dies before retirement, a friend, family member, or personal representative needs to inform PERS Member Services. The employer needs to follow the steps in employer reporting guide 15, Reporting a Termination or Death, section “Reporting an Employee Death.” Completing these steps right away ensures that beneficiary benefits can begin as soon as possible, if applicable.
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For human resources professionals
Reminder: OPSRP Police and Fire normal retirement age dropping January 1
As reported in the October 2024 Employer News, the normal retirement age for Oregon Public Service Retirement Plan (OPSRP) Police and Fire job classification members who have less than 25 years of service time is lowering from 60 years of age to 55 years of age for retirement dates of January 1, 2025, and later.
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This means that:
- All OPSRP Police and Fire members who have less than 25 years of service time can now retire at age 55* with full benefits. This is a normal retirement, not early retirement.
- Once an OPSRP Police and Fire member reaches 25 years of service credit, they can retire at age 53* with full benefits. This age did not change.
- OPSRP General Service and School Employee job class normal retirement age is still 65. Early retirement age is 55 through 64.
OPSRP disability benefit recipients:
- Disability benefits end once a member no longer qualifies for disability benefits, retires, or reaches normal retirement age. Therefore, OPSRP Police and Fire members who are receiving disability benefits will find their benefits ending at age 55 instead of 60 as of January 1.
*
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An OPSRP employee’s last 60 months of retirement credit before retirement must be in the Police and Fire job classification to qualify for retirement at this age. If they don’t have 60 months of Police and Fire retirement credit, they can retire early with General Service benefits** or they can keep working until they have 60 months and then retire with Police and Fire benefits.
** The months they worked as Police and Fire would be calculated at the higher Police and Fire rate.
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Need reporting help?
The Employer Service Center is available for questions and one-on-one reporting help.
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