Title 22, Public officers and Employees

(1) Notwithstanding the definition of “salary” or “other advantages” provided by ORS 238.005, for the purpose of calculating the retirement allowance of a person who establishes membership in the system on or after January 1, 1996, as described in ORS 238.430, the Public Employee…

(1) A police officer or firefighter who is a member of the system may elect to make additional contributions to the fund to purchase increased benefits between the date of retirement and age 65. The rate of additional contribution shall be determined by the actuary, dependent upo…

(1) Subject to the rules of the Public Employees Retirement Board, upon commencing participation in the system a public employer that is not a school district may elect to provide prior service credit for employees of the employer who are employees of the employer on the date on …

(1) Except as provided in this section, the right of a person to a pension, an annuity or a retirement allowance, to the return of contribution, the pension, annuity or retirement allowance itself, any optional benefit or death benefit, or any other right accrued or accruing to a…

(1) Notwithstanding ORS 238.445, any retirement allowance, pension payment, lump sum payment or other distribution payable under this chapter or ORS chapter 238A to a person convicted of a felony is subject to execution, garnishment, attachment or other process to collect, and ma…

(1) Upon receiving an application for a retirement allowance or benefit from a member of the Public Employees Retirement System and obtaining information necessary for computation of the retirement allowance or benefit to which the member is entitled upon retirement, the system s…

(1)(a) Whenever a member of the system is retired for service and is entitled to receive a retirement allowance or benefit that is payable monthly, and the Public Employees Retirement Board is unable to calculate the amount of the monthly payment in time to allow mailing of the m…

(1) A benefit that is owed to a member or beneficiary of a member under the Public Employees Retirement System shall be forfeited at the end of the system’s plan year in which the benefit becomes due if the Public Employees Retirement Board is unable to locate the member or benef…

(1) If receipt in full by a person of a retirement allowance or other benefit under this chapter or ORS chapter 238A would prevent such person from receiving in full any other governmental pension to which the person is entitled, such person may waive for a calendar year sufficie…

(1) A member of the Public Employees Retirement System who is married on the effective date of the member’s retirement shall receive a service retirement allowance in the form provided for in Option 3 under ORS 238.305 (1) or a disability retirement allowance in the form provided…

(1) Notwithstanding ORS 238.445 or any other provision of law, payments under this chapter or ORS chapter 238A of any pension, annuity, retirement allowance, disability benefit, death benefit, refund benefit or other benefit that would otherwise be made to a person entitled there…

Interest is not payable on any payment from the Public Employees Retirement Fund unless specifically provided for in this chapter. [Formerly 237.202]

No transfer after July 1, 1946, by a member of the system from the service of one employer participating in the system to the service of another such employer shall impair any rights or deprive the member of any credits accruing to the member as a result of membership in the syst…

All contributions made and all service credit earned under the Public Employes’ Retirement Act of 1953 prior to January 1, 1956, on the basis of a fiscal year shall not be affected by the change from fiscal year basis to calendar year basis on January 1, 1956, under the 1955 amen…

(1) Pursuant to section 415(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, there is established a Public Employee Benefit Equalization Fund, separate and distinct from the General Fund and from the Public Employees Retirement Fund. The Public Employee Benefit Equalization Fund is declared to b…

(1) A member of the Public Employees Retirement System, or the beneficiary of that member, who by reason of the benefit limitations imposed by Internal Revenue Code section 415 receives a retirement allowance under the system that is less than the allowance the member or benefici…

(1) The administrative expenses incurred by the Public Employees Retirement Board in administering the Public Employee Benefit Equalization Fund shall be paid from interest earned by the fund. If the interest is insufficient, the excess expense shall be paid from the contribution…

The Public Employees Retirement Board may adopt rules for the administration of ORS 238.485, 238.488 and 238.490. In adopting rules under this section, the board shall consider and take into account all federal law requirements relating to deferred compensation plans, including t…

As used in ORS 238.500 to 238.585, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Court” means the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Oregon Tax Court and a circuit court. (2) “Judge” means a judge of any court. (3) “Judge member” means a judge who is a member of the Public Em…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person who is not a judge on December 31, 1983, and who is elected or appointed to the office of judge on or after January 1, 1984, shall become a judge member on the date the person takes the office. (2) A person who, b…

(1)(a) Each judge member shall contribute monthly to the Public Employees Retirement Fund seven percent of the monthly salary of the judge member. The contributions of a judge member and earnings on the contributions shall be credited to the member account of the judge member. (b…

A judge member shall be retired from judicial office at the end of the calendar year in which the judge member attains the age of 75 years. [Formerly 237.219]

(1) Prior to attaining 60 years of age, all judge members shall elect in writing to retire under either paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection. The election shall be irrevocable after the judge member attains 60 years of age. Any judge member who fails to make the election provi…

(1) A judge member who elects to retire under ORS 238.535 (1)(b): (a) Shall continue to be eligible as a nonretired employee for health benefit plans contracted for under ORS 243.135 during the time that the judge member is serving as a pro tem judge under ORS 238.535 (1)(c); and…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section: (a) A judge member who has five or more years of service as a judge may withdraw from the Public Employees Retirement Fund the amount credited to the member account of the judge member if: (A) The judge member is separated from al…

