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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022
Pensions: ‘The rate-collar structure is performing for this fi rst biennium ’
Continued from Page A1
The comparable fi gure
for 2020 was $28 billion.
The PERS fund was at
$85.4 billion in December
2020; the preliminary fi g-
ure one year later is $100.4
billion. Its investments go
beyond common stocks,
which PERS started back in
1973, to other things. Oregon
has one of the nation’s larg-
est public pension funds.
“It’s a good marker to
know what the investment
returns of last year did,” said
Scott Preppernau, of Milli-
man , the fi rm that does the
actuarial work for the sys-
tem, in a January report to
the PERS board. “Clearly
a strong asset year makes a
signifi cant improvement in
these results over a one-year
time frame.”
A decade ago, under
then-Treasurer Ted Wheeler,
the Oregon Investment
Council changed its strat-
egy so that the PERS fund
will not grow as much when
fi nancial markets surge, but
also does not drop as much
when markets plunge.
The change emerged after
the Great Recession, when
the PERS fund lost 28%
of its value as it declined
from $66 billion in Decem-
ber 2007 to a low of about
$48 billion in March 2009.
It took several years for the
PERS fund to get back to its
pre-recession level.
PERS Board Chairwoman
Sadhana Shenoy said Ore-
gon’s long-term liability for
public pensions hasn’t gone
away, given that the funded
status of the system is still
below a target of 90%.
“We have a long way to
go,” she said. “But this shows
that one good year gives us a
little bit of respite.”
The valuation of the
PERS fund as of Dec. 31
‘WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.
BUT THIS SHOWS THAT ONE
GOOD YEAR GIVES US A
LITTLE BIT OF RESPITE.’
Sadhana Shenoy | PERS
board chairwoman
will be a factor when the
board sets pension contribu-
tion rates for the 900 partic-
ipating governments for the
2023-25 budget cycle, which
starts in July 2023. The board
will likely set those rates at a
September meeting.
However, the current
average rate of 17.9% is
likely to be maintained,
instead of reduced. The
board changed its policy last
year so that increasing the
funded status of the system
to a specifi ed target of 90%
takes priority over lowering
contribution rates.
The average rate is a mis-
nomer, because no partici-
pating government pays it.
Rates are determined by
the mix of employees within
a government agency, based
on when they were hired and
whether they are classifi ed
as public safety employees,
who qualify for higher pen-
sions upon retirement but
also require higher rates than
other employees for pen-
sion contributions. State law
defi nes public safety employ-
ees for pension purposes.
Rates tend to be higher
for governments with a
greater share of employees
hired before August 2003
or those with more public
safety employees, such as
police, sheriff ’s deputies and
fi refi ghters.
Of the 228,000 pub-
lic employees covered by
the system as of mid-2021,
PERS reports that more than
162,000 of them were hired
after the Oregon Legisla-
ture overhauled the system
in 2003. The rest, all hired
before then, fall into more
generous
defi ned-benefi t
plans from prior years.
But of the 156,500 retir-
ees as of the end of 2020,
most of them — 130,000
— get benefi ts under a pre-
1996 plan and are classifi ed
as Tier 1. Another 18,000
get benefi ts under a plan
— Tier 2 — that was in
eff ect from January 1996 to
August 2003.
The retirement plan that
applies to most now blends
contributions from employ-
ees and their employers in
what are known as individ-
ual account plans.
Contribution rates for par-
ticipating governments also
are collared, which means
part of the increase is car-
ried over into future bud-
get cycles, so that partici-
pating governments do not
get hit with the full amount
in a single cycle. The board
approved a change last year
in how rates are calculated
for the collar, which limits
what a rate increase would
be otherwise.
“Emotion is not part
of being an actuary,” said
Matt Larrabee, also of Mil-
liman . “But we are happy
that the rate-collar structure
is performing for this fi rst
biennium .”
