Former AG wants more PERS benefits

Ellen Rosenblum didn't meet volunteer hours requirement for a 10% bump in benefits from OR's PERS system, but seeks an exception consistent with a "special arrangement" struck before she became AG

Former Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. (Photo courtesy the National Association of Attorneys General)

Former Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D) stands to receive a 10% bump in her state retirement benefits if the Oregon Supreme Court grants her request for an exception to a volunteer service requirement normally required for the bonus. The exception is subject to a vote of the Oregon Supreme Court today, according to the Statesman Journal.

Rosenblum was first elected Attorney General in 2012. Prior to that time, she had worked as a trial court and then Court of Appeals judge, retiring as a judge in 2011. Prior to her retirement as a judge, Rosenblum elected to take advantage of the Oregon’s “Plan B” retirement option for judges. State judges in Oregon are part of the Public Employee Retirement System, commonly known as PERS.

Plan B pays retired judges a retirement benefit equal to 75% of their judicial salary in exchange for the retired judge providing 35 hours of free judicial services state courts per year for five years following retirement. Judges who prefer not to provide the pro bono services default into Plan A, which pays a retirement benefit equal to 65% of their judicial salary. A retired judge who elects Plan B but fails to complete his or her service requirements reverts to Plan A, and its lower benefit level.

According to the Statesman Journal, between retirement as a judge and taking office as Attorney General, Rosenblum completed about half of her Plan B service hour requirements. She told the newspaper she is party to a “special arrangement” with the Supreme Court Chief Justice, who administers the judicial retirement system. As summarized by the Statesman Journal:

Rosenblum said to complete this obligation she notified Supreme Court Chief Justice Meagan Flynn of her intention to complete the retirement plan requirements. She said she had a special arrangement with the court to complete this service after the conclusion of her term as AG, but typically it must be done within five years of retirement.

The details of the “special arrangement” have not been made public. However, a review of Oregon statutes and rules governing eligibility for Plan B indicate Rosenblum should be ineligible for the 10% bump in retirement benefits.

Oregon law provides the five-year pro bono service period begins upon the later of the date the judge retires or the date upon which the judge begins providing the pro bono services. For Rosenblum, the five-year clock would have begun running prior to her taking office as Attorney General in January 2013. The Attorney General, as a member of the executive branch, cannot serve as a judge, pro bono or otherwise, and Rosenblum reportedly began accruing her pro bono hours prior to starting her new job. Rosenblum’s five-year period to complete her 175 hours of service would have concluded by January 2018.

The Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court may grant an exception to the pro bono service requirement if “the judge fails for good cause to complete the obligation.” The term “good cause” is defined in the statute to include the judge’s physical or mental incapacity, but specifically excludes

a judge’s affirmative voluntary act that makes the judge unqualified to serve as a judge of this state including, but not limited to, failure to maintain active membership in the Oregon State Bar, acceptance of a position in another branch of state government, or acceptance of a position in the Government of the United States or of another state or nation.

(Emphasis added)

The Supreme Court’s reported vote today is not mentioned on the Court’s calendar. It is unclear whether it is a public event.

Oregon’s PERS system has long required increased contributions from state agencies to stay afloat, most recently requiring schools to pay an extra $670 million into the system, entirely gobbling up expected education funding increases.

Rosenblum’s term was to end yesterday, which also was her 74th birthday. However, she resigned effective December 31, 2024, with former Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Dan Rayfield (D) sworn in that same day. Rayfield won the race to replace Rosenblum, who did not run for re-election, in November. Rosenblum told the Statesman Journal her decision to resign at the end of 2024 was not “directly related” to the Supreme Court vote on her retirement benefits. She told the newspaper she and Rayfield were both "more than ready for the change" and “the timing worked out well for them.”

Rosenblum, who turned 74 yesterday, is married to Richard Meeker, president of Rose City Media Company, the parent company of Portland weekly Willamette Week. Meeker previously served as publisher of Willamette Week.

Multnomah County records show Rosenblum and Meeker as owners of two residential properties in south Portland with a total estimated real market value of $1.43 million.

During Rosenblum’s three terms as Attorney General, she was a prolific fundraiser for other Democratic candidates, and for the Democratic Party of Oregon. She said she recused herself from DOJ’s inquiry into the DPO’s misreporting of the source of its largest-ever contribution in 2022. However she kept that inquiry inside DOJ, performed by attorneys and investigators for whom she remained boss. Last year, DOJ announced it would not seek criminal charges against the DPO or its donor, FTX’s Nishad Singh, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance fraud charges.

Attempts to locate Rosenblum’s post-AG contact information to obtain a comment for this story were unsuccessful.

UPDATE 1/8/25 - Yesterday afternoon, after I published this article, the Oregon Supreme Court approved Ellen Rosenblum as senior judge despite the fact she did not complete the required pro bono service within five years of retiring as a judge in 2011. Supreme Court staff also clarified the 75% retirement benefit for senior judges is an upper limit. The upper limit is 65% for retired judges who are not approved as senior judges.