Service credit is updated on or around the 16th of the month to cover all major fractions of the previous month worked.
You must be working in a qualifying position for the majority or major fraction of a month to earn service credit for that month. You will not earn service credit for unpaid leaves of absence, for work in a non-qualifying position, or for periods you are not working for your employer.
A qualifying position is one in which you perform 600 or more hours of service in a year in one or more jobs with one or more PERS-participating public employers. Under certain circumstances, a position in which you work less than 600 hours may be a qualifying position if your employer designates it as such.
* This date may be as late as September 26th for Higher Education [Oregon University System and their campuses (other than OHSU) and Community Colleges].
Creditable service for school employees and academic employees is determined in six-month segments. If you work all portions of a school year that fall between July 1 and December 31 (fall term), you will receive six months of creditable service. If you work all portions of a school year that fall between January 1 and June 30 (spring term), you will receive six months of creditable service. For example, if you begin service at the start of the school year in September and work through the end of the fall term in December, you will receive creditable service for six months, including the months of July and August. If you work all of the spring term, you will receive creditable for six months, including the month of June.
If you fail to work all of the fall or spring term, you will not receive six months of creditable service for that term. If you terminate employment or go on leave without pay during the term, you are not providing service for all portions of the term. You will not receive creditable service for the summer months associated with the term. For example, if you begin service at the start of the school year in September, but terminate employment on November 30, you will not receive creditable service for July and August. You will only receive creditable service for September, October, and November. If you were counting July and August as part of your 30 years, you would be two months short.
If you begin service at the start of the school year in September but terminate employment on November 30, you will not receive creditable service for July and August because you did not work all portions of a school year that fall between July 1 and December 31. You will only receive creditable service for September, October, and November.
You are a school employee if you are employed by a common school district, a union high school district, an education service district, a charter school, community college, or Oregon University System and its campuses (other than OHSU). As a school employee, educational service credit as described above applies to you.
To fix being listed as a current employee of your former school employer when you stopped working for the school system, contact your former employer and ask them to report your official termination.
Changes to your employment records are done through your employer. Contact your employer to verify that all employment has been reported to PERS. Your employer may contact PERS if it has questions regarding reporting additional employment. If you are within two years of your earliest eligible retirement date, you may submit a Data Verification request via Online Member Services.