Oregon transparency

PERS participates in the Oregon Transparency Website.

The following PERS documents are available:

Summary of Pension Unfunded Accrued Liability by Employer. This report shows unfunded PERS pension liabilities for each PERS-participating unit of government as of the most recent valuation date, December 31, 2019. Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) is the difference between accrued assets (employer contributions and investment earnings) and accrued liabilities (the cost of pension benefits earned) as of the valuation date.

The report is divided into four sections: the total UAL results for OPSRP, School Districts Pool, State and Local Government Rate Pool, and the State Judiciary without and with Side accounts; Independent employers, which are those local governments that have not elected to participate in the State and Local Government Rate Pool; School Districts, which includes all public K-12 school districts, education service districts, and public charter schools; and employers participating in the State and Local Government Rate Pool, which includes all State Agencies and the Oregon University System (OUS), all community colleges, and those local governments that have elected to be part of the pool. Within each section employers are shown in alphabetical order by employer name. For the Independent section and the State and Government Rate Pool each section is further subdivided into cities, counties and special districts. See glossary below.

Summary of PERS Employer Contribution Rates report. This report includes employer contribution to be effective for pay dates beginning July 1, 2021. These rates were adopted by the PERS Board on October 2, 2020, and are final. Additional rate details can be found on the Contributions Rates webpage and in 2019 valuation reports for employers.

Please note the following:

The Employer Contribution Rates report is arranged by actuarial pool, with Independent (non-pooled) employers listed first, followed by School Districts, ending with employers participating in the State and Local Government Rate Pool (SLGRP). The Independent employers and the SLGRP are further subdivided into cities, counties, and special districts and employers are listed in alphabetical order within those sections.
Rates are applied based on pay date. These rates are effective for payrolls dated on and after July 1, 2021, even if the pay was for work performed before that date.
Rates in this report include normal cost, unfunded actuarial liability (UAL), side accounts (if applicable), transition liabilities/surpluses (if applicable), and retiree healthcare.
Rates in this report do not include the 6% employee (member) Individual Account Program (IAP) contribution, even if the employer is paying the contribution on employees' behalf.
School districts and charter schools that are not listed individually will pay the rates shown under the employer name "School Districts," employer number 3000, near the bottom of page 7.
State agencies and some SLGRP-participating local governments pay separate Tier One/Tier Two rates for general-service and police/fire employees. The Tier One/Tier Two rates shown in the attached report are a blend of general-service and police/fire employees. Please refer to the 2019 valuation report for your jurisdiction that is posted to the Actuarial Valuations webpage for the separate rates for Tier One/Tier Two general-service and police/fire employees.

PERS by the Numbers. This document describes the system demographics, benefits, funding level and status, revenue, and other PERS-related information

Board meeting minutes. Minutes for the previous PERS Board meeting are the first agenda item in the Board packet for the most recent Board meeting (e.g., the minutes for the 7/31/20 meeting are in the materials for the 10/2/20 meeting).

Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs) for PERS. Proposed, recently adopted, and existing PERS OARs.

Glossary

Actuarial accrued liability:: The portion of the present value of prospective benefits allocated to service before the valuation date in accordance with the actuarial cost allocation method.
Actuarial asset value:: The value of assets used in calculating the required contributions. The actuarial asset value may be equal to the fair market value of assets, or it may spread the recognition of certain investment gains or losses over a period of years in accordance with an asset valuation method.
Actuarial assumptions:: Assumptions as to the occurrence of future events affecting pension costs, such as: mortality, withdrawal, disablement, and retirement; rates of investment earnings and other relevant items. Actual experience will vary from assumption, and at times the variance will be substantial.
Actuarial cost allocation method:: A technique used by actuaries to establish the amount and incidence of the annual actuarial cost of pension plan benefits, or normal cost, and the related unfunded actuarial accrued liability. Ordinarily, the annual contribution to the plan comprises the normal cost and an amount for amortization of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability.
Combined valuation payroll:: Projected payroll for the calendar year following the valuation date for Tier One, Tier Two, and OPSRP active members. This payroll is used to calculate unfunded actuarial liability rates.
Pre-SLGRP (State and Local Government Rate Pool) liability:: The sum of pre-SLGRP pooled liabilities and transition liabilities.
Pre-SLGRP (State and Local Government Rate Pool) pooled liability:: The difference between the total unfunded actuarial liability and the unfunded actuarial liability attributable to the SLGRP for a pool of employers that joined the SLGRP. There are currently two pre-SLGRP pools. One was created for state agencies and community colleges when the SLGRP was formed. The other one was created when the Local Government Rate Pool joined the SLGRP. The unfunded actuarial liability attributable to each of these pre-SLGRP pools at the time of the SLGRP was formed is maintained separately from the SLGRP, and is reduced for contributions and increased for interest charges at the assumed interest rate. In the valuation, a pre-SLGRP liability is treated as a debt owed to the SLGRP by the employer, while a pre-SLGRP surplus is treated as a loan by the employer to the SLGRP.
Side accounts:: Side accounts are established for employers who make supplemental payments (a lump-sum payment in excess of the required employer contribution). For SLGRP employers, this supplemental payment is first applied toward the employer's transitional liability, and any excess is established in a side account. Side accounts are treated as pre-paid contributions. Employer contribution rates are first determined excluding side accounts. Then, an amortized portion of the side account is used to offset the contribution otherwise required for the individual employers that have side accounts. While side accounts are excluded from valuation assets in determining contribution rates for each of these pools, side accounts are included in valuation assets for financial reporting purposes such as the reporting of funded status.
Transitional liability:: The difference between the total unfunded actuarial liability and the unfunded actuarial liability attributable to the SLGRP for an individual employer that joined the SLGRP or the Local Government Rate Pool. In the valuation, a transition liability is treated as a debt owed to the SLGRP by the employer, while a transition surplus is treated as a loan by the employer to the SLGRP.
Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability:: The excess of the actuarial accrued liability over the actuarial value of assets.