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[Share with new school employees]
Getting service credit for summer
If you plan to hire a new or returning school employee in September, heed these tips to ensure they get credit for July and August at the end of the year.
Tip 1
Hire them by
September 15, 2026.
School employees must work more than half of each month between September 15* and December 16 to earn service credit for July through December.
Tip 2
If they are ending employment or taking a leave without pay at year-end, advise them to wait until after December 16.
School employees must work more than half of each month between January 7 and May 26 to earn service credit for January through June.
For more detail about this topic, read the article “Helping School Employees Earn a Full Year of Service Credit” in the January 2026 Employer News.
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*September 26 for higher education (college and university).
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[Inform finance and budgeting roles]
Tune in to talk about side account expiration
PERS Actuarial Services is inviting all employers with financial and budgeting roles to attend two online information sessions in August and September.
In each session, PERS actuarial and financial experts will explain the 2027 side account expiration process (detailed on the Side Accounts webpage). Then they will answer presubmitted and live questions.
Watch your email for News Bite announcements with instructions for submitting questions and links to join the online sessions. (Sessions hosted on Microsoft Teams; no registration necessary.)
Side Account Expiration Process online information sessions
Save these dates — News Bite announcements with links are coming this week.
Session 1
August 25, 2026
9–10 a.m. Pacific
Session 2
September 29, 2026
9–10 a.m. Pacific
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[Share with near-retirees and working retirees]
Changes to PERS retiree health insurance
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The PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP) recently made significant changes to its program. This information is important for retirees and/or their family members who do not have health insurance or dental coverage, and retirees who are covered under PHIP plans that are going away. The changes are:
1. Updates to enrollment rules.* These updates:
a) Remove enrollment barriers for PERS retirees’ spouses.
Learn about eligibility requirements.
b) Allow members to enroll in a PHIP dental plan without enrolling in a PHIP medical plan.
Learn about dental plans.
2. Replacement of UnitedHealthcare non-Medicare plan offerings with Moda Health plan options.
Learn about Moda Health.
3. PHIP Providence Medicare Advantage plans will no longer be offered as of December 31, 2026.
Read “Important Update for PHIP Providence Medicare Advantage Members.”
Coverage from this enrollment period will begin January 1, 2027.
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Special enrollment period this fall allows all retirees to sign up for new offerings
PHIP is holding a special open-enrollment period.
From October 1 through November 15, 2026, any eligible PERS retiree** can enroll in PHIP. The open enrollment will give all retirees the opportunity to take advantage of the program changes.
Learn more
Learn more about the PHIP special open enrollment.
Learn about PHIP health coverage on the PHIP Benefits webpage.
Questions?
Contact PHIP customer service at 800-768-7377.
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**Reference Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 459-035-0070.
**The special open-enrollment period will be open to anyone who meets PHIP eligibility requirements (i.e., a PERS retiree, the spouse of a retiree, IRS-eligible domestic partner, or dependent child).
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[Explain to upcoming Tier One/Tier Two retirees]
Puzzled by purchases?
Who, when, and how to make purchases to maximize service
time at retirement
Tier One and Tier Two members who qualify can buy certain types of “service time” (aka service credit or retirement credit). The purchase gives them additional service time that can increase their pension size and even allow them to retire earlier.
Only Tier One and Tier Two members can purchase service time. Find out how they can qualify to make purchases, and the type of purchases available, on the Tier One/Tier Two Purchases webpage.
Learn more about purchases in the article “Puzzled by Purchases?” in the July 2024 Employer News.
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Dear Rep,
We will be employing PERS retirees as substitute teachers this year (directly, not through a staffing agency). Because they are retirees and will not earn additional PERS benefits, do we report their wages as non-subject salary?
~Thanks, Hiring Substitutes
Dear HIRING SUBSTITUTES,
This is a common misconception. On your Detail 2 record, always report working retiree wages in the Subject Salary field.
Why? The reason is because PERS charges your employer contribution rate on retiree wages. The contributions do not go to the retiree, however; they are applied to your organization.
If you report wages in the Non-Subject Salary field, the record will post, but the system will not charge you for contributions. Then later, sometimes years later, when ESC staff find the error and correct it, your organization will owe contributions on the retiree employee’s wages from that period. The amount will either be invoiced to you or automatically pulled from your account.
Read an example of reporting retiree wages in the Correct Usage of Subject and Non-Subject Salary Fields guide, sample reporting situation #3.
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Need help?
Contact the Employer Service Center to ask questions and get one-on-one reporting help.
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