(1)(a) A judge member who has not attained the age of 65 years and who is found to be mentally or physically incapacitated for an extended duration, as determined by medical examination by one or more physicians selected by the board, and thereby unable to perform any work for wh…

(1) For the purposes of this section, a judge member may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the Public Employees Retirement Board before the death of the judge member. Beneficiaries designated by a judge member may inc…

(1) Every monthly retirement allowance or pension payable to a judge member or surviving spouse of a judge member under ORS 238.500 to 238.585 shall be adjusted annually as provided in ORS 238.360. (2) ORS 238.368 applies to judge members, and for that purpose the monthly retirem…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, ORS 238.005 (4) and (27), 238.025, 238.078, 238.082, 238.092, 238.115 (1), 238.250, 238.255, 238.260, 238.350, 238.362, 238.364, 238.372 to 238.384, 238.410, 238.415, 238.420, 238.445, 238.458, 238.460, 238.465, 238.475, 2…

(1) A judge member who has creditable service as other than a judge member is entitled to the use of all creditable service as a judge member for the purpose of establishing eligibility under ORS 238.115, 238.125, 238.135 or any other provision of this chapter that requires a spe…

(1) A system of retirement and of benefits at retirement or death for employees of public employers hereby is established and shall be known as the Public Employees Retirement System. The Public Employees Retirement System consists of this chapter and ORS chapter 238A. It is the …

The Legislative Assembly finds that the maintenance of a solid, affordable public employees retirement plan is essential to providing effective, efficient services to the citizens of Oregon by allowing the state and political subdivisions of the state to hire and retain employees…

(1) At least once every two years the Public Employees Retirement Board shall cause a competent actuary familiar with public systems of retirement and death benefits to prepare a report evaluating the current and prospective assets and liabilities of the system and indicating its…

(1)(a) At least once every four years, the Secretary of State shall contract with a firm qualified to perform an independent actuarial review of the report on the Public Employees Retirement System prepared under ORS 238.605. The firm shall review the report that was most recentl…

(1) Once every two calendar years, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall adopt actuarial equivalency factor tables for the purpose of computing the payments to be made to members and their beneficiaries, alternate payees and judge members and their spouses and beneficiaries…

(1) The Public Employees Retirement Board shall conduct a study of the life expectancy of members of the Public Employees Retirement System in the categories described in subsection (2) of this section. If the board determines that members in the categories described in subsectio…

(1)(a) The administrative expenses of the Public Employees Retirement System shall be paid from interest earned by the Public Employees Retirement Fund; provided, that if such interest be insufficient the expense in excess thereof shall be paid from the contributions which this c…

(1) On request from the Public Employees Retirement System, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall draw warrants on amounts authorized for payment of the administrative expenses of the system for use by the system as a revolving fund. The revolving fund shall not …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Public Employees Retirement Board may deny or terminate participation by an employer in the Public Employees Retirement System, and may deny or terminate membership in the system for any employee, if the board determines that allowi…

At least 30 days before the Public Employees Retirement Board adopts changes to actuarial methods and assumptions used for purposes of the Public Employees Retirement System, the board shall submit a report to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means or the Joint Interim Committee o…

(1) The governing authority of the system shall be a board known as the Public Employees Retirement Board and consisting of five members appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the Senate in the manner provided in ORS 171.562 and 171.565. Except as otherwise provided…

The Public Employees Retirement Board shall include a study of accounting, reporting and related subjects when considering the goals and objectives of the Public Employees Retirement System. [Formerly 237.253]

(1) All members of the Public Employees Retirement Board must be at least 21 years of age, be citizens of the United States and have been residents of the state for at least two years immediately preceding appointment to the board. (2) One member of the board must be: (a) An empl…

The system shall be administered, subject to the limitations of this chapter, ORS chapter 238A and the budget prescribed by the board, by the director provided for by ORS 238.630 and by a staff which the board authorizes and which the director appoints. The director shall hold th…

For the purpose of requesting a state or nationwide criminal records check under ORS 181A.195, the Director of the Public Employees Retirement System may require the fingerprints of a person who: (1)(a) Is employed or applying for employment by the system; or (b) Provides service…

(1) Subject to the limitations of this chapter and ORS chapter 238A, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall, from time to time, establish rules for transacting its business and administering the system in accordance with the requirements of ORS chapter 183. (2) All rules ado…

In order to determine any facts necessary to the administration of the retirement system, the board may conduct hearings, subpoena and examine witnesses and require any person having custody thereof to bring before the board any book, record, document, certificate, writing, artic…

The Attorney General shall consult with the Governor on appointment of separate counsel pursuant to ORS 180.235 to represent the Public Employees Retirement Board in any matter or in any class of matters in which the benefits payable under the Public Employees Retirement System a…

(1) The Public Employees Retirement Fund is declared to be a trust fund, separate and distinct from the General Fund, for the uses and purposes set forth in this chapter and ORS chapter 238A and ORS 237.950 to 237.980, and for no other use or purpose, except that this provision s…

Moneys in the Public Employees Retirement Fund are continuously appropriated to the Public Employees Retirement Board to carry out the purposes of this chapter and ORS chapter 238A. [2001 c.716 §10; 2003 c.733 §61]