Designating a preretirement beneficiary

There are three times in a member’s PERS career when they should designate preretirement beneficiaries by submitting the form or forms linked on this page:  

1. When they achieve membership.

2. When they have a change in their family.  

   Important: If a member has a change in marital status, this may invalidate their existing IAP beneficiary designation. PERS recommends that the member submit a new IAP designation form after a marriage or divorce.  

3. If they did not submit a form at either of the above two milestones.

When filling out the forms, members should provide as much information about their beneficiaries as possible. This helps PERS locate and contact beneficiaries.  

This page separates instructions into steps for Tier One/Tier Two and OPSRP. Both active and inactive PERS members are encouraged to designate beneficiaries.  

• Active PERS member: Currently working for a PERS-participating employer in a qualifying position and earning PERS benefits.
• Inactive PERS member: A vested member who will receive benefits at retirement but who is not currently working for a PERS-participating employer in a qualifying position.

If your employee is looking for post-retirement beneficiary forms, retiree applicants receive those in their retirement application packet.  

• For member information on retiring from PERS, direct employees to the Retirees website.
• For employer information on how to retire from PERS, read employer guide 16, Reporting a Retirement, section “Part 2: Helping Employees Prepare for Retirement Throughout Their Careers,” subsection “Stage 7: Three Months Before Retirement.”

Tier One and Tier Two members have two forms to fill out: one for their pension beneficiary and one for their IAP account beneficiary. Both forms are explained and linked on this page.  

Pension preretirement beneficiary

Tier One/Tier Two members can designate one or more beneficiaries. These can be one or more persons, charities, or trusts, or the member’s estate. 

If the member does not have a valid designation on file for their Tier One or Tier Two account or their designated beneficiary predeceases them, PERS will attempt to pay their available pension death benefits per this legal order:  

1. Their surviving spouse.
2. Their surviving children, in equal shares.
3. Their estate.

Meaning that if there is no surviving spouse, benefits go to surviving children. If they do not exist, then benefits go to the member’s estate. 

There are more details about beneficiaries on the form. 

Tier One/Tier Two Pre-Retirement Beneficiary Designation form 

Always make sure to use the current version of the form by downloading it from the PERS website. 

Beneficiary benefits

The beneficiary will receive the amount of money, if any, in the deceased’s member account (aka tier account). They will also receive an amount equal to the deceased member’s member account balance funded by the employer if they die while employed or within 120 days of terminating employment. 

If their spouse is the member’s sole beneficiary, and they meet certain conditions, the spouse can opt to forgo the above benefit and instead receive the Optional Spouse Death Benefit (OSDB), which is a lifetime monthly payment based on the amount the member would have received in retirement. The percentage of the actuarial value of the member’s pension that the beneficiary receives depends on when the person died, same as for the OPSRP beneficiary benefits explained in the section below.  

Police and Fire units

If a member who has Police and Fire (P&F) units dies before retirement, the money in the units account will be passed to the same beneficiary or beneficiaries designated on the member’s preretirement beneficiary designation form.  

If a member who still has a units account dies after retirement, any remaining unit benefits are passed to the same beneficiary or beneficiaries designated for the member’s pension on the member’s service-retirement application. 

These members have one form to fill out: the IAP form. 

Pension beneficiary

OPSRP members cannot designate a specific beneficiary for their pension before retirement, per Oregon law. PERS can only pay an OPSRP member’s pension death benefits to a spouse or to an alternate payee that is assigned by court order. If a member is unmarried and there is no court order directing PERS to pay an alternate payee, then no one receives the OPSRP member’s pension death benefits. 

Statutory beneficiary: The spouse (and/or former spouse if there is a divorce judgment) will receive payments for life. 

Beneficiary benefits

The percentage of the actuarial value of the member’s pension that the beneficiary receives depends on when the member died: 

• If they die before they are eligible to retire, beneficiary receives 50% of the actuarial value of the pension the member would have received in retirement.
• If they die after they are eligible to retire early, beneficiary receives the actuarial value of the pension the member would have received if they had retired early.
• If they die after they are eligible for normal retirement, beneficiary receives 100% of the actuarial value of the pension the member would have received in retirement.

The spouse can choose to delay payment of the death benefit until the year in which the deceased member would have reached their required minimum distribution age. 

All PERS members use the same form to designate who receives their IAP funds if they die before retirement. The form must be signed and notarized. Tip: Many banks offer free notary services for their customers.  

IAP Pre-Retirement Designation of Beneficiary form 

Always make sure to use the current version of the form by downloading it from the PERS website. 

IAP beneficiary options depend on marital status

Married member: Their spouse must be the sole primary beneficiary unless they consent to a different beneficiary by filling out an additional section on the form.  

Single member: The member can name specific primary and alternate beneficiaries. 

Newly divorced or married member: If the member has a change in marital status, they may want to submit a new designation.  

Beneficiary benefits

When a PERS member dies before retirement, PERS pays the member’s entire IAP balance to their beneficiary. 

Employee Pension Stability Account (EPSA) beneficiary

Applies to PERS members who have an EPSA. If funds remain after the EPSA is applied to the cost of funding death pension benefits, those remaining funds are paid to the IAP beneficiary. Employers can learn more about EPSAs on the About the EPSA webpage.  

Both the pension beneficiary form and the IAP beneficiary form require a physical signature. The IAP requires notarization. When forms are complete, submit to PERS by mail, fax, or drop-off. 

Attention: PERS Member Services.