PERS internal and external partnerships

PERS Board of Trustees

The PERS Board of Trustees is a five-member board that has delegated authority from the Oregon Legislature to administer the PERS system. These trustees administer retirement (service and disability), death, and retiree health insurance benefits. PERS also administers the Oregon Savings Growth Plan, a deferred compensation program for state and local government employees.  

PERS board members are fiduciaries and are appointed by the Governor. The board must include the following, per Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 238.640:  

• Three people with experience in business management, pension management, or investing who are not PERS members
• One person representing participating public employers
• One person representing public employees and retirees

Board governance assignments: 

• Board chair
• Board vice chair
• PERS Health Insurance Program (PHIP) liaison
• Audit and Risk Committee chair and members
• Employer Advisory Group liaison

Read more about the PERS board members and their roles here:
https://www.oregon.gov/pers/Pages/Board/PERS-Board-Members.aspx  

Oregon Investment Council

The Oregon Investment Council oversees the investment and allocation of all State of Oregon trust funds, including the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund. Council members are fiduciaries.  

Investment Council members are appointed by the Governor and must include the following per ORS 293.706: 

• Director of PERS (ex-officio non-voting member)
• State Treasurer (voting member)
• Four voting members with training and experience in the field of investment or finance

Read more about the Oregon Investment Council here:
https://www.oregon.gov/treasury/invested-for-oregon/pages/oregon-investment-council.aspx  

Employer Advisory Group

The PERS Employer Advisory Group (EAG) provides a forum for an exchange of information regarding legislative changes and policy determinations that affect the financial and administrative state of PERS, and therefore directly affect PERS-participating employers. Its members are often staff of participating public employers that are working most closely with their employees regarding PERS issues.  

EAG members are not appointed, and consist of representatives of the following employer groups: 

• Association of Oregon Counties
• League of Oregon Cities
• Oregon Community College Association
• Oregon School Boards Association
• Special Districts Association
• State of Oregon
• State Universities

Read more about the Employer Advisory Group, including their charter and a current member list here:
https://www.oregon.gov/pers/emp/pages/employer-advisory-group.aspx  

Oregon Savings Growth Plan (OSGP) Advisory Committee

The OSGP Advisory Committee is a group responsible for having an overall understanding of the OSGP and advises on all aspects of the OSGP. This group meets on a quarterly basis and discusses and advises both the OSGP program within PERS, as well as our third party administrator, Voya Financial, on next steps, policy decisions, and other aspects of the program.  

Read more about the OSGP Advisory Committee here:
https://voyamarketingzone.dmplocal.com/sites/3650/osgp-about.html  

Association of Oregon Counties

The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) is a statewide organization representing Oregon’s 36 counties. AOC is governed by a board of directors and makes policy decisions through a process involving policy steering committees and the Legislative Committee.  

AOC works with PERS to provide a broad array of services to its members, the majority of whom are PERS-participating employers. They work with the agency on potential legislation, including providing information on the impact of policy changes. They also gather and help distribute pertinent plan information from PERS to their member counties.  

Read more about the Association of Oregon Counties here:
https://oregoncounties.org/about-aoc/  

League of Oregon Cities

The League of Oregon Cities (LOC) is a statewide organization representing Oregon’s 241 cities. They are governed by a 16-member board of directors and partner with community leaders to develop policy and legislation that empowers Oregon’s cities.  

LOC partners with PERS on a regular basis regarding potential legislation, impacts of potential legislation, and solving common issues that cities face when administering PERS. They also gather and help distribute pertinent plan information from PERS to their member cities.  

Read more about the League of Oregon Cities here:
https://www.orcities.org/about/who-we-are/mission-vision-values  

Oregon Education Association

The Oregon Education Association (OEA) is a union that represents licensed teachers, educators, and specialists inside classrooms. They advocate for public education professionals in a variety of ways, including a political action committee, and collaboration with all education interested parties.  

OEA provides information and suggested guidance to PERS regarding potential legislation and works to bring specific member issues to the attention of the agency. They also involve PERS when proposing legislation to ensure understanding of the effects of a particular bill.  

Read more about OEA here:
https://oregoned.org/about-oea  

PERS Coalition

The PERS Coalition is a group of public sector union government affairs officials that represents the interest of current PERS members both to the agency and Legislature. While they advocate for benefit increases and protections against decreasing PERS benefits, they also provide advice in consultation with the agency and highlight member issues as needed.  

Member groups include: Oregon PERS Retirees, Inc., Oregon American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Oregon Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Oregon State Fire Fighters Council, Oregon School Employees Association, Oregon Nurses Association, and the Oregon Education Association.  

Coalition of School Administrators

The Coalition of School Administrators (COSA) represents the interests of school administrators, managers, and executives. In addition to advocacy, they also support school districts to develop educational leaders.  

COSA works with PERS to provide information as to the effects of any potential legislation on their member school districts. Additionally, they will often partner with PERS around significant participating public employer events, such as the implementation of Senate Bill 1049 (2019), side account expiration, and more, to cultivate understanding, education, and suggested messaging for member districts.  

Read more about COSA here:
https://www.cosa.k12.or.us/about/cosa  

Oregon School Boards Association

The Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA) is an advocacy organization started to represent the interests of Oregon school boards at every level of education and their members.  

OSBA works closely with both COSA and PERS regarding the effects of any potential legislation, as well as on developing education for school boards around PERS benefits and the effect changes may have on the schools they govern.  

Read more about OSBA here:
https://www.osba.org/about-osba/  

Oregon Association of School Business Officials

The Oregon Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) is a group that brings together finance employees of public education institutions and governmental education entities.  

OASBO works closely with PERS’ actuarial staff to provide education and outreach to their members regarding the financial issues related to administering PERS. This includes working with members to help them understand actuarial pooling in the context of school districts, PERS contribution rates in general, PERS reporting, and the presence and effect of side accounts on individual educational institutions’ contribution rates.  

Oregon PERS Retirees, Inc.

Oregon PERS Retirees, Inc. (OPRI) is an organization that advocates and protects the rights and benefits of Oregon’s retired public employees. OPRI has a political action committee, as well as a litigation fund. They support candidates for office and lobby the Oregon Legislature on issues that are important to retired public employees.  

OPRI partners with PERS primarily regarding potential legislation, as well as helping to bring member issues to the attention of the agency. They monitor trends among their members’ interactions with PERS and notify the agency regarding member experiences.  

Read more about Oregon PERS Retirees, Inc. here:
https://opri.org/about-opri/