By Dr. Elizabeth Steiner
Oregon State Treasurer

I had the privilege of speaking to more than 600 PERS members earlier this year as part of a webinar focused on Oregon State Treasury’s investment performance and strategy.

I hope you were able to attend. If not, check out a recording of the webinar and our presentation slides online.

As PERS retirees, you were the people who taught our children, protected our homes and communities, built and maintained our roads and bridges, kept our air and water clean, ensured our elections ran smoothly, and provided so many other services to Oregonians.

I was pleased to share a lot of good news about how Treasury is contributing to the financial health of the PERS system and answer questions from PERS members.

At Treasury, our fiduciary responsibility to you and other Oregonians whose funds we invest is our highest priority. I’m proud that we are continuing to keep PERS healthy.

Joining me as webinar speakers were Treasury’s Chief Investment Officer Rex Kim and PERS Director Kevin Olineck.  Here are some highlights from our conversation with PERS members:

• Investment returns exceed assumed rate: Over the past five years, the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (OPERF) generated an annualized return of 7.7% (from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2025), which exceeded the PERS assumed earnings rate of 6.9%, keeping Oregon on track to reduce its unfunded pension liability.
• Private equity reductions: The share of OPERF investments allocated to private equity has been on the decline since it reached 29% in May 2024. As of December 31, 2025, the end of my first year in office, it was down to 24.7%.
• Eliminating unfunded liabilities: PERS is on track to eliminate its unfunded actuarial liability within a decade (by 2036), assuming investment returns yield an average 6.9% growth rate over the next 10 years.

This year’s PERS member webinar was the first in a new series of webinars from Treasury and our partners. Additional webinars will be announced later this year.

To hear more about upcoming webinars, check for announcements on the PERS website and make sure you are signed up to receive news alerts from PERS, especially member news and education presentation topics.

The PERS annual Member Satisfaction Survey is coming next month. Share your feedback and help PERS, the agency, improve our member services.

Starting May 1, you can complete the survey online. PERS will send a reminder about the survey once it's available.

You will have until May 31 to complete this online-only survey.

Member Choice allows you to pick a target-date fund (TDF) for the upcoming year that better reflects your retirement savings goals or your personal risk tolerance.

Any changes you made to your Individual Account Program (IAP) TDF by September 2025, took effect on January 1, 2026, and you cannot make any new changes in Online Member Services until the next Member Choice window in September 2026.

Changes that took effect in January will not be reflected on the member annual statement you receive this spring because the cut-off date for account information that goes into your statement was December 31, 2025. You will find your changes reflected on the statement you receive in spring 2027.

Find full information about Member Choice on the IAP target-date funds​ webpage.

If you earn more than the annually adjusted monthly salary threshold*, a portion of your 6% IAP contributions is redirected into your Employee Pension Stability Account (EPSA). EPSA contributions and earnings from 2025 will be shown on your 2025 member annual statement, which you will receive in spring 2026. The redirect to EPSA remains in effect when the PERS system is less than 90% funded**.

To offset the redirect, you can opt to make a post-tax 2.5% voluntary contribution to your IAP or consider increasing your retirement savings elsewhere, such as with the Oregon Savings Growth Plan (OSGP). Remember that you can begin or end voluntary IAP contributions by logging into your Online Member Services (OMS) account.

Find full information about Member Redirect on the IAP redirect webpage.

*The link will take you to an EPSA overview webpage. Once there, click on the “Does EPSA apply to every PERS member?” accordion to access threshold information.

**The latest actuarial valuation shows that PERS’ funded status — including funding from employer sources called "side accounts" — is 77% as of December 31, 2024.

In January 2026, the limit on subject salaries used in benefit calculations increased to $245,724* per year. 

PERS uses subject salaries to determine member IAP contributions, employer contributions to fund the pension program, and the final average salary for calculating retirement benefits under formula methods.

If you plan to retire in the first few months of 2026, be aware that salary limitations also apply to working partial years. Read more about Senate Bill 1049 salary limits and partial year salary limits online.

