Social Security and Oregon PERS: it depends on your employer

Do Oregon teachers pay into Social Security?

It depends on the employer. Oregon PERS membership doesn't decide it: each Oregon public employer's Section 218 agreement with the Social Security Administration does, so two districts can differ. Medicare withholding is mandatory for everyone. Check your pay stub for Social Security (OASDI) withholding. Oregon PERS webpage 'Oregon SSA 218'; Oregon PERS webpage 'SB 1049 and HB 2296 Changes: Work After Retirement'; Oregon PERS Employer Guide Ch. 1 (Sept. 2026), p. 29

Oregon PERS's sources do not say Oregon PERS members are or are not covered by Social Security; coverage of public positions in Oregon depends on the employer's Section 218 agreement (more than 1,000 Oregon public employers were enrolled as of 2024). Medicare withholding is mandatory. Oregon PERS notes Social Security earnings limits may apply to retirees working before full retirement age. Oregon PERS webpage 'Oregon SSA 218'; Oregon PERS webpage 'SB 1049 and HB 2296 Changes: Work After Retirement'; Oregon PERS Employer Guide Ch. 1 (Sept. 2026), p. 29

How Section 218 coverage works

• Check with Oregon PERSWhether you also pay into Social Security depends on your employer's Section 218 agreement; Oregon PERS's sources do not say Oregon PERS members as a group are covered or not.Oregon PERS webpage 'Oregon SSA 218'Coverage is decided employer by employer; check your pay stub or district.
• Positions covered by a public retirement system such as Oregon PERS may still pay into Social Security voluntarily. The employer holds a referendum, and if a majority of eligible members vote yes, all current and future employees in those positions are covered.Oregon PERS webpage 'Oregon SSA 218'
• School districts are political subdivisions, which join Social Security through modifications to Oregon's Section 218 agreement. As of 2024 Oregon had more than 680 modifications and more than 1,000 public employers enrolled. Since 1983 coverage can't be ended unless the employer is dissolved.Oregon PERS webpage 'Oregon SSA 218'
• Oregon's state Social Security administrator sits within the Oregon PERS agency, under the Oregon PERS Board. To find out whether your employer has a Section 218 modification, the page says to email oregon.socialsecurityprogram@pers.oregon.gov.Oregon PERS webpage 'Oregon SSA 218'

Medicare

• Medicare withholding is mandatory for public employees. Medicare used to be part of Section 218 agreements; in 1986 it was taken out of them and made mandatory for all public employers.Oregon PERS webpage 'Oregon SSA 218'

Once on Medicare, Tier One and Tier Two retirees with 8 or more years can get up to $60 a month toward a Oregon PERS Medicare plan; see retiree health. Oregon PERS Employer Guide Ch. 1 (Sept. 2026), p. 29, Subsidies; ORS 238.420(1)-(3)

Working after retirement, and other points

• If you're getting Social Security retirement benefits and haven't reached Social Security's full retirement age, Oregon PERS says both the Social Security Administration and Oregon PERS add limits on working after retirement, and you may need to limit your hours to stay within Social Security's yearly income limit.Oregon PERS webpage 'SB 1049 and HB 2296 Changes: Work After Retirement'
• A Social Security record (an estimate of benefits or a screen print from the Social Security office, dated within the last 12 months) is one of the Group 2 documents Oregon PERS accepts as proof of your birth date when you retire. Group 2 items count only in pairs: you need two from different sources.Oregon PERS Tier One/Tier Two Preretirement Guide (June 2026), p. 26

Oregon PERS's own hour rules are on working after retirement. Whatever Social Security pays, your pension is figured the same way: 1.67% of final average salary a year in Tier One and Tier Two, 1.5% in OPSRP. The Oregon PERS calculator (filled in with a Tier Two example: 60, 30 years, $70,000) shows it for your dates; taxes covers how the pension is taxed.

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