Full Cost Purchases

If you are a Tier One or Tier Two member, you may be eligible to purchase retirement credit. You must make the purchase by paying the full cost of the retirement credit to the system, which may include the anticipated benefit increase due to increased service time, additional COLA increases, or early benefit payments. Certain retirement credit restrictions determine when you can make the full cost purchase.

Military service retirement credit

If you are eligible to purchase retirement credit for military service The performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under competent authority, including active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty training, full-time National Guard duty, a period when an employee is absent from employment for the purpose of an examination to determine the employee's fitness to perform any of the previous types of duty, or a period of time an employee is absent from employment to perform funeral honors duty as authorized by 10 U.S.C. 12503 or 32 U.S.C. 115., you must make the full cost purchase within 90 days preceding or following your effective date of retirement The first day of the month following the last day a member (1) worked, was on vacation, or was paid sick leave, or (2) the first of the month a member files his or her application for benefits, whichever is later.. If you cannot retire without purchasing retirement credit, you must make the full cost purchase within 90 days before your effective date of retirement.

You can choose which benefit calculation method—Full Formula, Formula Plus Annuity, or Money Match—PERS uses to calculate your retirement benefits if you choose to purchase retirement credit for military service, even if the choice you make does not provide the highest benefit.

Credit for out-of-state teaching service

If you are a licensed teacher employed by an Oregon school public district, union high school district, or educational service district (ESD), you may be eligible to make a full cost purchase of up to four years of retirement credit for teaching out of state. To qualify, (1)you must have been employed in another state as a licensed teacher in a public school before being employed in a position that entitled you to service credit in PERS and (2) you will not be entitled to receive a monthly or periodic retirement allowance from a public retirement plan that was the principal employer-sponsored plan offered to public employees during your employment in another state. You must make the purchase within 90 days preceding your effective date of retirement. If you cannot retire without purchasing retirement credit, you must make the full cost purchase within 90 days before your effective date of retirement.

Credit for out-of-state service as a police officer

If you are a police officer and you were employed as a public safety officer by another state or by a political subdivision in another state before PERS-covered employment, you may purchase up to four years of creditable service Any period of time in which a participating public employer pays an active member a salary and the active member or the employer on the member's behalf pays contributions to PERS. For purposes of computing years of creditable service, full months and major fractions of a month are considered to be one-twelfth of a year and are added to all full years. One month of creditable service is earned for each major fraction of a month served. Creditable service includes all retirement credit received by a member. at retirement for out-of-state public safety service provided you are ineligible to receive a pension from that state for the service. You must provide written verification from the other state or political subdivision in that state verifying the period of time you served as a public safety officer. If you decide to purchase the credit, you must do so by making a lump-sum payment for the credit within 90 days of your effective retirement date.

Disability periods

If you are eligible to purchase retirement credit for periods of PERS disability retirement or workers' compensation disability payments that are not job duty related, you must make the full cost purchase within 90 days preceding your effective date of service or disability retirement. If the disability is job duty related, the employer pays the cost.

Professional wildland firefighter credit

If you were a professional wildland firefighter for the Oregon Department of Forestry before October 23, 1999, you may be able to change this general service time to police and fire service time through a full cost purchase.

If you are eligible to purchase wildland firefighter credit, you must make the full cost purchase within 90 days preceding your effective date of service or disability retirement.

Retiree Health Insurance Account (RHIA)

The full cost purchase of retirement credit will require an additional cost if the service time purchased causes you to become eligible. You must pay the full cost of the RHIA subsidy even if you do not intend to apply for a PERS-sponsored health care plan.

Retiree Health Insurance Premium Account (RHIPA)

If you are a state employee at the time of retirement, the full cost purchase of retirement credit will include an additional cost for the RHIPA health care subsidy if the service time purchased causes you to become eligible. You must pay the full cost of the RHIPA subsidy even if you do not intend to apply for a PERS-sponsored health care plan.

Calculating the full cost purchase

The exact full cost cannot be calculated until after the actual retirement allowance is calculated following your effective date of retirement. The cost is based on actuarial assumptions such as life expectancy.

Once you submit a request for a benefit estimate, PERS will send you a letter with the estimated cost of purchasing your retirement credit. You have the choice at that time to decide whether or not you want to make the purchase. After the actual retirement allowance is calculated, PERS will inform you if you owe additional money to purchase the credit or are due a refund.