*Indexed annually to the Consumer Price Index

Your retirement future is up to you. How you plan and save for your retirement can determine your retirement security.

To check whether you’ll have the money you need for a secure retirement, begin by gathering benefit estimates for your retirement accounts and Social Security. Two available estimation tools are:

• Tier One/Tier Two pension — Log into Online Member Services, and click the "Benefit Estimate" link to get started.
• Social Security — Use the federal Social Security Administration’s online benefits calculators.

Also check the value of your Individual Account Program (IAP) on your member annual statement or by logging into your IAP account online.

Add up your estimates, consider your IAP, and compare your total estimated income to what financial experts say you’ll need when you retire: 80% of your working income.

If your total estimate falls short, you may consider saving additional money in other retirement accounts.

One option for saving more is the Oregon Savings Growth Plan (OSGP). OSGP offers both pre- and posttax retirement savings options and various free educational workshops. Check with your employer to see if OSGP or other voluntary retirement savings options are available to you.

As you ponder your future retirement, don’t forget about health care.

Many public employees have the majority of their health insurance costs covered by their employers while they are still working. In some cases, employers may cover up to 99% of medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance premiums. When you stop working, the cost of your insurance coverage will rest solely with you. 

Depending on your age and other factors at retirement, you may or may not yet be eligible for Medicare coverage. Even when you are eligible, Medicare does not cover all health care costs, and you may wish to have supplemental coverage to bridge the gap.

Once you become a PERS retiree, several health insurance options will become available to you through the PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP). PHIP offers Medicare and non-Medicare plans, as well as dental options.

Visit the PHIP website or call 800-768-7377 for more information about the program.

Additional information about health care coverage and costs

• Some industry estimates say the average health care costs in retirement amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
• Estimator tools can help you explore possible health care costs. Fidelity, a financial services corporation, offers one such tool. This tool is for general information only and not a guarantee of future costs. 
• If you have questions about Medicare, check out the Oregon Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA) program. SHIBA offers certified, local counselors who can help.

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’ Tier One/Tier Two 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 within 90 days of your 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. Data discrepancies can sometimes cause your finalized benefit amount to differ 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 are purchasing time, contact PERS to make sure your payment was received — whether you mailed a check or used a trustee-to-trustee transfer to make the purchase.

If you have questions, contact Member Services for assistance.

Preparing for retirement requires many steps — from estimating whether you’re saving enough to designating beneficiaries as applicable to your membership type.

Something else to plan for is who will act on your behalf in the event of severe illness or death. Check out these resources:

• Authorization to Release Account Information* — This form will allow you to name other parties who can receive information about your PERS benefits, including account balances and benefit estimates.

• Special Power of Attorney for PERS* — This form will allow you to designate others who can act and make decisions on your behalf regarding your PERS benefits. 

Also be aware that when you die, a family member, beneficiary, or caregiver must notify PERS. More information about member deaths and death benefits is available on the PERS website.

*Note that the account information release and special power of attorney (POA) forms are only valid while the member is alive. You can cancel the release and special POA at any time.

The Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (OPERF) earned 9.68% in investment returns for 2025. 

However, annual earnings credited to member accounts will be different than this rate. They differ because of administrative expenses and various requirements set by state law, administrative rules, and PERS Board actions.

The board approved the 2025 annual earnings crediting to member accounts at its April 3, 2026, meeting. After board action, rates credited to various accounts get published on the PERS website by the year. The accounts include Tier One/Tier Two regular accounts, the Individual Account Program target-date funds, and Employee Pension Stability Account.

The 2025 earnings credited to your accounts will be reflected in your upcoming 2025 member annual statement. You should receive this statement by the end of May.

OPERF is managed by Oregon State Treasury under the direction of the Oregon Investment Council (OIC).

PERS will not call you and ask for money, donations, your account login, or your financial information.

However, PERS may call you in response to a request you made, a form you submitted, or another action you took.

If you are unsure whether someone contacting you is from PERS, call Member Services at 888-320-7377 to check.

Read more on our Protect yourself from fraud webpage.