Public Employee's Retirement System (PERS)
The University of Alaska works with the State of Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits (DRB) to administer the Public Employee's Retirement System (PERS). The DRB is the plan administrator for all PERS plans. All benefit-eligible staff are required to participate in a retirement account. For information on faculty retirement plans, please review the TRS and ORP webpages.
Review the information below to see if you are eligible for PERS.
Staff
Staff who are in a benefit-eligible position participate in PERS. There are two types
of PERS plans - the Defined Benefit (DB) plan under PERS Tiers I, II, and III, and
the Defined Contribution (DC) plan under PERS Tier IV.
Non-academic Officer / Senior Administrator
If you are a non-academic officer or senior administrator, you may choose between
PERS and ORP within 30 days of hire into an eligible position as long as you have
never had the option to select ORP in a previous position with the university.
Faculty
Faculty are not eligible for PERS but participate in either TRS or ORP.
Not Eligible for PERS, TRS, ORP, or UA Pension Plan
Temporary employees are not eligible to participate in PERS, TRS, ORP or the UA Pension
Plan.
403(b)
Temporary employees can participate in a 403(b). Review our 403(b) webpage for more information.
Retirement election paperwork is sent to employees via DocuSign. This is a one-time decision in all except rare cases.
New Employees - Irrevocable Decision - 30 days
Your retirement election is irrevocable. This means that your retirement selection
cannot be changed as log as you are in a staff position with the university - even
if you separate from the university and return as staff after a break in service.
New benefit-eligible staff will be provided with their retirement election paperwork
within their first 30 days of hire.
Mandatory Participation
Participation in a retirement plan is mandatory for all benefit-eligible positions.
Reminder | The Default
If you have a choice between more than one retirement plan, you must make the election
within 30 days of hire. If no election is made you will automatically default into
PERS.
Irrevocable Decision
Retirement elections cannot be changed except in very specific circumstances when
an employee is transferring positions between certain employee classes. Depending
on prior elections, an employee moving employee classes (i.e. from faculty to staff) may receive an option to change their retirement plan.
Transferring Positions - Reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu
If you are transferring positions within UA (between temporary, staff, faculty, or
executive) you may be given additional retirement choices depending on your initial
election. If needed, additional retirement election paperwork will be sent to you
after your transition. For questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.
If a temporary employee is transferring to a benefit-eligible position, they will receive retirement depending on prior work history and elections. Email ua-benefits@alaska.edu for additional information.
Please review the options below to get an idea of what your staff retirement options may be. Your official retirement selections will be sent to you after you attend a Benefits Overview with the a member of the UA Benefits team. For questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.
| Work Status | Retirement Plan |
|---|---|
| I am staff and I have never worked for the University of Alaska or any State of Alaska employer before. | My retirement plan will be PERS DC Tier IV with UA Pension Plan. |
| I am staff and I have worked for the University of Alaska before in a staff benefit-eligible position. | My retirement plan will be the plan I previously selected (either ORP or PERS with or without UA Pension Plan). |
| I am staff and I have worked for the University of Alaska before in a faculty benefit-eligible position. |
If I previously selected ORP with my faculty position, I will be placed back in ORP. If I previously selected TRS with my faculty position, I will be placed in PERS with our without the UA Pension Plan. |
| I am staff and I have worked for a State of Alaska employer before (either faculty or staff) but this is my first staff position with the University of Alaska. |
My retirement plan will be my previous PERS plan if I was a staff member. If I was previously faculty with another State of Alaska employer, I will move to the PERS retirement plan. |
| PERS Tier | Dates of Eligibility |
|---|---|
| PERS DB Tier I | Hired into PERS through June 30, 1986. |
| PERS DB Tier II | Hired into the PERS from July 1, 1986 through June 30, 1996. |
| PERS DB Tier III | Hired into PERS from July 1, 1996 through June 30, 2006. |
Guaranteed Income
Defined benefits (DB) plans provide eligible employees guaranteed income for life at the time of retirement. The monthly benefit for each participant is calculated based on factors such as the employee’s salary and years of service. The PERS DB plan is managed through the DRB. More information can be found on the DRB's webpage.
Employer Contributions
The University of Alaska contributes a percentage of an employee's salary as determined
annually by PERS and the DRB.
Employee Contributions Mandatory at 6.75%*
Employee contributions are mandatory. These percentages are fixed and cannot be changed.
Regular staff in PERS DB Tier I, II or III will contribute 6.75% of their salary through
biweekly pre-tax payroll deductions.
*Firefighters and Peace Officers in PERS DB Tier I, II, or III will contribute 7.5% of their salary through biweekly pre-tax payroll deductions.
Vesting - 5 Years - Check with the DRB at 1-800-821-2251
PERS DB Tiers I - III members are vested at five paid-up years of creditable PERS
service. Once you are vested, you may terminate PERS employment and still receive
a monthly retirement benefit when you reach retirement age. You must leave your contributions
in the plan to stay vested.
