By Yvette Elledge-Rhodes
PERS Deputy Director

As I prepare to retire at the end of this month, I’ve found myself reflecting on what these past 36 years at PERS have meant to me. When I started working at PERS, things looked very different — both inside the agency and in the way we served our members.

Back then, everything was on paper. Every transaction, every communication, every record was written, printed, mailed or filed by hand. There was no website to click through, no Online Member Services (OMS) to log into. If you had a question, you either mailed us a letter, came to the office, or picked up the phone.

And on the other side of that phone? Just a handful of staff answering calls — nothing like the bustling, 30-person call center we have today.

Employers, too, submitted all their reports and documents on paper. The stacks of files were impressive, if not daunting.

Fast forward to the mid-2000s, and everything began to change. The launch of our first website and OMS opened new doors for members, allowing you to access your accounts and information without waiting for the mail.

Since then, digital communication has only grown. Today, PERS shares updates not only through letters but also through email newsletters, our website, our annual PERS Expo, and, of course, the annual statement that every member receives.

The way we connect with you has become faster, clearer, and more accessible than ever before.

It hasn’t just been the technology that has changed — our agency itself has grown tremendously.

When I joined PERS in 1989, we had fewer than 100 employees. Today, we have more than 440 dedicated professionals, each one focused on serving our members and employers with care and accuracy.

Together, we now support more than 422,000 members and more than 900 employers across the state. That scale of service would have been hard to imagine when I first walked through the doors.

Looking ahead, I know PERS will continue to evolve.

We’ve already taken important steps in our modernization journey, such as implementing a new call center system to improve the member experience.

Even bigger changes are on the horizon as part of our modernization program. These efforts will upgrade our online systems, improve efficiency, and create more tools for members to manage their retirement journey with confidence.

The pace of change may be faster than ever, but it’s all moving in the right direction.

For me, the most rewarding part of my career has been the people — both the members we serve and the colleagues I’ve had the privilege to work alongside. Our staff are talented, hardworking and deeply committed to public service. I’m confident that as I step into retirement, our members are in excellent hands.

And speaking of retirement, I’m proud to say I’ll soon be joining the ranks of PERS retirees myself. I take comfort knowing that the same system I’ve worked to support all these years will now support me, just as it does for more than 168,000 retired members who came before me.

It has truly been an honor to spend my public service career here.

Thank you for allowing me to serve you, to witness the changes, and to help PERS grow into the strong, modern organization it is today.

While I may be turning the page into a new chapter of life, I leave with gratitude and confidence that the best is still ahead — for both PERS and all its members.

Editor's note: Kai Turner will succeed Elledge-Rhodes as PERS deputy director. Turner previously served as assistant superintendent of finance and information technology for the Oregon Department of Education. He joins PERS in early December and will work with Elledge-Rhodes on this leadership transition until she retires at the end of 2025.

As year’s end approaches, you may wonder when you will receive your next member annual statement. Your 2025 statement will be mailed by the end of May 2026 and will reflect data submitted by your employer as of December 31, 2025.

It takes that long to prepare your statement for two reasons:

• The PERS Board must adopt final earnings crediting before statements can be finalized. This adoption will occur at the board's spring 2026 meeting.
• PERS must painstakingly check the accuracy of contribution information received from more than 900 employers regarding more than 200,000 nonretired member accounts.

While you wait, explore our Member Annual Statement FAQs webpage, which includes interactive examples and information to help you understand your statement. Also, check that your mailing address, phone number, and email address are correct through your Online Member Services (OMS) account. If you need to change your information, contact your employer to have it updated in the PERS reporting system. If you are not currently working for a PERS-participating employer, you can change your information yourself in OMS. Make any necessary changes as soon as possible.

To receive alerts about annual statements, sign up for GovDelivery emails on this topic from PERS. If you have questions, contact Member Services.

At PERS, a member's “subject salary” is used to determine their Individual Account Program (IAP) contributions, employer contributions to fund the pension program, and the final average salary for calculating retirement benefits under formula methods. In 2020, Senate Bill (SB) 1049 began changing limits on subject salaries. The limits can vary each year based on the Consumer Price Index.

