ORS 238.300
Service retirement allowance

Text
Annotations 3

Upon retiring from service at normal retirement age or thereafter, a member of the Public Employees Retirement System shall receive a service retirement allowance which shall consist of the following annuity and pensions:

(1)

A refund annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of accumulated contributions, if any, by the member under this chapter and interest thereon credited at the time of retirement, which annuity shall provide an allowance payable during the life of the member and at death a lump sum equal in amount to the difference between accumulated contributions at the time of retirement and the sum of the annuity payments actually made to the member during life shall be paid to such person, if any, as the member nominates by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the board or shall otherwise be paid according to the provisions of this chapter for disposal of an amount credited to the member account of a member at the time of death in the event the member designates no beneficiary to receive the amount or no such beneficiary is able to receive the amount. If death of the member occurs before the first payment is due, the member account of the member shall be treated as though death had occurred before retirement.

(2)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

A life pension (nonrefund) for current service provided by the contributions of employers and, for pension benefits that accrue on or after July 1, 2020, amounts in the employee pension stability account established for the member under ORS 238A.353 (Employee pension stability accounts established), which pension, subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, shall be an amount which, when added to the sum of the annuity, if any, under subsection (1) of this section and the annuity, if any, provided on the same basis and payable from the Variable Annuity Account, both annuities considered on a refund basis, results in a total of:

(A)

For service as a police officer or firefighter, two percent of final average salary multiplied by the number of years of membership in the system as a police officer or firefighter before the effective date of retirement.

(B)

For service as other than a police officer or firefighter, including service as a member of the Legislative Assembly, 1.67 percent of final average salary multiplied by the number of years of membership in the system as other than a police officer or firefighter before the effective date of retirement.

(b)

A pension under this subsection shall be at least:

(A)

For a member who first establishes membership in the system before July 1, 2003, the actuarial equivalent of the annuity provided by the accumulated contributions of the member. A person establishes membership in the system before July 1, 2003, for the purposes of this subparagraph if:

(i)

The person is a member of the system, or a judge member of the system, on the day immediately before July 1, 2003; or

(ii)

The person performed any period of service for a participating public employer before July 1, 2003, that is credited to the six-month period of employment required of an employee under ORS 238.015 (Membership generally) before an employee may become a member of the system.

(B)

For a member who made contributions before August 21, 1981, the equivalent of a pension computed pursuant to this subsection as it existed immediately before that date.

(c)

As used in this subsection, “number of years of membership” means the number of full years of creditable service plus any remaining fraction of a year of creditable service. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, in determining a remaining fraction a full month shall be considered as one-twelfth of a year and a major fraction of a month shall be considered as a full month. Membership of a school district employee, an employee of an institution of higher education engaged in teaching or other school activity or an employee of the Department of Human Services, the Oregon Youth Authority, the Department of Corrections or the State Board of Education engaged in teaching or other school activity at an institution supervised by the authority, board or department, for all portions of a school year in a calendar year in which the district school, institution of higher education or school activity at an institution so supervised in which the member is employed is normally in session shall be considered as a full one-half year of membership. The number of years of membership of a member who received a refund of contributions as provided in ORS 237.976 (Disposition of contributions made under abolished system) (2) is limited to the number of years after the day before the date on which the refund was received. The number of years of membership of a member who is separated, for any reason other than death or disability, from all service entitling the member to membership in the system, who withdraws the amount credited to the member account of the member in the fund during absence from such service and who thereafter reenters the service of an employer participating in the system but does not repay the amount so withdrawn as provided in this chapter, is limited to the number of years after the day before the date of so reentering.

(3)

An additional life pension (nonrefund) for prior service credit, including military service, credited to the member at the time of first becoming a member of the system, as elsewhere provided in this chapter, which pension shall be provided by the contributions of the employer. [Formerly 237.147; 1997 c.249 §67; 2001 c.900 §49; 2001 c.945 §50; 2003 c.67 §4; 2003 c.625 §22; 2003 c.733 §46e; 2011 c.637 §73; 2019 c.355 §13]

Note: Section 46f, chapter 733, Oregon Laws 2003, provides:

Sec. 46f. The amendments to ORS 238.300 (Service retirement allowance) by section 46e of this 2003 Act apply to periods of service as a member of the Legislative Assembly served by reason of appointment or election to the Legislative Assembly on or after the effective date of this 2003 Act [August 29, 2003], including periods of service as a member of the Legislative Assembly served by reason of reelection to the Legislative Assembly after the effective date of this 2003 Act. [2003 c.733 §46f]

Source: Section 238.300 — Service retirement allowance, https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors238.html.

Notes of Decisions

Retirement differential favoring police and firefighters is rational way to encourage recruitment, reward performance of difficult duties and encourage retirement before physical strength and rapid reactions erode, so this section does not violate equal protection under Fourteenth Amendment. Shaw v. State of Or. Public Emp. Retirement Bd., 887 F2d 947 (9th Cir. 1989)

Amendments redirecting future member contributions to individual account program do not impair member right to receive service retirement allowance calculated under formula yielding highest pension amount. Strunk v. Public Employees Retirement Board, 338 Or 145, 108 P3d 1058 (2005)

Attorney General Opinions

Formula for retirement allowance of police officer retained after age 60, (1972) Vol 35, p 1215; application of 1971 amendments to benefits under this chapter to retired teachers, (1972) Vol 35, p 1243; constitutionality of mortality tables which differentiate between males and females, (1973) Vol 36, p 449; retroactive credit for employees of the Legislative Assembly for benefits of the Public Employes’ Retirement System, (1973) Vol 36, p 491; availability of “lump sum refund” option at voluntary retirement, (1977) Vol 38, p 1391

California:	Codes
Colorado:	C.R.S.
Nevada:	NRS
New York:	Laws
Oregon:	OAR, ORS
Texas:	Statutes
World:	Rome Statute, International Dictionary

ORS 238.300 Service retirement allowance

(1)

(2)

(a)

(A)

(B)

(b)

(A)

(i)

(ii)

(B)

(c)

(3)

Notes of Decisions

Attorney General Opinions

ORS 238.300
Service retirement allowance