Or. Admin. Code § 459-005-0001 - Definitions, Generally
The words and phrases used in OAR Chapter 459 have the same meaning given them in ORS Chapters 237, 238, 238A, and 243 unless otherwise indicated. Specific and additional terms used in OAR Chapter 459 generally are defined as follows unless context requires otherwise:
(1) "Ad hoc" means one-time for a specific
purpose, case, or situation without consideration of a broader
application.
(2) "After-tax"
contributions means:
(a) Member contributions
required or permitted by ORS
238.200 or
238.515, which a participating
employer has not elected to "pick up," assume or pay in accordance with ORS
238.205 and
238.515(b).
"After-tax" contributions are included in the member's taxable income for
purposes of state or federal income taxation at the time paid to PERS.
"After-tax" contributions are included in computing FAS and in computing the
employer's contributions paid to PERS.
(b) Payments made by a member to PERS for the
purchase of additional benefits.
(3) "Before-tax" contributions means member
contributions required or permitted by ORS
238.200 or
238.515, which a participating
employer has elected to "pick up," assume or pay in accordance with ORS
238.205 and
238.515(b).
"Before-tax" contributions are not included in the member's taxable income for
purposes of state or federal income taxation at the time paid to PERS.
"Before-tax" contributions are included in:
(a) Computing final average salary;
and
(b) Computing the employer's
contributions paid to PERS if the employer has elected to "pick up" the member
contributions.
(4)
"Business day" means a day Monday through Friday when PERS is open for
business.
(5) "Calendar month"
means a full month beginning with the first calendar day of a month and ending
on the last calendar day of that month.
(6) "Calendar year" means 12 consecutive
calendar months beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31.
(7) "Casual worker" means an individual
engaged for incidental, occasional, irregular, or unscheduled intervals or for
a period of less than six consecutive calendar months.
(8) "Contributions" means any contributions
required or permitted pursuant to ORS
238.200 or
238.515.
(9) "Differential wage payment" means a
payment made on or after January 1, 2009:
(a)
By an employer to a member with respect to any period during which the member
is performing service in the uniformed services, as defined in USERRA, while on
active duty for a period of more than 30 consecutive days; and
(b) That represents all or a portion of the
wages the member would have received from the employer if the member were
performing service for the employer.
(10) "Effective date of withdrawal" means the
later of:
(a) The first day of the calendar
month in which PERS receives a completed application from a member who
requested a withdrawal; or
(b) The
first day of the second calendar month following the calendar month in which
the member terminated employment with all participating employers and all
employers in a controlled group with a participating employer.
(11) "Effective retirement date"
means:
(a) For Tier One and Tier Two service
retirements, the date described in OAR
459-013-0260.
(b) For Tier One and Tier Two disability
retirements, the date described in OAR
459-015-0001.
(c) For OPSRP Pension Program service
retirements, the date described in OAR
459-075-0175.
(12) "Elected official" means an
individual who is a public official holding an elective office or an appointive
office with a fixed term for the state or for a political subdivision of the
state who has elected to participate in PERS pursuant to ORS
238.015(5).
(13) "Emergency worker" means an individual
engaged in case of emergency, including fire, storm, earthquake, or
flood.
(14) "Employee" has the same
meaning as provided in ORS
238.005 and shall be determined
in accordance with OAR
459-005-0020.
(a) For the purposes of ORS
238.005 to
238.750 the term "employee"
includes public officers whether elected or appointed for a fixed
term.
(b) The term "employee" does
not include:
(A) A member of the governing
board of a political subdivision unless the individual qualifies for membership
under ORS 238.015.
(B) An individual who performs services for a
public employer as a contractor in an independently established business or as
an employee of that contractor as determined in accordance with OAR
459-005-0020.
(C) An individual providing volunteer service
to a public employer without compensation for hours of service as a volunteer,
except for volunteer firefighters who establish membership in accordance with
ORS 238.015(6).
(15) "Employee Pension
Stability Account" and "EPSA" mean the account established in ORS
238A.353.
(16) "Employer contribution account" means a
record of employer contributions to the Fund, as required by ORS
238.225(1), and
investment earnings attributable to those contributions, that the Board has
credited to the account after deducting amounts required or permitted by ORS
Chapter 238.
(17) "Employment" is
compensated service to a participating employer as an employee whose:
(a) Period or periods of employment includes
only the actual hours of compensated service with a participating employer as
an employee; and
(b) Compensated
service includes, but is not limited to, paid vacation, paid sick leave, or
other paid leave.
(18)
"EPSA excess" means any amount remaining after a member's EPSA has been applied
by the board to pay the costs of the pension or other retirement benefits
payable to the member or the member's beneficiary under ORS chapters 238 and
238A that accrue on or after July 1, 2020. In the event of an account
withdrawal or when there is no eligible benefit against which to apply the
EPSA, the entire account is considered EPSA excess.
