Dividing Oregon PERS Accounts in Divorce

In divorce cases where one or both spouse currently works for– or previously worked for– the State of Oregon, PERS benefits must be divided. PERS is Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System.

Divorce is technically referred to as a “dissolution of marriage” in Oregon, and dissolutions end with a written judgment.

Traditional retirement benefits (e.g. 401K retirement accounts, pensions, etc) as well as PERS benefits are divisible in Oregon divorce cases. A QDRO may be needed to supplement the written General Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

Per ORS 238.465 and OAR Chapters 459-045, PERS can be ordered to pay Tier One, Tier Two, Oregon Public Service Retirement Plan (OPSRP), or Individual Account Plan (IAP) benefits to an alternate payee (spouse, former spouse, or registered domestic partner) according to the terms of a dissolution judgment. These statutes and administrative rules allow PERS to pay to an alternate payee any pension, annuity, retirement allowance, disability retirement benefit, death benefit, or refund benefit that is due a member if and to the extent expressly provided for in the terms of any court order or court-approved property settlement agreement incident to any court order or decree of annulment, dissolution of marriage or registered domestic partnership, or separation. Before payments can be paid to an alternate payee, PERS must receive administrable copies of court documents, signed by a judge, with proof that the decree and required forms have been filed in court. PERS determines whether a court order is administrable for PERS purposes.

While Oregon law allows the division of retirement benefits– including PERS– in a divorce, the amount allocated is subject to the discretion of the judge at trial. If you are facing a divorce and you are entitled to PERS benefits, contact an attorney right away. Tens of thousands of dollars or even hundreds of thousands of dollars could be at stake, and property settlements in divorce cases are non-modifiable. This means that if the allocation isn’t made in the divorce judgment, you cannot come back later and request it.