By The Oregonian Editorial Board Gov. Kate Brown defended her decision to prioritize teachers for the COVID-19 vaccine as one of the tough calls she’s had to make amid a vaccine shortage. Reopening schools is paramount and necessitates immunizing educators, she said, pointing out the many shortcomings of remote learning, the social isolation students are experiencing…

OPRI is focused on protecting the hard-earned benefits of PERS retirees during the 2021 Legislative Session with the introduction of a bill that would more quickly reinstate Tax Remedy Payments for retirees who are either unable to timely confirm their Oregon residency or who establish Oregon residency during the year. HB 2867 is introduced by…

When Deanna Woods retired, she wondered what she would do with her time. But filling her time has not been a problem. The newest OPRI Board member shares that the key is to keep learning and to do something that makes a difference. Throughout her career, Deanna served in the Portland Public Schools, where she…

On August 6, 2020, the Oregon Supreme Court denied the challenge brought forward by public employee unions regarding pension benefit reductions which passed during the 2019 Legislative Session through Senate Bill 1049. The lawsuit alleged that SB 1049 was unconstitutional and sought to overturn provisions of the law. Here is a look back at the…

The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the reductions in public employee pension benefits that the Legislature passed in 2019 to help address the state’s burgeoning pension funding deficit and rein in the escalating pension costs and resulting budget problems for public employers. Read the full story on The Oregonian

Helga Thompson dedicated her career to educating children. Now, as an OPRI Board member, she dedicates time to protecting retirement benefits for teachers like herself. Born in West Germany, Helga’s family immigrated to the U.S. when she was six years old. Helga describes her life growing up as calm and quiet, her father working in…

It’s been 10 weeks since Governor Brown issued the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order that resulted from our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oregonians made many sacrifices to stay home as much as possible in order to slow the spread of the virus. Now, as Stay Home orders begin to lift across Oregon, many…