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PERS reports about $9.2 billion in preliminary earnings; funding status improves to roughly 80%
Summary
PERS officials told the General Government Subcommittee that the PERS board’s preliminary earnings crediting allocates about $9.2 billion to member, employer and reserve accounts; LFO said the system is roughly 80% funded and the committee acknowledged receipt of the report.
The General Government Subcommittee heard a presentation Feb. 9 from Oregon PERS staff on preliminary earnings crediting for calendar-year 2025, which the agency reported allocates roughly $9,200,000,000 across member, employer and reserve accounts. Ben DeYoung of the Department of Administrative Services recommended the committee acknowledge receipt of the report, and the committee agreed without objection.
The preliminary crediting was approved by the PERS board on Jan. 30 and will receive final approval at the board’s April 3 meeting, PERS staff said. Matt Graves, PERS financial reporting manager, told the committee most accounts are credited between the assumed 6.9% rate and up to about 10.52%; Tier 1 accounts were credited at the assumed 6.9%. On target-date and variable funds, Graves said rates vary by fund and reflected timing differences in cash flows.
"It is a fund where money is pooled for members based...on their expected retirement date," Graves said, explaining how target-date funds group members by likely retirement year and set investment risk accordingly. PERS emphasized that some account-level rates differ from published rates because of cash-flow timing.
The Legislative Fiscal Office provided additional figures: it reported 6,496 active Tier 1 members and 6,104 inactive Tier 1 members in its most recent numbers. LFO also said PERS earnings were about $2.5 billion above the assumed 6.5% benchmark used in its analysis, and estimated the system’s funded status has improved to roughly 80% with an unfunded liability near $22.3 billion (figures summarized by LFO staff in committee remarks).
PERS staff and LFO cautioned that private‑equity returns are reported on a lag and therefore are not fully reflected in this report. LFO noted that the private-equity component is typically one year behind in reporting, which can affect short‑term comparisons and the timing of crediting calculations.
The committee asked PERS to provide follow-up information on the exact count of Tier 1 active members; actuarial staff (Jake Winship) said those figures were not immediately available and offered to follow up. The hearing record shows the committee received the preliminary report by unanimous consent and did not take further action; the PERS board will adopt the final crediting at its April 3 meeting.