For more details about SB 1049, read the Senate Bill 1049 (2019) member information webpage.

Are you planning to retire in the near future? Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare.

Check out these helpful resources from PERS to get ready:

• Review PERS’ OPSRP steps to retire webpage and follow the instructions.
• Attend an education session, which are available to you throughout your career.
• Schedule a retirement application assistance session (RAAS).
• Get a written benefit estimate when you are within 24 months of being eligible to retire; the form to request a written estimate is available online. You also can create estimates online earlier through your Online Member Services (OMS) account.

Also, keep the following important points in mind:

• Retirement applications may be submitted to PERS up to 90 days before your planned retirement day.
• It can take up to 92 days from your retirement date (not the date of your application submission) for your first pension benefit to be paid.
• Once PERS receives your application, we will review your account information and reconcile data with your employer(s) as needed. This process can sometimes result in a final benefit amount that differs from benefit estimates you received earlier. Remember that benefit estimates are just that — estimates.
• Filling out your application correctly, checking your personal information in OMS or on your member annual statement, requesting benefit estimates, and responding to requests from PERS for additional information can help you avoid delays in the processing of your application. If you are working for a PERS-participating employer and find errors in your personal/account information, contact your employer for corrections. If you are not working for a PERS-participating employer, read the inactive member section on our Change your address webpage for instructions.
• Individual Account Program (IAP) retirement benefits can typically take from 90 to 120 days to process and complete payments or rollovers. Processing is done both by PERS and Voya, which administers IAPs for PERS.

If you have questions, contact Member Services for assistance.

If you are about to retire and are reviewing your health insurance options, visit the PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP) website. The website offers information about PHIP eligibility rules; Medicare, non-Medicare, and dental plans; PHIP rates; and answers to other PERS health insurance questions. 

Contact PHIP at 1-800-768-7377 or visit the PHIP website for more information.

Are you thinking about working 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: OPSRP 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.

Naming your beneficiaries and keeping those designations current is a critical part of retirement planning.

Here’s why: If you have not designated a beneficiary prior to your death, PERS will pay your Individual Account Program (IAP) balance to your survivors or estate in this priority order:

• Your spouse or someone required by law to be treated as a spouse.
• Surviving children in equal shares.
• Your estate.

Locating next of kin can be challenging and substantially delay payment of your benefits to your survivors. To avoid delays, PERS encourages members to complete and submit beneficiary forms for your IAP account. Submit beneficiary forms directly to PERS; turning them into your employer doesn't count.

For your OPSRP pension, you cannot designate a beneficiary because this is already set for you by law. If an OPSRP member dies before retirement, the only eligible beneficiaries are a spouse, a registered domestic partner, or a former spouse as directed by court order. No pension death benefit will be provided to the survivors of single OPSRP members.

Generally, spouses or registered domestic partners will receive a monthly death benefit for their lifetime. If you are eligible to retire at the time of your death, the death benefit will be worth 100% of the actuarial value of the pension you would have received in retirement. If you are not eligible to retire when you die, the death benefit will be worth 50% of the actuarial value of the pension you would have received at retirement. (Read more about retirement eligibility on the PERS website.)

As for your IAP, your beneficiary options vary depending on whether you are married or single. Read the IAP Preretirement Beneficiary Designation form instructions for more information.

If you have designated an IAP beneficiary and die before retirement, PERS will pay your IAP balance to your IAP beneficiary.

Whenever a member dies, a survivor or executor should notify PERS as soon as possible. PERS will request the date of death, city and state where the death occurred, a photocopy of the death certificate, and contact information for the spouse or executor.

Processing death benefits typically can take months. To avoid processing delays, PERS recommends keeping your beneficiary designations current.

If you have questions about beneficiaries, contact PERS. Beyond the death of a member, you will want to contact PERS when other major life events occur, such as marriage, divorce, or the death of a beneficiary.

Thank you to the more than 9,000 members who took our 2025 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 member survey presentation begins on page 251 of the packet.

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

Oregon PERS paid about $4.88 billion in benefits to retired members or their beneficiaries living in Oregon in 2024. The $4.88 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 $4.88 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 $5.55 billion.

Read the full Economic Impact Study 2024 online.