STRS Ohio vs OPERS Retirement

Two Systems, One State

Ohio runs five separate public retirement systems. The two that educators and school employees most commonly encounter are STRS Ohio (State Teachers Retirement System) and OPERS (Ohio Public Employees Retirement System). Teachers and licensed education professionals contribute to STRS. Non-teaching school employees — secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and aides — typically contribute to SERS (School Employees Retirement System) or OPERS, depending on their employer classification.

If your career kept you entirely within one system, retirement planning is straightforward. The complexity hits when you have service credit in both STRS Ohio and OPERS — which is common for educators who spent time in non-teaching public roles, or who worked for a public university in an administrative capacity classified under OPERS.

Benefit Formula Differences

STRS Ohio's Defined Benefit formula uses a 2.2% multiplier per year of service applied to your Final Average Salary (the average of your five highest earning years in Ohio public employment). A 30-year STRS member with a $70,000 FAS receives $46,200 annually.

OPERS Traditional Plan formulas depend on membership group. Groups A and B receive 2.2% of FAS for each of the first 30 years of service and 2.5% for each year over 30; Group C receives 2.2% for the first 35 years and 2.5% for each year over 35. Groups A and B use the greater of the three highest calendar years or the last 36 months of earnable salary for FAS; Group C uses the greater of the five highest calendar years or the last 60 months.

The eligibility thresholds also differ. STRS Ohio's unreduced retirement requires 32 years of service at any age (extended through May 2035) or age 65 with 5 years. OPERS Traditional Plan eligibility depends on group. Group A members qualify for unreduced benefits at any age with 30 years or at age 65 with 5; Group B members qualify at age 52 with 31 years, any age with 32 years, or age 66 with 5; Group C members qualify at age 55 with 32 years or age 67 with 5. Reduced eligibility is age 55 with 25 years or age 60 with 5 for Groups A and B, and age 57 with 25 years or age 62 with 5 for Group C.

Combining Service Credit

Ohio law allows members with credit in multiple state retirement systems to combine that credit at retirement. The combining rules work like this: you can add STRS and OPERS (and SERS) service credit together to meet eligibility thresholds and to calculate your total years of service for the benefit formula.

The system where you earned the greatest amount of service credit pays the unified benefit. If you have 25 years in STRS and 7 years in OPERS, STRS pays your entire pension — but the formula uses all 32 years of combined credit and your highest five years of salary from across both systems.

This combining mechanism can be powerful. An educator with 28 years in STRS who spent 4 early-career years in an OPERS-covered position hits the 32-year unreduced threshold by combining — avoiding the actuarial reduction that would apply to a 28-year-only retirement.

Combining is optional. In some cases, keeping the accounts separate and drawing two smaller pensions produces a better result than one combined benefit. This happens most often when the salary levels in each system differed significantly, or when one system's health care eligibility is more favorable. Run the numbers both ways before deciding.

Health Care Differences

STRS Ohio and OPERS each operate independent health care programs with separate eligibility rules, premium structures, and provider networks.

For service retirements effective on or after Aug. 1, 2023, STRS Ohio requires at least 20 years of total service credit for health care coverage. The minimum is 15 years for retirements effective Jan. 1, 2004, through July 1, 2023; before Jan. 1, 2004, there is no minimum for coverage, but 15 years are required for a subsidy. The system subsidizes premiums based on years of service, with the maximum subsidy at 30+ years. Medicare enrollment is required at age 65 to maintain coverage.

OPERS offers health care through different tiers depending on when you began membership. OPERS health care has undergone significant restructuring in recent years, with some members receiving an HRA (Health Reimbursement Arrangement) to buy coverage on their own rather than enrolling in a system-administered plan.

If you combine service credit and STRS pays your pension, your health care eligibility comes through STRS Ohio — not OPERS. The OPERS health care benefit is only available to members retiring through OPERS. This distinction matters if you have enough OPERS credit for favorable OPERS health care but would lose access to it by combining into STRS.

COLA Comparison

Both systems provide Cost-of-Living Adjustments, but on different schedules and under different frameworks. STRS Ohio's COLA is determined annually by the Retirement Board under the Sustainable Benefit Plan framework — FY 2027's COLA is 1.6%. OPERS also provides periodic COLAs, but the timing and amount depend on the plan tier and the system's funded status.

Neither system guarantees a fixed annual COLA. Both tie adjustments to the financial health of the pension fund, which means retirees in either system may experience years with no increase.

When You Might Encounter Both Systems

The most common scenario is an educator who started their career in a non-teaching public role (covered by OPERS) before moving into the classroom (covered by STRS). University employees are another frequent case — the same Ohio public university might classify a faculty member under STRS and an administrative staff member under OPERS. Career transitions within Ohio public employment create dual-system membership more often than most people expect.

The STRS Ohio Retirement Guide includes a service credit combining worksheet that helps you evaluate whether combining STRS and OPERS credit improves your total benefit or whether keeping the accounts separate serves your household better.

See more Ohio guides →