Preparing to retire from PERS involves more than submitting a form. Sommers Financial Management has extensive experience helping Oregon PERS members through the retirement application process — from the numbers behind each choice to the paperwork itself. Three major decisions shape your outcome, and we help you work through each one of them.
1. Six-month Buyback:
Should a PERS member buy back your first six months of employment? We calculate exactly how much this would increase your monthly pension so you can weigh the up-front cost against the lifetime benefit.
2. Choosing a Pension Option:
Should a PERS member take the highest monthly payout or provide future income for a spouse, partner, or dependent? PERS offers several survivorship options, and we help you find the one that best fits your family's needs.
3. Choosing a Pension Option:
Should a PERS member leave their IAP balance with PERS to create an additional monthly pension, or roll it into a traditional IRA for future flexiblity? We compare both paths to see which is more financially beneficial for you.
Tax Withholding & Payment Setup: Pension tax withholding is handled separately from the PERS application itself. We help you elect the right withholding for your situation and set up the monthly electronic benefit deposits.
We walk you through the Oregon PERS benefit application. Once your decisions are made we help you complete the PERS application together: gathering the information for each page and reviewing every entry to make sure the finished application accurately reflects your intensions.
Reach out to us today to discuss your next steps in your PERS retirement journey.