Skylar actively educates and advises current employee participants and retirees of the Oregon Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) as they approach retirement, as well as how to use it's features throughout retirement.  As a result, these PERS employees confidently make better decisions about their pension options, individual account program investments, and retirement account rollovers. We keep up to date with recent legislation and how it will impact the long term decision you will make when retiring from the state. We take a comprehensive approach in looking at all aspects of your financial picture.  How will your PERS pension affect Social Security, IRAs, your partner, or any other planning needs you will have?  Contact us to do a review.

PERS or The Public Employees Retirement System is the retirement and disability fund for public employees throughout the great state of Oregon. Established in 1946, employees of the state, school districts, and local governments are eligible for coverage.

A health insurance plan for covered retirees was added to the program in 1987. The program is administered by a twelve-member board of trustees, appointed to three-year terms by the Governor subject to confirmation by the Senate, which also administers the Oregon Savings Growth Plan, a voluntary deferred compensation plan established in 1991.

If you qualify for this program, it is likely you are already contributing to it.

For more information on PERS please follow the button below to Oregon's information page on PERS.

This quick reference guide will tell most PERS eligible employees what tier fall into. If your tier is not clear from these guidelines, please follow the link below to Oregon's information page on PERS tiers or use the button at the bottom the page to reach out to us for further help!

Tier 1

-Hired prior to 1/1/1996

 Tier 2

 -Hired between 1/1/1996 and 8/28/2003

OPSRP (Oregon Public Service Retirement Plan)

-Hired after 8/28/2003

IAP

Or Individual Account Program is an account-based benefit for all Tier 1, Tier 2, and OPSRP state employees who have been working in a qualifying position since 1/1/2004. These accounts grow based on a portion of your salary allocated to the IAP.

Current legislation from 2019 has reduced these benefits so please call us for more information and how it impacts you. (started July 1 2020)

IAP Distribution at retirement

You have options when choosing how to roll over your IAP balance. These include:

-Traditional IRA

-Eligible Employer Plan

-457 deferred compensation plan

Beyond these options, you can also elect to receive your IAP as either a lump-sum payment, in equal installments over a set period of years, or over your expected lifetime. For a better understanding of your distribution options and what would be best for your situation, we encourage you to consult our team. We have included a button below that will help you estimate your IAP payment calculation based on factors you input.

If a retired member receiving IAP payments passes away, the beneficiary is entitled to receive the remaining installments as a lump sum or in installments.