Details with the DRB
The PERS Tier Chart is a side by side comparison of all four PERS tiers. For more detailed information,
visit the PERS & TRS Defined Benefit Retirement Plan website and refer to the PERS DB Handbook - Tiers I -III .
| PERS Tier | Dates of Eligibility |
|---|---|
| PERS DC Tier IV | This tier consists of employees hired into PERS on or after July 1, 2006. |
Market Gain/Loss Income - Empower Retirement
Defined contribution (DC) plans are account-based plans where the employee and employer
contributions are invested into mutual funds or money market funds where they grow
tax-deferred until withdrawn. The PERS DC plan is managed by the DRB through Empower
Retirement. Visit the Empower Retirement webpage for more information. Please note UA has opted out of the DRB deferred compensation
plan.
Employer Contributions - 5%
The University of Alaska contributes 5% of an employee's salary.
Employee Contributions Mandatory at 8%
Employee contributions are mandatory. These percentages are fixed and cannot be changed.
Regular staff will contribute 8% of their salary through biweekly pre-tax payroll
deductions.
Vesting
You are 100% vested in the employee contributions you make to your retirement account.
Employer contributions follow the 5 year vesting schedule shown below.
| Years of Service | Employer Vesting Percent |
|---|---|
| Less than 2 years of service | 0% vested in employer contributions |
| 2 years of service | 25% vested in employer contributions |
| 3 years of service | 50% vested in employer contributions |
| 4 years of service | 75% vested in employer contributions |
| 5+ years of service | 100% vested in employer contributions |
Details with the DRB
The PERS Tier Chart is a side by side comparison of all four PERS tiers. For more detailed information, visit the PERS & TRS Defined Contribution Retirement Plan website and refer to the PERS DC Tier IV Handbook.
.
PERS DB Plans
PERS DB Tiers I - III can update beneficiaries at any time either by logging into MyRnB account, completing the Tiers I - III Beneficiary Form, or by contacting DRB directly at 1-800-821-2251.
PERS DC Plan
PERS DC Tier IV can update beneficiaries at any time by logging into your Empower Retirement account.
Post-tax Contributions
The Voluntary Savings Plan (VSP) is an account funded solely by the employee's post-tax,
voluntary contributions. These are separate and independent of the mandatory contributions
that you are required to make to PERS. For more information, please visit the Voluntary Savings Plan website.
Contact DRB for Eligibility
To be eligible for the VSP, you must be an active PERS Tier I, II, or III member.
Contributions cannot exceed 5% of an employee's eligible salary. Employees must enroll
for the VSP directly with the DRB.
Reach out to DRB if in PERS
If you are considering retirement from PERS, please reach out to DRB as soon as possible
to review the retirement application process and what to expect. DRB can be reached
at 1-800-821-2251. Planning and/or applying for retirement is slightly different depending
on if you are in a Defined Benefit (DB) or Defined Contribution (DC) PERS plan.
As you are preparing for retirement, please review our offboarding webpage which provides detailed information on separating from the university.
PERS DB Tier I, II, and III
PERS DB members are eligible to retire and receive monthly benefits when vested and
at retirement age, or by having met the minimum service requirements.
No in-service distributions are allowed.
PERS Handbook
Information about retiring from PERS DB can be found in the PERS DB Tiers I - III Handbook.
Net Pay Estimator
DRB also provides a Retiree Net Pay Estimator to provide an estimate of your net monthly benefit in retirement.
Plan Administrator
DRB is the plan administrator for all PERS plans and all questions or concerns regarding
your PERS retirement should be directed to DRB at 1-800-821-2251.
The UA Benefits team is not able to provide financial planning advice.
Step 1
Contact DRB at 1-800-821-2251 to request an estimate of your benefits and your retirement
application. It is recommended that you do this at least 120 days prior to your retirement
date.
Step 2
Meet with a regional retirement counselor with DRB to discuss any questions or concerns
you might have.
Step 3
Complete and submit your application at least 60 days before your retirement date.
It can take up to six weeks for your first retirement benefit check to be processed
by DRB.
Step 4
Retirement begins on the 1st of the month following your last day worked.
As you are preparing for retirement, please review our offboarding webpage which provides detailed information on separating from the university.
Age 59.5 IRS Minimum
Per IRS guidelines, withdraws from a PERS DC plan can begin with the member is age
59.5. Withdraws prior to age 59.5 may face additional tax penalties for early withdraw.
60 Day Separation Required
Withdraws can only be made from a PERS DC account after you have fully separated from
service for 60 days.
No in-service distributions are allowed.
Financial Planner
Discuss your financial assets and retirement plan with a financial planner. Financial
planners can help you map out and prepare for your retirement from a PERS DC plan.
The UA Benefits team is not able to provide financial planning advice.
Contact DRB
A PERS DC plan has a few different options available for retirement withdraws. Please
contact the DRB prior to your PERS retirement to discuss your options.
You can access your accounts after you have been separated for 60 days.
If you are separating from the university but are not retiring, there are a few different considerations for your PERS accounts depending on what type of account you have.
- If you are in a Defined Benefit (DB) account, you will want to contact the DRB to determine your vesting status and account options.
- If you are in a Defined Contribution (DC) account, you may either take no action and leave all funds in your PERS DC account, you may rollover your vested funds into another qualified tax-free retirement account such as an IRA, or you can rollover your vested funds into a new employer's eligible retirement account. To confirm your vesting status and discuss what option works best for you, please contact the DRB at 1-800-821-2251.
The university also has an offboarding webpage which provides detailed information on separating from the university.
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