Employer Incentive Fund (EIF)

About the EIF

The Employer Incentive Fund (EIF) program was established by the 2018 Oregon Legislature with Senate Bill 1566. Then-Governor Kate Brown proposed this measure to provide additional funding for PERS by creating the EIF to match side account contributions by participating PERS employers.

Employers who apply to open or increase a side account under the EIF program receive a matching deposit of 25% of their side account deposit. The match is paid from the Employer Incentive Fund, which is a separate fund managed by Oregon State Treasury that is funded by Oregon Lottery sports betting proceeds.

The minimum match is $6,250 (25% of the minimum deposit of $25,000).
The maximum match is either 5% of the employer’s unfunded actuarial liability (UAL) or $300,000, whichever is greater.

The EIF program is scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2042 . After that, any unexpended moneys remaining in the Employer Incentive Fund will be transferred to the state General Fund.

What is a side account?

When an employer makes a lump-sum payment to prepay all or part of their pension unfunded actuarial liability (UAL), PERS deposits the money in a special account called a side account. This account is attributed solely to the employer making the payment and is held separate from other employer reserves. PERS applies the funds toward the employer’s UAL (i.e., their PERS debt), which reduces the employer’s contribution rate. The payments from the side account are amortized over a predetermined period (usually 20 years).

Criteria for EIF match

Deposit is at least $25,000 sourced from cash and not borrowed funds.
Employer has no transition liability.
Employer must research other ways to reduce their contribution rate by participating in the Unfunded Actuarial Liability Resolution Program.
If the deposit is $10 million or more, employer can select a shorter amortization period of 6, 10, or 16 years.

For more details about the program, read the complete EIF administrative rule: Oregon PERS Chapter 459 Employer Incentive Fund Program.

EIF status

The first cycle of the EIF closed on March 31, 2023. During the 2022 legislative session, the Oregon Legislature appropriated $17,250,000 in General Funds to the EIF. When combined with the forecasted $19,500,000 in Sports Betting funding already anticipated to fund EIF by year-end 2023, these funds provided sufficient matching dollars to offer a match for each of the 44 waitlisted payments.

The first cycle was highly successful and financially benefited all participating employers. For details, read the information below. For information about a future cycle of EIF, go to Future of EIF.

Funds matched/calendar years
2019	$41,488,630
2020	$23,264,532
2021*	0
2022	$30,118,737
2023	$1,550,000
Total	$96,421,899

* No funds were matched because of temporary reallocation of state funds.

Employer Incentive Fund by the numbers: 110 employers participated. (14 Independent employers, 37 School District Pool employers, and 59 State and Local Government Rate Pool (SLGRP) employers.) 117 side accounts matched. $96.4 million in matching funds paid. $480 million added to PERS Trust. (This total includes transition liability payments that were not part of EIF. Deposits for only EIF and side accounts total $475.2 million.) 6% improvement in system-wide funded status. (Attributable to all side accounts, not only EIF side accounts.)

Information through November 30, 2023

Where did the money go?

School districts 28	Charter schools 6
Cities 30	Education service districts 3
Special districts 26	Community college 1
Counties 13	State universities 2

Information through November 30, 2023

EIF matches for Oregon counties

County	EIF match	County	EIF match
Baker	$100,000	Lake	$442,037
Benton	$4,861,723	Lane	$25,289,732
Clackamas	$2,931,690	Lincoln	$722,565
Columbia	$1,144,869	Linn	$701,184
Crook	$200,000	Malheur	$550,137
Deschutes	$7,501,085	Marion	$2,226,728
Douglas	$1,906,184	Multnomah	$28,248,146
Gilliam	$12,500	Polk	$141,314
Grant	$87,500	Sherman	$600,000
Hood River	$409,684	Union	$62,500
Jackson	$4,712,647	Wasco	$588,034
Jefferson	$1,403,671	Washington	$10,042,189
Klamath	$672,030	Yamhill	$353,750

Future of EIF

Thank you to all employers who participated or expressed interest in the first cycle of the Employer Incentive Fund.

Proceeds from sports betting will continue to provide funding for the EIF. We anticipate a new EIF match application cycle when funds reach $25 million. This will likely occur in 2025.

As a reminder, as an employer, you can establish a side account at any time. Once you establish a side account, you can make up to two additional payments per side account per year with no additional fees. To learn more, read Employer Side Accounts.

For assistance

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, email Actuarial.Services@pers.oregon.gov.

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Return to the main Employer Rate Relief Programs webpage.