(19) "Estimate" means a projection of
benefits prepared by staff of a service or disability retirement allowance, a
death or a refund payment. An estimate is not a guarantee or promise of actual
benefits that eventually may become due and payable, and PERS is not bound by
any estimates it provides.
(20)
"FAS" and "final average salary" have the same meaning as provided in:
(a) ORS
238.005 for all PERS Tier One
members;
(b) ORS
238.435(2) for
all PERS Tier Two members who are not employed by a local government as defined
in ORS 174.116;
(c) ORS
238.435(4) for
all PERS Tier Two members who are employed by a local government as defined in
ORS 174.116; or
(d) ORS
238.535(2) for
judge members of PERS for service as a judge.
(21) "General service member" means
membership in PERS as other than a judge member, a police officer, a
firefighter, or a legislator.
(22)
"Good cause" means a cause beyond the reasonable control of an individual.
"Good cause" exists when it is established by satisfactory evidence that
factors or circumstances are beyond the reasonable control of a rational and
prudent individual of normal sensitivity, exercising ordinary common
sense.
(23) "Independent
contractor" means an individual or business entity that is not subject to the
direction and control of the employing entity as determined in accordance with
OAR 459-005-0020.
(24) "Judge member" has the same meaning as
provided in ORS 238.500(3). For
purposes of this chapter, active, inactive, and retired membership of a judge
member shall have the same meaning as provided in ORS
238.005.
(25) "Legislator" means an individual elected
or appointed to the Oregon Legislative Assembly who has elected to participate
in PERS for their legislative service.
(26) "Member cost" means after-tax member
contributions and payments made by or on behalf of a member to purchase
additional benefits.
(27)
"Participating employer" means a public employer who has one or more employees
who are active members of PERS.
(28) "PERS" and "system" have the same
meaning as the Public Employees Retirement System in ORS
238.600.
(29) "Public university" means a public
university with a governing board as listed in ORS
352.002.
(31) "Regular account" means the account
established under ORS
238.250 for each active and
inactive member who has made contributions to the Fund or the account of an
alternate payee of such a member.
(32) "Salary" has the same meaning as
provided in ORS 238.005.
(a) "Salary" includes a differential wage
payment, as defined in this rule.
(b) For a Tier One member, a lump sum payment
for accrued vacation pay is considered salary:
(A) In determining employee and employer
contributions.
(B) In determining
final average salary for the purpose of calculating PERS benefits.
(c) For a Tier Two member, a lump
sum payment for accrued vacation pay:
(A) Is
considered salary in determining employee and employer contributions.
(B) Is not considered salary in determining
final average salary for the purpose of calculating PERS benefits.
(33) "Seasonal worker"
means an individual whose engagement is characterized as recurring for defined
periods that are natural divisions of the employer's business cycle or
services.
(34) "Staff" means the
employees of the Public Employees Retirement System as provided for in ORS
238.645.
(35) "Tier One member" means a member who
established membership in the system before January 1, 1996, as defined in ORS
238.430(2).
(36) "Tier Two member" means a member who
established membership in the system on or after January 1, 1996, in accordance
with ORS 238.430.
(37) "USERRA" means the federal Uniformed
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994,
38 U.S.C.
4301-4334, as in effect on the
effective date of this rule.
(38)
"Vacation pay" means a lump sum payment for accrued leave in a Vacation Leave
Program provided by a public employer which grants a period of exemption from
work for rest and relaxation with pay, and does not include:
(a) Sick leave programs;
(b) Programs allowing the accumulation of
compensatory time, holiday pay or other special leaves unless the public
employer's governing body indicates by resolution, ordinance, or other
legislative process, that such leave is intended to serve as additional
vacation leave; and
(c) Other
programs, such as a Personal Time Off (PTO) plan, which are a combination of
vacation, sick, bereavement, personal and other leaves of pay as defined and
described by a public employer unless the employer has a written policy that
clearly indicates the percentage of the plan that represents vacation leave. If
the employer's PTO has a cash option, the employer must report to PERS the
amount of any lump sum pay-off for the percentage that represents vacation
leave.
(39) "Variable
account" and "member variable account" mean the account in the Variable Annuity
Account established under ORS
238.260(2) for
each active and inactive member who has elected to have amounts paid or
transferred into the Variable Annuity Account.
(40) "Variable Annuity Account" means the
account established in ORS
238.260(2).
(41) "Volunteer" means an individual who
performs a service for a public employer, and who receives no compensation for
the service performed. The term "volunteer" does not include an individual
whose compensation received from the same public employer for similar service
within the same calendar year exceeds the reasonable market value for such
service.
(42) "Working day" means a
day that the employer is open for business. Unless the employer communicates
this information to PERS, PERS will presume an employer's "working day" is the
same as a "business day," as defined in section (4) of this rule.
(43) "Year" means any period of 12
consecutive calendar months.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 238.650
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 237, ORS 238, ORS 238A & ORS 243
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