The Oregon Legislature ended its last session without making changes to the Public Employees Retirement System, but PERS reform efforts are likely to continue next session, according to Cindi Peterson, UO benefits manager.

Gov. Kate Brown appointed a task force to identify and rank options for reducing the PERS liability. The task force will hold public meetings and issue a report to Brown in November.

The benefits office will maintain the PERS updates webpage to keep faculty and staff apprised of developments.

“The benefits office remains committed to providing resources and tools related to PERS,” Peterson said. “Faculty and staff should continue to refer to the PERS updates webpage as a source for PERS reform information.”

While the legislature is not in session, Peterson recommends that PERS participants take the opportunity to get informed and get a PERS estimate, especially those who are within two years of retirement. The retirement planning guide provided by the benefits office assists faculty and staff who are actively planning for retirement within the next five years and includes instructions for obtaining a PERS estimate.

The UO Office of Human Resources offers other retirement resources such as a retirement education webpage that shares opportunities to learn more about retirement planning. In addition to UO offerings, PERS provides educational resources for its members, including presentations for tier one and tier two employees and the Oregon Public Service retirement Plan as well as a quarterly newsletter called Perspectives, which can be accessed on the PERS publications webpage.