Member FAQs
How does my PERA benefit affect my Social Security benefit?
Most PERA members don’t contribute to Social Security while they work for PERA employers. If you are eligible for both a PERA benefit and a Social Security benefit, your PERA benefit will never be reduced due to any Social Security benefit you may receive. However, your Social Security benefit may have been reduced in the past based on your PERA benefit.
The recent passage of the Social Security Fairness Act eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. We will provide more information on the implementation of this law as it becomes available.
View more FAQs about the Social Security Fairness Act and WEP/GPO.
For any questions about a reduction in your Social Security benefit, contact the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 or ssa.gov.
What happens to my account if I die before retirement?
Depending on your benefit structure (PERA or DPS), your qualified survivors or named beneficiaries may be eligible for a monthly survivor benefit. If there are no qualified survivors, a lump-sum payment of your member contribution account will be paid to your designated account beneficiary(ies) or your estate. Under the PERA benefit structure, the lump-sum payment will include a 100 percent match on your contributions and interest. Please see the Survivor Benefits booklet for more details.
Can I withdraw or borrow money from my PERA account?
Every dollar you contribute to PERA will only ever go to fund your personal retirement benefit. You do not, however, have access to that money until you terminate PERA-covered employment. Learn more about your options when you leave employment. Note you may have access now to any voluntary savings you have accumulated in a PERAPlus account under certain situations, including hardship withdrawals.
Contributions
How much am I contributing to PERA? Will this amount change in the future?
Both you and your employer contribute a percentage of your salary to PERA to pay for benefits and these amounts may change in the future. You may view the current member contribution rates and information about future changes to these rates.
Why hasn’t my contribution posted yet?
Your employer has up to five business days to send all contributions to PERA for processing. Then, if applicable, we forward contributions to Empower Retirement for posting to your PERA Defined Contribution (DC) Plan, PERAPlus 401(k) and/or 457 Plan account(s). Generally, contributions are posted as soon as possible after we receive them.