Pathfinder
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A Defined Contribution Plan administered by OPERS
Pathfinder is the mandatory defined contribution plan for eligible state employees who first become employed by a participating employer on or after November 1, 2015, and have no prior participation in OPERS before that date.
How does it work
Under this plan, participants choose a contribution rate which is matched by their employer up to 7%, and participants have the freedom to select and change their investments.
Pathfinder is composed of a 401(a) Plan for mandatory and matching contributions and a 457(b) Plan for additional voluntary contributions. With each paycheck you make a mandatory contribution of 4.5% of your pretax salary to the 401(a) Plan. Your employer also contributes 6% of your pretax salary into the plan. Contributions and any earnings grow on a tax-deferred basis until money is withdrawn, usually during retirement.
You can do more to get more!
You can receive another 1% employer-matching contribution to your 401(a) Plan when you contribute 2.5% or more to your voluntary 457(b) Plan. That’s a total 14% contribution to your Pathfinder retirement accounts. Now, that is a match!
| Employee Contribution | Employer Match | Total Contribution |
| Mandatory 4.5% | 6.0% | 10.5% |
| Less than 7.0% | 6.0% | Up to 12.9% |
| 7.0% or Above | 7.0% | 14% + |
Note: Once you reach age 65, you will be 100% vested in employer contributions regardless of your years of participation.
Your Pathfinder Plan also offers a Roth 457 option for voluntary contributions. With the Roth option, you pay taxes on your contributions now so you don’t have to later. You also get the benefit of not paying taxes on the earnings. Your mandatory employee contributions and employer matching contributions will be pre-tax.
How do I manage my account?
You can manage your account online at www.okpathfinder.com, by downloading the Empower app or by calling the voice response system at 844-465-7284:
- Access your account balance
- Change your contributions
- Use online tool to estimate monthly income in retirement
Get the mobile app to view and manage your plan anywhere, any time. Download the Empower app at
Google Play or App Store.
Leaving Employment or Retiring
- Consider Staying in your Pathfinder Plan, and allow your money to continue growing.
- To learn more about leaving employment and your distribution options, view our Pathfinder Distribution Guide FAQ.
- Use the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator to understand when you will be required to begin withdrawing from your retirement savings and how much you will need to withdraw each year.
Vesting
Vesting is your right to a benefit. Your employee contributions to Pathfinder are 100% vested from Day 1. However, you become progressively vested in the matching employer contributions according to a vesting schedule.
| Vesting Period | 1 Year | 2 Years | 3 Years | 4 Years | 5 Years |
| Vesting Percentage | 20% | 40% | 60% | 80% | 100% |
The vesting period is measured in the days of participation following your date of hire (e.g., you become vested in the first 20% of the employer-matching funds if you participate for 365 days after your hire date). If you leave employment before you are 100% vested, you are only eligible to receive the percentage of the matching employer contributions listed above. Any non-vested employer-matching contributions are permanently forfeited to the retirement system after 90 days to offset Plan expenses.
If you return to employment, your new vesting period picks up where you left off (e.g., if you left on day 275 of your fourth year, when you return you will begin your new vesting period on day 276 of year four on the vesting schedule).
Pathfinder has a contract with the Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America for recordkeeping and account management services. The products and services offered in the retirement markets of Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America for the Plan are branded as Empower.