The Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) is a mandatory retirement plan for classified staff. Temporary hourly employees are eligible for PERSI once they meet both of the following requirements:
- Work 20 or more hours per week for over half the weeks in a rolling 20 week period, and
- Have been employed at Boise State University for at least five months
Once eligible, both the employee and the university must make PERSI contributions retroactively to the date the employee began working the qualifying hours.
What Does It Mean to Be “Vested”?
To access the university’s contributions to your PERSI account when you retire, you need to become vested. Vesting means working in a qualifying position within the State of Idaho, such as a classified staff role at Boise State, for at least 5 years.
- If you leave before completing 5 years, you forfeit access to the university’s contributions. However, you can still keep your own contributions.
- Once you’re vested, you become eligible for lifetime retirement benefits, which include access to the university’s contributions when you retire.
If you are considering leaving Boise State before becoming vested, you can leave your PERSI account active, and it will continue to earn interest until you are eligible to access it. However, if you choose to withdraw and move your contributions to another account, you will forfeit any access to the university’s contributions.
Please contact PERSI at (208) 334-3365 or (800) 451-8228 for questions and login to your MyPERSI Portal to access your account information.
Example: How PERSI Works
Jane works in a classified position at Boise State and is automatically enrolled in PERSI. Both she and the university contribute to her retirement account (see contribution rates below).
After 3 years, Jane leaves Boise State for a job that does not participate in PERSI. She chooses to leave her PERSI funds in the system, allowing them to continue earning interest.
Several years later, Jane returns to a classified position at Boise State. Because she never withdrew her contributions, her previous 3 years of service still count toward the 5 years required to become vested. This means she only needs to work 2 more years to gain full access to the university’s contributions at retirement.
If Jane had instead moved her PERSI contributions to another retirement account, she would have lost her previous service time. She would need to start over and work 5 new years in a PERSI-eligible position—such as a public employee in Idaho or a classified staff member at Boise State—in order to become vested and qualify for the university’s contributions at retirement.
Are You Vested in PERSI?
If you’re a faculty or professional staff member who is vested in PERSI (i.e., you have at least 60 months of service to the State of Idaho) before your hire at Boise State, you may opt to remain in PERSI. However, you must contact the Benefits Team at (208) 426-4429 to ensure that your retirement plan selection is processed.
Contribution Rates
Both you (the employee) and Boise State (the employer) contribute a percentage of your salary toward your retirement. These contribution rates are determined by the State of Idaho and are automatically deducted from your paycheck.
- Employee Contributions: 7.18% of your salary
- Employer Contributions: 11.96% of your salary
These contribution rates are fixed and cannot be changed. However, Boise State offers optional Supplemental Retirement Accounts to help you build additional retirement savings.