PERS members’ top 10 questions

Read How to create and use your Online Member Services (OMS) account (PDF).  

Need help with access issues?

Lost username: Contact Member Services at 888-320-7377. For security purposes, a Member Services agent will verify your identity and provide you with a username.  

Forgotten password: Use this link to reset a password.  

Locked account: Contact Member Services at 888-320-7377.  

PERS member annual statements are mailed to members every year between May and June. Learn more on the Member annual statement FAQs webpage.  

While you are working for a PERS-participating employer, you change your information through your employer. 

Once you retire or no longer work for a PERS-participating employer, you can send any changes directly to PERS by submitting an Information Change Request form (PDF).  

Inactive and retired members: You also can update your address in your Online Member Services (OMS) account.  

Your retirement date — that is, the first day of your PERS retirement — is required to be the first calendar day of a month, meaning your last workday is on or before the last calendar day of the previous month. Beyond that requirement, which month you choose depends on your life, career, and family circumstances.  

School employees — take your summer break into account if choosing a summer retirement date. For information, go to the School employees webpage, then the “How your creditable service is determined” section and the “Summer months” subsection.  

It can take up to 92 days for PERS to process your retirement (but your first payment is retroactive back to your retirement date). The time required depends on the complexity of your work history, the accuracy and completeness of the data reported by your employer(s), and how well you followed the steps on the applicable webpage below, which ensures smoother processing:  

• Tier One/Tier Two Steps to Retire.
• Oregon Public Service Retirement Plan (OPSRP) Steps to Retire.

To retire means to apply to start receiving your PERS retirement benefits; that is, your pension payments, Individual Account Program (IAP) disbursements, and funds from other accounts or benefit programs, if applicable (if you are in the Tier One or Tier Two pension program or in the Police and Fire job classification).  

Once you retire, you can get another job, if you choose, and continue receiving your retirement benefits. You can even work for a PERS-participating employer; however, you cannot earn additional PERS benefits, and you may have to work under a certain number of hours per year if you retired early.  

Learn more:  

• Working after retirement: Tier One/Tier Two.
• Working after retirement: OPSRP.

When a nonvested member withdraws from PERS, they receive the money in their IAP account and Employee Pension Stability Account (EPSA), if they have one. They do not receive a pension. Most members receive their funds within four months of their effective withdrawal date. They cannot be employed with a PERS-participating employer when they apply.  

About withdrawal: This question refers to PERS members who do not work long enough to become vested* and choose to withdraw the money in their IAP account, forfeit the credit they’ve earned toward a pension, and cancel their membership in PERS.  

Employees are not required to withdraw when they leave PERS-covered service. Inactive members can leave their IAP account with PERS and keep their service credit in case they work for a PERS employer in the future. More details about withdrawals are covered on our Withdrawal information webpage.  

*When you vest in your pension, you are guaranteed to receive your pension at retirement. To learn more about vesting, visit our Welcome to PERS website, then the “Frequently asked questions” section and the “What is vesting, and when do I become vested?” subsection.  

No, you cannot borrow funds. If you withdraw any retirement funds before retirement, your PERS membership will be canceled. 

This question only applies to Tier One and Tier Two members; OPSRP members are not eligible to purchase service time.  

To request a purchase letter, you need to request a written benefit estimate. A purchase letter shows you which purchases, if any, are available to you at retirement and the estimated cost of those purchases. Purchase letters are automatically included with benefit estimates for Tier One and Tier Two members. Learn more on the Tier One/Tier Two purchases webpage.  

Written benefit estimate: When a member is within 24 months of the earliest date they are eligible to retire, they can submit a form to request a Tier One or Tier Two written benefit estimate (Tier One/Tier Two estimate request form) or an OPSRP written benefit estimate (OPSRP estimate request form). This is not the same as the general estimate that you can create in OMS — a written benefit estimate is more accurate. However, it is not necessarily what you will receive in retirement; it is an estimate based on the information in your account at that point.  

Purchasing wait time only refers to Tier One and Tier Two members. OPSRP members automatically receive service credit for their wait time.  

No, you cannot reduce the age at which you are eligible to retire. 

The retirement-eligibility ages for every tier and job classification can retire are fixed and cannot be lowered. Purchasing wait time has other benefits, however:  

• If you are qualifying for retirement based on service time, purchasing wait time can enable you to reach a 25- or 30-year retirement eligibility milestone six months sooner.
• Purchasing wait time can give you a larger pension payment by increasing the service credit number in your pension calculation.

For complete information about wait time and other kinds of purchases, go to the Tier One/Tier Two purchases webpage.