Tier One and Tier Two: Full Formula
1.67% × years of service × final average salary
School employees use the general service rate. (Police and fire use 2%.) Oregon PERS's equation gives about the Refund Annuity amount, the standard option. Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation', Full Formula; Oregon PERS Benefit Comparison Chart (Dec. 2024), p. 1; ORS 238.300(2)(a)(B); Oregon PERS webpage 'SB 1049 Changes: Salary Limit', How pension benefits are calculated; Oregon PERS Employer Guide Ch. 1 (Sept. 2026), p. 26
Tier One and Tier Two: Money Match
Tier One/Tier Two Money Match: the member account balance is matched by the employer and the total is multiplied by an age factor (the age-based annuity factor). Oregon PERS pays whichever eligible method is highest. Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation', Money Match (Age factor x account balance x 2) and Notes; ORS 238.300(2)(b)(A)
An example teacher: Tier One, age 58, 30 years, $70,000 final average salary. The Full Formula pays $2,922.50 a month. The 2026 age factor at 58 is 6.52 a month per $1,000.
| Member account | Money Match | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $1,956 | $2,922.50 Full Formula |
| $250,000 | $3,260 | $3,260 Money Match |
| $350,000 | $4,564 | $4,564 Money Match |
Money Match = 6.52 × (account × 2) ÷ 1,000. It has no separate early retirement factor. Oregon PERS Actuarial Equivalency Factors eff. Jan. 1, 2026, pp. 8-10, Table 2a: Refund Annuity Conversion Factors - Option 0 - Healthy Members (amount of monthly annuity per $1,000 of account balance); Oregon PERS webpage 'Eligibility to retire: Tier One/Tier Two', Retirement with reduced benefits (Money Match)
Oregon PERS describes Money Match only as "age factor × account balance × 2". It doesn't publish which age factor it uses.
What we use: the 2026 refund annuity factor for your age (per $1,000 of balance) on twice your member account balance. Treat the Money Match figure as a rough check, not a quote.
Only Tier One members who made contributions before Aug. 21, 1981: 1% x years x final average salary + age factor x account balance. We don't estimate it. Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation', Formula Plus Annuity; Oregon PERS Benefit Comparison Chart (Dec. 2024), p. 1
OPSRP
1.5% × years of retirement credit × final average salary
OPSRP gives nothing extra for working past 65. ORS 238A.125(3) Which formula applies depends on your program. Before your full-benefit age the result is cut by an early retirement factor, and one more year shows what added service is worth.
Final average salary
- Tier One and Tier Two: The greater of (a) the average of the three calendar years with the highest total salary from Oregon PERS employers (any three; a year may be partial) or (b) 1/36 of total salary in the last 36 months of active membership (one-third of it per year). Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation', Notes; ORS 238.435(2) (Tier Two wording)
- OPSRP: The greater of (a) the average salary in the three consecutive calendar years of membership with the highest average (years may be partial) or (b) one-third of total salary in the last 36 calendar months of membership. Overtime above the average for the member's job class is left out. ORS 238A.130(1), (4)(a); Oregon PERS webpage 'OPSRP overview and benefit calculation'
- Vacation payout: counts for Tier One only. Unused sick leave: half your hours, for Tier One and Tier Two if your employer takes part. OPSRP gets neither. Oregon PERS Benefit Comparison Chart (Dec. 2024), p. 1 (lump-sum vacation in FAS: Tier One yes; unused sick leave: yes, if employer participates); ORS 238.350; Oregon PERS Benefit Comparison Chart (Dec. 2024), p. 1; ORS 238.435(1) (no lump-sum vacation pay for members joining on/after Jan. 1, 1996); ORS 238.350
For the last-36-months salary, the law divides by three years; an Oregon PERS page says it divides by the months you actually worked in that period.
What we use: the law: the 36-month total ÷ 3. You enter your own final average salary, so this only matters if you work it out yourself.
