The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System covers state workers and employees of Ohio’s counties, cities, villages, townships, libraries and many other public employers. Ohio teachers are in a separate plan, STRS Ohio. OPERS offers three plans. This page covers the Traditional Pension Plan, which most members are in and which pays a lifetime pension from a formula. Law enforcement and public safety officers have different rules.
Which group you are in
A 2012 law (Senate Bill 343) sorted members into three groups by how close they were to retirement in January 2013. Your group sets your retirement ages and salary average.
| Group | Who |
|---|---|
| A | Eligible to retire by January 7, 2018 |
| B | 20 years of service by January 7, 2013, or eligible to retire by January 7, 2023 |
| C | Everyone else, including anyone hired on or after January 7, 2013 |
Anyone hired in the last decade or so is in Group C. Your annual statement and online account show your group.
The formula
Your yearly pension is 2.2% of your final average salary for each year of service, and 2.5% for each year beyond 30 (beyond 35 in Group C), up to 100% of final average salary.
- Groups A and B: final average salary is the average of your three highest calendar years, or your last 36 months if higher.
- Group C: it is the average of your five highest years, or your last 60 months if higher.
A Group C member with 30 years and a $65,000 average gets 66% of $65,000, which is $42,900 a year or $3,575 a month. With 36 years the same member gets 2.2% × 35 plus 2.5% for the 36th year, or 79.5%.
OPERS also applies a contribution-based benefit cap, an anti-spiking rule that limits a pension far out of line with what the member paid in. It rarely affects people with normal raises.
When you can retire
| Group | Unreduced | Reduced |
|---|---|---|
| A | 30 years at any age, or 65 with 5 years | 55 with 25 years, or 60 with 5 |
| B | 32 years at any age, 52 with 31, or 66 with 5 | 55 with 25 years, or 60 with 5 |
| C | 55 with 32 years, or 67 with 5 years | 57 with 25 years, or 62 with 5 |
Retiring at a reduced point gives you a smaller benefit for life, set by OPERS’s early-retirement table. The cut gets smaller the closer you are to an unreduced point. For an exact figure, use the benefit estimator in your OPERS online account. The pension estimate calculator shows the formula amount and tells you which point you have reached.
The 32-year rule is the one to plan around in Group C. Someone who starts at 23 reaches 32 years at 55, and from then on retires with no reduction, 12 years earlier than the age-based route.
COLA
After 12 months of benefits, OPERS adds a cost-of-living increase every year on your retirement anniversary. It is simple, figured on your original benefit, not compounded.
- Retired before January 7, 2013: 3% a year.
- Retired on or after January 7, 2013: based on the Consumer Price Index, up to 3%. If the CPI falls, there is no increase the next year.
Payment dates and recent increases are on the Ohio PERS payment dates and COLA pages.
Social Security
Ohio public employees do not pay Social Security on OPERS-covered jobs, so the pension is meant to replace it. Since the Social Security Fairness Act, Social Security you earned in other jobs, or through a spouse, is paid in full without the old WEP and GPO cuts. The pension and Social Security calculator puts the two together.
Taxes
Ohio taxes pensions as income, with a small retirement income credit, and does not tax Social Security. See Ohio retirement taxes, or compare states with the retirement tax calculator.
How well funded is Ohio PERS?
At the end of fiscal 2024, Ohio PERS had assets to cover 83% of the benefits members have earned so far. That is close to the middle of the pack for large state plans. It has fallen from 85% in 2015.
In fiscal 2025, employers paid the full contribution the plan's actuaries asked for. A low funded ratio does not cut a pension you have already earned. Public pension benefits are protected by state law, and in many states by the state constitution. What a gap usually changes is the future: higher contributions from workers and employers, and less generous tiers for new hires.
