Ohio Teacher Retirement Benefits 2026

The STRS Ohio Pension Formula

Your STRS Ohio pension is built on three numbers: years of service credit, Final Average Salary, and the 2.2% multiplier. Multiply them together and you get your annual pension before any adjustments for plan of payment elections or PLOP distributions.

The formula for Defined Benefit Plan members: Years of Service × 2.2% × Final Average Salary = Annual Pension.

A teacher with 32 years of service and a Final Average Salary of $72,000 receives an annual pension of $50,688 (32 × 0.022 × $72,000), or $4,224 per month under the Single Life Annuity option. That figure drops if you elect a Joint and Survivor plan that protects a spouse, or if you take a PLOP lump sum at retirement.

Your Final Average Salary is the average of your five highest years of Ohio public earnings — not necessarily your last five years. If you took a pay cut, went part-time, or had an unpaid leave in your final stretch, an earlier high-earning year might still be in the calculation.

2026 Eligibility Rules

The State Teachers Retirement Board extended the 32-year unreduced service credit requirement through May 1, 2035, at its March 2026 meeting. This means DB Plan members can still retire at any age with 32 years of service and receive a full, unreduced pension. The alternative path to an unreduced benefit is age 65 with at least 5 years of service credit.

Reduced retirement remains available at any age with 27 years of service, or at age 60 with 5 years. Reduced benefits apply an actuarial discount based on how far you are from the unreduced thresholds. Once you meet an eligibility standard, it is grandfathered — even if the board raises thresholds later, your locked-in eligibility stands.

COLA for Current Retirees

The Cost-of-Living Adjustment for fiscal year 2027 is 1.6%, effective July 1, 2026. This follows a 1.5% COLA for FY 2026. Both adjustments were approved under the Sustainable Benefit Plan framework, which ties annual COLA decisions to the fund's actuarial health rather than a fixed formula.

Only retirees who have been receiving benefits for at least four years are eligible for the COLA. If you retired on June 1, 2022, or earlier, you qualify for the FY 2027 adjustment. Recent retirees wait until their four-year anniversary passes before COLA increases begin.

The COLA applies to your base benefit amount and compounds over time. A 1.6% increase on a $4,000 monthly pension adds $64 per month — modest in any single year, but meaningful as it compounds across a 25- or 30-year retirement.

Health Care Subsidies in 2027

STRS Ohio's Health Care Program subsidizes premiums for eligible DB and Combined Plan retirees under date-specific rules. For service retirements effective on or after Aug. 1, 2023, at least 20 years of service credit are required for coverage and a subsidy; from Jan. 1, 2004, through July 1, 2023, at least 15 years are required for both. For retirements before Jan. 1, 2004, there is no minimum credit for coverage, but 15 years are required for a subsidy. The board set a new subsidy glidepath starting in calendar year 2027: 2.17% per year of service for Medicare-enrolled retirees and 2.47% per year for non-Medicare retirees, decreasing by 0.03% annually through 2040.

The financial difference between Medicare and non-Medicare enrollment is dramatic. A Medicare-enrolled retiree with 30+ years of credit pays approximately $45 per month for the Aetna Medicare Plan (after the Part B credit). A non-Medicare retiree in the Aetna Basic Plan pays approximately $387 per month. Enrolling in Medicare Part A and Part B at age 65 is effectively mandatory if you want affordable STRS health coverage.

Defined Contribution Plan members are ineligible for the STRS Health Care Program entirely — a major consideration if you chose the DC plan early in your career.

Social Security After the WEP/GPO Repeal

Ohio public school teachers do not contribute to Social Security on their STRS-covered earnings. Until January 2025, this created a problem: the Windfall Elimination Provision reduced your Social Security benefits from private-sector work, and the Government Pension Offset could zero out spousal or survivor benefits.

The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), signed January 5, 2025, repealed both provisions retroactively to January 2024. If you earned Social Security credits through summer jobs, prior private-sector careers, or part-time work outside of teaching, your full earned benefit is now restored. The SSA completed automatic adjustments and retroactive payments in early 2025.

If you never applied for Social Security because the old offset rules would have eliminated your benefit, you need to file a new application with the SSA. The adjustment is not automatic for people who never claimed — you must actively apply.

Contribution Rates

Active STRS Ohio members contribute 14% of their gross salary to the system. Employers contribute an additional 14%. These rates are set by Ohio law and have been stable for several years. Your contributions are pretax — they reduce your current taxable income but are fully taxable when you receive them as pension income in retirement.

The combined 28% contribution rate (member plus employer) funds the pension system's obligations to current and future retirees. STRS Ohio's investment portfolio — managed by an in-house team — supplements contributions to pay benefits.

The STRS Ohio Retirement Guide pulls these pieces together into a comprehensive planning framework — eligibility verification, benefit calculation worksheets, payout option comparisons, and health care enrollment steps — all updated for the 2026 rules.

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