The SB 1049 salary limit
Since Jan. 1, 2020, salary above a yearly limit doesn't count toward your pension. The limit rises with West Coast prices and is prorated for part-years. Salary paid before 2020 isn't limited this way. Oregon PERS webpage 'Senate Bill 1049 (2019) - Member information', Salary limits by year; Oregon PERS webpage 'SB 1049 Changes: Salary Limit'
| Year | Limit |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $195,000 |
| 2021 | $197,730 |
| 2022 | $210,582 |
| 2023 | $225,533 |
| 2024 | $232,976 |
| 2025 | $238,567 |
| 2026 | $245,724 |
Oregon PERS's examples use $195,000 for every year after 2019 ("These examples do not reflect any future changes to the limit"). A 60-year-old with 30 years: Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: Tier One/Tier Two (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 1
| Example | Monthly |
|---|---|
| High three years before 2020 2017 $200,000, 2018 $205,000, 2019 $210,000 Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: Tier One/Tier Two (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 2, Example #1 | $8,558.75 |
| A high year after 2020 is capped 2018 $200,000, 2019 $205,000, 2020 $195,000 Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: Tier One/Tier Two (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 2, Example #2 | $8,350 |
| Unused sick leave, salary after 2020 2019 $200,000, 2020 $195,000, 2021 $195,000 Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: Tier One/Tier Two (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 4, Example #4 | $8,342.42 |
| Tier One vacation payout before 2020 2017 $175,000, 2018 $180,000, 2019 $210,000 Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: Tier One/Tier Two (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 5, Example #5 | $7,862.92 |
| Tier One vacation payout after 2020 is capped 2019 $175,000, 2020 $180,000, 2021 $195,000 Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: Tier One/Tier Two (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 5, Example #6 | $7,654.17 |
| OPSRP: high three consecutive years before 2020 2017 $200,000, 2018 $205,000, 2019 $210,000 (OPSRP, 10 years) Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: OPSRP (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 1, Example #1 | $2,562.50 |
| OPSRP: 2020 salary capped 2018 $200,000, 2019 $205,000, 2020 $195,000 (OPSRP, 10 years) Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: OPSRP (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 1, Example #2 | $2,500 |
Example #5 shows "$188K" as the average; the $7,862.92 result needs the exact $188,333.
What the sources say
- Tier One and Tier Two: 1.67% x years of service x final average salary (Full Formula). OPSRP: 1.5% x years of retirement credit x final average salary.Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation'; ORS 238A.125(1)(b)
- Oregon PERS's OPSRP example: $45,000 final average salary x 30 years x 1.5% = $20,250 a year, or $1,687.50 a month.Oregon PERS webpage 'OPSRP overview and benefit calculation'
- Tier One and Tier Two members are also checked under Money Match (your member account plus an equal employer match, turned into a monthly benefit by an age factor), and Oregon PERS pays whichever method is higher. Most members now retire under Full Formula.Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation'; Oregon PERS Benefit Comparison Chart (Dec. 2024), p. 1
- Tier One members who contributed before August 21, 1981 may qualify for a third method, Formula + Annuity.Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation'
- Tier One and Tier Two: the higher of your best three calendar years (any three) or the last 36 months divided by three. OPSRP: the higher of your best three consecutive calendar years or the last 36 months.Oregon PERS webpage 'Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation'; ORS 238.435(2); ORS 238A.130(1)
- Since 2020, salary counted toward your benefit is limited each year (SB 1049): $195,000 in 2020, $210,582 in 2022, $232,976 in 2024 and $245,724 in 2026, prorated for partial years.Oregon PERS webpage 'Senate Bill 1049 (2019) - Member information'
- A lump-sum vacation payout counts only for Tier One. Tier One and Tier Two can add half their unused sick leave if their employer takes part in the program; OPSRP gets neither. OPSRP leaves out overtime above the average for your job class.Oregon PERS Benefit Comparison Chart (Dec. 2024), p. 1; ORS 238A.130(4)
- Oregon PERS's sick leave example: monthly FAS $17,083.33 / 173.33 hours = $98.56 an hour; 200 hours / 2 = 100 hours = $9,856 added to three years' salary; benefit $8,695.91 a month with 30 years.Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples: Tier One/Tier Two (rev. Feb. 2022), p. 3, Example #3
Questions
What is the Full Formula?
Tier One and Tier Two: 1.67% × years of service × final average salary. It's how most Tier One and Tier Two members retire now.
What is Money Match?
A second Tier One/Tier Two method: your member account balance, matched by your employer, turned into a monthly benefit by an age factor. Oregon PERS pays whichever method is larger.
How is OPSRP different?
OPSRP uses 1.5% × years × final average salary, with no Money Match. Its final average salary uses three years in a row and leaves out vacation payouts, unused sick leave, and overtime above the average for your job class.
Does the salary limit affect me?
Only if your salary in 2020 or later was above the yearly limit: $195,000 in 2020, $245,724 in 2026. Salary before 2020 isn't limited this way.
Source: Oregon PERS Tier One/Tier Two and OPSRP Preretirement Guides, Published June 2026, Oregon PERS Benefit Comparison Chart (Dec. 2024) p. 1; Oregon PERS Employer Guide Ch. 1 (Sept. 2026) p. 26; Oregon PERS Actuarial Equivalency Factors (Jan. 1, 2026) pp. 8, 9, 10; Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples, Tier One/Tier Two (Feb. 2022) pp. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Oregon PERS SB 1049 Salary Limit Examples, OPSRP (Feb. 2022) p. 1; Oregon PERS webpages: OPSRP overview and benefit calculation; SB 1049 Changes: Salary Limit; Senate Bill 1049 (2019) - Member information; Tier One Tier Two overview and benefit calculation; ORS 238.300, 238.350, 238.435, 238A.125, 238A.130. Last reviewed .