KPERS

Kansas Public Employees Retirement System Plan

The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) administers statewide defined-benefit retirement plans for state and local public employees:

  • Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS)
  • Kansas Police and Fire Retirement System (KP&F)

Eligibility

You are eligible to participate in the KPERS plan if you fall into one of the following categories:

  • A benefits eligible classified university support staff member
  • A police officer or firefighter

Enrollment

All eligible employees will be enrolled on your first day of employment by completing the KPERS Retirement Data Form (pdf)  during the onboarding process, or completing the form and returning it to the Benefits Office by fax to 785-864-5790 or by encrypted email to benefits@ku.edu.

When you enroll in the KPERS plan, you will be referred to as a “member” of the plan.

Membership Groups

KPERS determines your contribution amounts and vesting timeframes based on your “membership group”. The KPERS website provides complete information about the KPERS' Membership Groups and KP&F, as well as contribution and vesting information and retirement eligibility information.

Please note that KPERS provides you with an option to purchase service credit. To learn more, please visit the KPERS website or download and complete the Application to Purchase Service Credit (pdf).

Planning for Retirement

KPERS provides a number of resources to assist in planning for retirement. 

Working at KU after Retirement

KPERS Retirees - If you retire under KPERS and return to work for a KPERS participating employer, including the University of Kansas, you will be subject to the KPERS Working After Retirement (WAR) provisions that impact KPERS retirees who are hired/rehired on/after May 1, 2015.

  1. There can be no “prearrangement” for your return to work.  Therefore, before retirement and during the applicable waiting period after your KPERS retirement date, there can be no discussion or action taken for you to prearrange to return to work.  For those who retired before 1/1/18, the waiting period is 60 days after your KPERS retirement date.  For those who retired on or after 1/1/18, the waiting period after your KPERS retirement date is 180 days if you retired before age 62 and 60 days if you retired at age 62 or later.
  2. If you are hired, Human Resources is required to certify that the prearrangement rules were not violated.
  3. Only those hired into a KPERS covered position will have a special employer fringe assessed on the rehired retiree's compensation. The rehired retiree is not subject to limits on compensation that can be earned.
  4. For KPERS retirees who are rehired into a position covered by the Kansas Board of Regents mandatory retirement plan or into a position that is not eligible for benefits, the department will not pay the special employer fringe.  The no "prearrangement" to return to work rules do apply.

For more information, please see more information KPERS website.

KP&F retirees who return to work for the same employer worked for during the last two years of KP&F participation will be subject to the earnings limit of $25,000 per year if rehired into a KP&F covered position. Information about working after retirement.

Additional Information

Please visit the KPERS Publications Page to access KPERS brochures and forms. You can also download the KPERS Membership Guide (pdf) which contains instructions for accessing account information online, adding or changing beneficiaries, and other important information.

*An accessible version of the documents on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact our office at hrdept@ku.edu to request the document be made available in an accessible format.