Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS)

Sixty years ago, the 1947 Session of the Nevada Legislature passed the Nevada Retirement Act. This Act created the Nevada Public Employees’ System and was signed into law on March 27, 1947, by Governor Vail Pittman.

The PERS is a tax-qualified defined benefit plan created by the Legislature as an independent public agency to provide a reasonable base income to qualified employees who have been employed by a public employer and whose earning capacity has been removed or has been substantially reduced by age or disability. It was also created to make government employment attractive to qualified employees and to encourage them to remain in government service for such periods of time as to give employers and the people of the state the full benefit of the training and experience gained by the employees while employed in public service.

PERS is the primary vehicle for providing retirement income to classified employees of NSHE.

You participate in the plan under either the Employer Pay Contribution Plan or the Employee/Employer Contribution Plan, at your discretion.

Employer Pay Contribution (EPC)

Under this plan, the employer pays the total PERS contribution on your behalf. These contributions are not deposited to your individual member account and are not available for refund upon termination of employment.

Employee/Employer Contribution Plan

You and NSHE share equally in the contribution to PERS. Your after tax contribution is refundable upon the termination of your employment, if you do not elect to receive a monthly retirement benefit. You can find current contribution rates at www.nvpers.org. If you are unsure of which plan you are contributing under, contact your employer or PERS.

Regular members earn service credit based on years, months and days actually worked. If you have five years of creditable service, you may purchase up to five years of additional service credit. You must pay the full actuarial cost associated with your age and average compensation at the time of the purchase. The cost to purchase one year of service averages about one-third of your annual salary. Payment may be made in a lump sum or by installment agreement.

Purchase of service may also be accomplished using certain types of retirement savings accounts such as 401(a), 401(k) qualified pension trusts, 403(b) and 457 retirement savings plans and IRAs.

If you contribute under the employee/employer contribution plan, you may withdraw your employee contributions if you terminate all employment for which a contribution is required or if you are employed in a position ineligible for membership for at least 90 days. A refund cancels all rights to membership including service credit earned under the EPC plan.

If you received a refund of employee contributions and later return to work and reestablish active membership for a period of at least six months, you may repay the refunded contributions and restore service credit. Repayment, including interest at the actuarially determined rate, may be made in a lump sum or by monthly installments. Service will not be restored until your agreement is paid in full.

Service Retirement for Participants Hired Before January 1, 2010

Vesting

If you are a contributing member of PERS after June 30, 1989, you earn the right to receive a retirement allowance after five years of service.

Early Retirement Reduction

In the event you earn the years of service necessary to receive a retirement benefit but have not reached the age required for an unreduced benefit, you may retire at any age with your benefit reduced by 4% for each full year you retire early.

Disability Retirement

If you have five or more years of service and become totally unable to perform your current or any comparable job because of an injury or mental or physical illness of a permanent nature, you are eligible to apply for disability retirement. Your application must be filed with PERS prior to your termination of employment.

Service Retirement for Participants Hired After January 1, 2010

Vesting

If you are a contributing member of PERS after June 30, 1989, you earn the right to receive a retirement allowance after five years of service.

Early Retirement Reduction

In the event you earn the years of service necessary to receive a retirement benefit but have not reached the age required for an unreduced benefit, you may retire at any age with your benefit reduced by 6% for each full year you retire early.

Disability Retirement

If you have five or more years of service and become totally unable to perform your current or any comparable job because of an injury or mental or physical illness of a permanent nature, you are eligible to apply for disability retirement. Your application must be filed with PERS prior to your termination of employment.