Mid-Career Members

What You Need to Know

• Once you reach five years of service with your PERA-covered employer, you are eligible to apply for PERA disability benefits should the need arise.
• If you leave your PERA-covered job, you can either leave your account at PERA or withdraw your account. If you are not eligible for retirement but have five years of earned service, you will receive a 50% match on your contributions and interest.
• Consider purchasing service credit so you can retire earlier or receive a higher benefit amount. Depending on your situation, it may cost less to buy service credit now rather than later. You can estimate the cost to purchase by logging on to your PERA account and using the Purchasing Service Credit calculator.
• If you’re not already in a PERAPlus Plan, consider participating, and if you’re already in a PERAPlus Plan, think about increasing your contributions. You’ll never regret having more money in retirement.
• Most PERA members do not contribute to Social Security, which means you will not receive a Social Security benefit for the time you were employed at a PERA-covered job. If you’re counting on receiving Social Security through your spouse or other employment, there are two federal rules—the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset—which may leave you with a reduced Social Security benefit or no Social Security benefit at all. To find out how these federal rules might affect you go to ssa.gov, which also has an online WEP calculator available.

Next Steps

Your PERA defined benefit may be your greatest asset, which is why it’s important for you to understand more about the value of the benefit you are earning.

• Use PERA calculators to begin planning for retirement.
• Attend PERA meetings and webinars.
• Review your Annual Member Statement for personalized information about your PERA benefits.
• Consider increasing contributions to your PERAPlus Plan (if you participate) so you can continue to grow your retirement savings.
• Review and update your beneficiaries if needed.
• Think about enrolling in PERA’s Life Insurance Program during the annual enrollment held every April-May.

When to Contact PERA

By logging in to your PERA account, you can make changes to your information or you may call the PERA Customer Service Center at 1-800-759-PERA (7372).

• Update personal information (name, address, phone, and email)
• Add or remove beneficiaries
• Request a refund or a rollover of your PERA account if you leave PERA-covered employment and don’t anticipate returning to a job in public service
• Initiate a purchase of service credit