***IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR AGE 50 CATCH-UP PARTICIPANTS***
Roth Catch-Up SECURE 2.0 Section 603: For employees with FICA wages for the preceding year that exceed $150,000, catch-up contributions can only be made to a designated Roth account. This provision is mandatory. It was delayed by the IRS for two years so plan sponsors could get the necessary programming changes implemented. Employees with a salary amount of $150,000 (which will be indexed for inflation) who are participating in the age 50 catch-up provision, will be required to have any catch-up dollars contributed on a Roth basis instead of pre-tax. Your payroll will look back at your previous year’s FICA wages, and if you are at least age 50, and make $150,000 or more, any contributions you make over the normal contribution rate will go into the Roth 403(b). The only exception is for employees who didn’t work for the university system in the prior year; for those employees, they may continue to contribute on a pre-tax basis. You do not need to change your contribution designation; this should all be automated by payroll. Participants who do not want to put money in the Roth will need to stop their contributions when they hit the normal contribution rate. That rate will be determined for 2026 is $24,500.
WELCOME
This website is designed to provide you with all the information you need to adequately assess your retirement plan options through the Oregon Public University System.
Here you will find:
- Guidebooks and highlights for our plans
- Information on advisory committee meetings
- Our quarterly newsletter
- Any updates to the plans due to statute changes or internal review
- Forms for all of your rollover, transfer, enrollment and retirement needs
- Contact information for OPURP and benefits managers for all seven universities
- Information and links to helpful pages on the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)
Brief Summary of Plan Options through Oregon Public Universities
Optional Retirement Plan (ORP)
A Pension alternative for academic and administrative unclassified employees, which is designed to provide choice and portability of retirement investments. Eligible employees may participate in the ORP in lieu of PERS.
Tax-Deferred Investment 403(b) Plan (TDI)
A voluntary retirement savings plan for classified and unclassified employees, the TDI provides pre-tax savings for retirement.* The TDI can be used in addition to the basic pension, and by eligible employees regardless of whether they participate in the ORP or PERS.
* Our plan Providers do offer Roth (post-tax) savings options as well.
Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)
Administered by the State of Oregon, PERS is a retirement pension program open only to public sector employees in the State of Oregon. Participating employees can still be eligible for participation in the TDI. Please see the PERS website for the most up to date information regarding this option.
Oregon Savings Growth Plan (OSGP)
As an alternative to the TDI, OSGP provides voluntary pre- and post-tax retirement savings options to public employees in the State of Oregon. This is a 457(b) plan, not a 403(b) plan like the TDI. Please see the OSGP website for the most up to date information regarding this option.