Oregon Statutes - Chapter 238 - Public Employees Retirement System - Section 238.385 - Retirement allowance increase based on years of service.

(1)(a) Upon retirement of an employee who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System and computation of that member’s service retirement allowance under ORS 238.300, 238.305 or 238.425, or computation of any disability retirement allowance under ORS 238.320, 238.325, 238.330, 238.345 or 238.425, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall add to the amount of the allowance, including amounts attributable to prior service credit and the amount of any refund of accumulated member contributions, an additional amount equal to the percentage increase provided in subsection (4) of this section.

(b) The percentage increase provided for in this section shall be adjusted by the board to reflect increases or decreases in a member’s retirement allowance that are attributable to the member’s participation in the Variable Annuity Account established by ORS 238.260, that are attributable to a change in the member’s beneficiary or payment option under ORS 238.305 or 238.325, or that are attributable to corrections to the member’s retirement allowance calculation.

(c) The percentage increase provided for in this section shall be applied to any lump sum payment made to a member or a beneficiary of a member on or after January 1, 1991, that is attributable to a retroactive correction or adjustment of the amount payable to the member or beneficiary as a retirement allowance or that is attributable to a retroactive correction or adjustment to any other benefit that entitles a member or beneficiary to an increased benefit under this section. The percentage increase payable under this paragraph applies only to the principal amounts included in the lump sum payment as a retroactive correction or adjustment and does not apply to any interest on the retroactive correction or adjustment paid as part of the lump sum payment.

(2) The amount of any death benefit under ORS 238.390, 238.395, 238.400 or 238.405, including the amount of any monthly payments, shall be increased by an amount equal to the percentage increase provided in subsection (4) of this section.

(3)(a) A member of the system who receives a lump sum under ORS 238.315 in lieu of a retirement allowance or other benefit shall receive an additional amount equal to the percentage increase provided in subsection (4) of this section.

(b) A member of the system who withdraws the amount credited to the member account, if any, of the member under the provisions of ORS 238.265, or whose member account is returned to the employee after the membership of the employee is terminated under the provisions of ORS 238.095, shall receive an additional amount calculated by multiplying the amount of the member account of the member by the percentage increase provided for under subsection (4) of this section. If a member thereafter elects to obtain restoration of creditable service by repaying the amount of the withdrawn member account pursuant to the provisions of ORS 238.105, the member must also repay all amounts paid under this section, together with interest from the date of withdrawal at the same rate as applied to the withdrawn member account under ORS 238.105. If a member repays only part of the withdrawn member account pursuant to the provisions of ORS 238.115, the member must repay that part of the amount paid under this section that is proportionate to the portion of the withdrawn member account that is repaid under ORS 238.115, together with interest from the date of withdrawal at the same rate as applied to the withdrawn member account under ORS 238.115. All amounts paid to the member that are subsequently repaid under ORS 238.105 or 238.115 shall be deposited by the board to the employer reserve for pension accounts in the fund.

(4)(a) The percentage increases provided for in this section to the benefits payable to or on account of a member of the system who is serving as other than a police officer or firefighter at the time of death or retirement shall be:

(A) For a member with a combined total of 10 or more years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit but less than a combined total of 20 years, one percent.

(B) For a member with a combined total of 20 or more years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit but less than a combined total of 25 years, two percent.

(C) For a member with a combined total of 25 or more years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit but less than a combined total of 30 years, three percent.

(D) For a member with a combined total of 30 or more years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit, four percent.

(b) The percentage increases provided for in this section to the benefits payable to or on account of a member of the system who is serving as a police officer or firefighter at the time of death or retirement shall be:

(A) For a member with a combined total of 10 or more years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit but less than a combined total of 20 years, one percent.

(B) For a member with a combined total of 20 or more years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit but less than a combined total of 25 years, two and one-half percent.

(C) For a member with a combined total of 25 or more years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit, four percent.

(c) The benefits payable to or on account of a member with less than a combined total of 10 years of creditable service in the system and prior service credit at the time of death or retirement shall not be increased under the provisions of this section.

(5) The increased benefits provided for in this section shall be funded by employer contributions.

(6) This section applies only to a member who establishes membership in the Public Employees Retirement System before July 14, 1995, as described in ORS 238.380 (10), and whose effective date of retirement or date of death is on or after January 1, 1991. The increased benefits provided by this section do not apply to any creditable service or prior service credit acquired by a member under the terms of a contract of integration entered into pursuant to ORS 238.035, 238.680 or 238.690 on or after October 1, 1991.

(7) If a member is entitled to receive an increased benefit under the provisions of this section, and any portion of the member’s retirement allowance or other benefit payable under the system is payable to an alternate payee under the provisions of ORS 238.465, the increased benefits payable under this section shall be divided between the member and the alternate payee in proportion to the share of the total benefit received by each person. If an alternate payee elects to begin receiving benefits under ORS 238.465 (1) before the member’s effective date of retirement, the alternate payee may not begin receiving the increased benefit provided for in this section until benefits are first paid from the system on behalf of the member. [Formerly 237.208; 1997 c.175 §6; 2001 c.945 §55; 2003 c.67 §31]

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Last modified: August 7, 2008