About Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems


The Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems (NPERS), under the direction of the Public Employees Retirement Board (PERB), administers several statewide retirement systems and one deferred compensation plan for the State of Nebraska.

All six mandatory retirement plans administered by NPERS are governmental plans as defined under Internal Revenue Code § 414(d). The voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) is instituted under IRC § 457(b). NPERS carries out its mission from one location in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The six mandatory plans NPERS administers are for State, County, Nebraska School, Judges, Patrol, and Omaha School employees. The voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan is administered primarily for State, Judges, and State Patrol employees, however County employees are eligible to participate if their county does not offer a voluntary plan.


Defined Benefit Plans



  • Nebraska School Employees' Retirement System (School Employees Retirement Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-901 to 79-977.03).

  • Nebraska Judges Retirement System (Judges Retirement Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 24-701 to 24-714).

  • Nebraska State Patrol Retirement System (Nebraska State Patrol Retirement Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 81-2014 to 81-2041).

  • Omaha School Employees' Retirement System (Class V School Employees Retirement Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-978 to 79-9,124).

Cash Balance/Defined Contribution Plans


  • State Employees Retirement System (State Employees Retirement Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-1301 to 84-1333).

  • County Employees Retirement System (County Employees Retirement Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 23-2301 to 23-2334).

  • The State and County Employees' Retirement plans began as Defined Contribution (DC) plans. The Cash Balance (CB) benefit was added by passage of LB687 on April 18, 2002. As of January 1, 2003, members who begin participation in the mandatory retirement plan participate in the Cash Balance benefit. Plan members who were previously in Defined Contribution were given the option of keeping their DC benefit, or converting to Cash Balance.

Deferred Compensation Plan



  • The Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) is authorized by §§ 84-1504 through 84-1514.

The Spousal Pension Rights Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 42-1101 to 42-1113) governs qualified domestic relations orders that apply to the six mandatory NPERS-administered pension plans.

Year Ending 2024 Plan Statistics

Category State County School* Omaha* Patrol* Judges* DCP**
DC CB DC CB
Active
Members
1,373 16,658 557 7,585 44,613 6,713 392 147 5,153
Inactive
Members
1,031 11,306 452 4,858 30,309 3,285 45 2 1,811
Retirees*** 2,876 1,033 29,408 5,411 524
32 - DROP
204 N/A
Plan Assets $758,912,948 $2,403,714,347 $242,303,852 $825,936,535 $16,940,205,391 $1,569,697,000 $588,340,252 $260,499,119 $278,469,742
* Defined Benefit plans as of June 30, 2024 ** DCP numbers do not include Empower (formerly Mass Mutual) members. As of October 2022, Empower investment options have discontinued. *** Retirees indicate members currently receiving an annuity from NPERS NOTE: Omaha membership as of December 31, 2023