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Westport: ‘They really need the new road’ DeVos: ‘Do something good for the community’
Continued from Page A1
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But the homes on Old
Mill Town Road predate
current planning regula-
tions and were built close
to the right of way. Wid-
ening the road would put
residents even closer to
traffi c. In addition, a park
— the freshly renovated
Westport boat ramp, where
families gather, people ride
bikes and children play —
makes the area a less-than-
ideal place for a trucking
route.
Improving either West-
port Ferry or Old Mill
Town roads would require
the county to upgrade
the infrastructure — the
Westport sewer system —
beneath the roads before
they are rebuilt. Such an
undertaking would cost a
few million dollars.
In any case, when pre-
sented with these options,
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A truck drives south along Westport Ferry Road.
the community wasn’t
having them. R esidents
want the truck traffic off
of their residential roads,
Assistant County Man-
ager Monica Steele said.
Teevin Bros.’ truck
drivers are mindful of
the community, McLean
said. “They run through
there pretty graciously,”
he said.
But two trucks trying to
pass each other on the nar-
row Westport Ferry Road
— a strip bordered by
homes where people with
limited parking often park
on the street — can be a
risky proposition.
“They really need the
new road,” McLean said.
His eff orts earned him a
recruitment badge, one of
the many that fi ll out Devos’
uniform. O thers include fi rst
aid, Native American lore,
chemistry, shoemaking and
emergency preparedness.
When the Boy Scouts
went remote as the virus
raged across the world,
DeVos earned another
badge. He pitched a tent in
his backyard and camped for
50 straight days – one of the
rarer feats among his fellow
scouts.
While his 50-day streak
is impressive, he does not
think it takes a special per-
son to join the club.
“I think anyone could
really become a Boy Scout,”
he said. “I don’t think it’s a
Health experts proj-
ect that about 400 people
would be hospitalized with
COVID-19 by late March,
roughly the same level as
before the omicron variant
led to a surge of new virus
cases across the state.
“The evidence from Ore-
gon and around the coun-
try is clear: masks save
lives by slowing the spread
of COVID-19,” Dr. Dean
Sidelinger, the state’s health
offi cer and state epidemi-
ologist, said in a statement.
“We should see COVID-19
hospitalizations drop by the
end of March because so
many Oregonians are wear-
ing masks and taking other
steps to protect themselves
and each other, such as get-
ting a booster shot or vacci-
nating their children. At that
point, it will be safer to lift
mask requirements.”
Clatsop County recorded
more than 1,200 new virus
cases in January, the most of
any month so far in the pan-
demic. But the virus cases
tied to the omicron vari-
ant have so far not led to
the same levels of hospital-
izations and deaths in the
county as a summer surge
linked to the delta variant.
Businesses and oth-
ers will have the discretion
to continue indoor mask
requirements after the state
mandate is lifted.
The Oregon Department
of Education will likely
issue new virus protocols for
schools to help prevent the
spread of COVID-19 once
the state mandate ends.
School districts, in partic-
ular, have been under pres-
sure from parents and oth-
ers over the indoor mask
requirement.
“I will talk to my board
Wednesday night – but we’ll
go through a process with
our community and our par-
ents and our staff and stu-
dents to get their input and
move forward with that,”
said Craig Hoppes, the
superintendent of the Asto-
ria School District.
DeVos hopes to take those
leadership skills into the mil-
itary, where the designation
of Eagle Scout is helpful for
placement . DeVos is a Life
Scout, just one rank below.
DeVos thinks the values
of being a Boy Scout ulti-
mately come down to one
thing – community, which is
why he is determined to see
membership numbers climb
back up.
“Do a good turn daily,”
DeVos said, quoting the
organization’s slogan. “Do
something good for the
community.”
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2021
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Mask mandate: 1,200 new cases in January
Continued from Page A1
matter of people being able
to and not able to, it’s a mat-
ter of wanting to develop
yourself.”
While DeVos praises the
hands-on skills, as well as
the history and survival les-
sons he has learned during
his time as a Boy Scout over
the past six years, he sees
more value in something
else.
“I’d say the most (valu-
able) thing I’ve learned out
of it all is defi nitely lead-
ership,” he said. “ ... And
managing
people
and
teamwork.”
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