OAR 459-075-0150: Retirement Credit

(1) For purposes of this rule: (a) “Active member” has the same meaning as provided in ORS 238A.005. (b) “Major fraction of a month” means any calendar month in which an active member is employed for more than one-half of the total calendar days in the calendar month, being paid a salary by a participating public employer, and for which benefits under ORS Chapter 238A are funded by employer contributions. (2) Except as provided in OAR 459-005-0015, an active member accrues one month of retirement credit for each month in which the member is employed for the major fraction of the month and receives salary as described in OAR 459-005-0001, or paid leave as described in OAR 459-010-0011. (3) An active member is presumed to have been employed for a major fraction of a month if: (a) The member performs at least 600 hours of service in the calendar year and the member’s employer(s) reports salary and hours for a pay period occurring within the calendar month; (b) The member starts employment on or before the 15th day of the calendar month and the employment continues through the end of the month; (c) The member starts employment on or before the first day of the calendar month and ends employment on or after the 16th day of the month; or (d) The member starts employment on or before the first day of the calendar month and ends employment before the 16th day of the month, but is reemployed in a qualifying position before the end of the month. (4) A member or employer may seek to rebut the determination of creditable service based on the presumptions in section (3) by providing to PERS records that establish that the member was or was not employed for the major fraction of the month, and/or did or did not receive salary as described in OAR 459-005-0001 as defined in subsection (1)( b ) of this rule. (5) An active member who is a school employee will accrue six months of retirement credit for each half of the school year if they are employed for the major fraction of each month during that half of the school year that school is normally in session, and receive salary as described in OAR 459-005-0001, for each of those school months (a) The first half of the school year falls between July 1 and December 31; the second half of the school year falls between January 1 through June 30. (b) School is presumed to be in session during the following dates: (A) For non-Higher Education employment, the first half of the school year is presumed to begin on or before September 15 and end on or after December 16; (B) For Higher Education employment, the first half of the school year is presumed to begin on or before September 26 for Higher Education employment and end on or after December 16; (C) For all school employment, the second half of the school year is presumed to begin on or before January 7 and end on or after May 26. ( c ) If the school year falls outside the presumed dates described above, PERS must receive acceptable certification from the employer of the actual begin and end dates for each half of the school year. ( d ) An active member who is a school employee on leave of absence without pay may accrue retirement credit as follows: (A) If the period of leave of absence without pay falls outside the dates when school is presumed to be in session, the active member may accrue six months of retirement credit as described above. (B) If the leave of absence without pay falls within the dates when school is presumed to be in session, the active member may only accrue six months of retirement credit if the leave of absence constitutes less than the major fraction of the month, as provided in OAR 459-0 05 -001 5 . (C) If the leave of absence without pay falls within the dates when the school year is in session, the active member may not accrue six months of retirement credit if the leave of absence constitutes the major fraction of the month, as provided in OAR 459-0 05 -001 5 . Such member may accrue one month of retirement credit for each month in which the member is employed for the major fraction of the month, or receives paid leave, as described in section (2) of this rule. (6) A member may not accrue more than one month of retirement credit for any calendar month and no more than one year of retirement credit for any calendar year. (7) Credit for the six-month waiting period required by OAR 459-075-0010(2). (a) Upon establishing membership in the pension program, a member shall receive credit for the waiting period required to establish membership under OAR 459-075-0010(2). (b) If the member’s waiting period before establishment of membership included an interruption of service as described in OAR 459-075-0010(2)(b), no credit shall be awarded for the period of employment before the interruption. (8) For purposes of calculating retirement credit accrued under ORS 238A.155, the period of disability for a member who receives workers’ compensation payments under ORS Chapter 656 and later returns to work with a PERS participating employer shall be deemed to end upon the earlier of: (a) The date on which the member’s workers’ compensation payments end; (b) The date on which the member returns to work with a PERS participating employer; or (c) The date on which the member attains normal retirement age as defined in ORS 238A.160