Traditional Pension Plan Educational resources for the Traditional Pension Plan

We offer a number of tools and resources to help you to take an active role and stay educated throughout your career so you can be prepared for retirement.

You can choose from several educational offerings including in-person seminars, interactive webinars and online recorded presentations – all designed to meet your needs and assist you in making retirement decisions. Our education is updated regularly and tailored to your specific needs throughout your career.

Looking for more information on a specific topic? Then check out our informational leaflet series or comprehensive Member Handbook.

Information tailored to you

Our educational offerings are customized specifically for each retirement group (A, B and C).

Remember, you can always check your retirement group at any time from your annual statements found in your online account.

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In-Person Events

OPERS seminars are in-person events led by trained OPERS professionals. They take place all throughout the year at various locations in Ohio. Locations are updated on a quarterly basis.

Registration is required, and the address of the venue will be sent to you after you register.

Seminar: Ready to Retire Under 65

This seminar is for Pre-Medicare members within 12 months of retirement eligibility and includes two presentations which are conducted back-to-back.

During these presentations you will learn about the retirement application process, timeline details about your transition to retirement, and the resources available to help you with your retirement decisions.

Topics include:

  • The decisions you will have to make to access your Pension Benefits
  • How to access the OPERS Health Care Program
  • Selecting an individual health care plan
  • How to navigate the retirement application process
  • What tools are available to assist in your decision-making process
  • Rollover and Distribution options for your Ohio Deferred Compensation Account
Date Time Location
Oct. 29 6:00 p.m. Independence
Nov. 21 6:00 p.m. West Chester
Sign Up Now

Seminar: Ready to Retire 65 and Older

This seminar is for Medicare members within 12 months of retirement eligibility and includes two presentations which are conducted back-to-back.

During these presentations you will learn about the retirement application process, timeline details about your transition to retirement, and the resources available to help you with your retirement decisions.

Topics include:

  • The decisions you will have to make to access your Pension Benefits
  • How to access the OPERS Health Care Program
  • The parts of Medicare
  • Selecting an individual health care plan to supplement Medicare
  • How to navigate the retirement application process
  • What tools are available to assist in your decision-making process
  • Rollover and Distribution options for your Ohio Deferred Compensation Account
Date Time Location
Oct. 31 6:00 p.m. Columbus
Dec. 5 6:00 p.m. Akron
Sign Up Now

Seminar: Planning for Retirement

This seminar is for all members more than 12 months from retiring but within 5 years of retirement eligibility.

During this presentation you will learn more about service credit, pension and health care program eligibility and how Social Security benefits may be impacted by your OPERS pension.

Topics include:

  • How to earn service credit and become eligible for a Pension benefit
  • The difference between a reduced and unreduced Pension benefit
  • Why a supplemental savings account (Ohio DC) is needed in addition to your pension
  • How to become eligible for access to the OPERS Health Care Program
  • What tools and resources are available to assist you in Planning to Retire
Date Time Location
Nov. 5 6:00 p.m. Westlake
Nov. 7 6:00 p.m. Cincinnati
Nov. 14 6:00 p.m. Independence
Dec. 10 6:00 p.m. Granville
Dec. 12 6:00 p.m. Dublin
Sign Up Now

Seminar: Active Members: Understanding Your Medicare Options

Are you confused about Medicare? There are a lot of moving parts, and as your trusted partner, OPERS would like to help you understand your options!

This seminar is intended for Active Members who are currently working and will turn age 65 within the next 15 months or are already over 65.

Topics include:

  • The differences between Employer coverage vs. Medicare coverage
  • The different parts of Medicare – Parts A, B, C, D
  • How Medicare coordinates with individual Medicare plans
  • How Medicare works and the difference between Medicare Advantage and Medigap / Medicare Supplement plans
  • When to enroll in Medicare and an individual Medicare plan and what you'll need during the enrollment process
  • The Medicare Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) – a monthly deposit that will offset your medical expenses
  • What resources are available to assist you

Several OPERS staff will be on-hand to make sure that all of your questions are answered!

If you will be under 65 at retirement, please register for the "Ready to Retire Health Care: Pre-Medicare" here.

Date Time Location
Nov. 12 6:00 p.m. Dayton
Nov. 19 6:00 p.m. Perrysburg
Sign Up Now

Live Webinars

Webinars are live, interactive demonstrations given over the Internet. Attendees only need a computer to join, making it a convenient way to ask real OPERS educators questions about their retirement.

The information conveyed is the same as the in-person seminars of the same name.

Webinar: Active Members: Understanding Your Medicare Options

Are you confused about Medicare? There are a lot of moving parts, and as your trusted partner, OPERS would like to help you understand your options!

This interactive webinar is intended for Active Members who are currently working and will turn age 65 within the next 15 months or are already over 65.

Topics include:

If you will be under 65 at retirement, please register for the "Ready to Retire Health Care: Pre-Medicare" webinar here.

Sign up for the Active Members: Understanding Your Medicare Options webinar link opens in new tab

Webinar: Ready to Retire (Pension)

This webinar is for members within 12 months of retirement eligibility and is one part of the two-part Ready to Retire series.

Topics include:

Sign up for the Ready to Retire (Pension) Webinar link opens in new tab

Webinar: Ready to Retire Under 65 (Health Care)

This webinar is for Pre-Medicare members within 12 months of retirement eligibility and is one part of the two-part Ready to Retire series.

Topics include:

Select this link if you will be under 65 at retirement link opens in new tab

Webinar: Ready to Retire 65 and Older (Health Care)

This webinar is for Medicare-eligible members within 12 months of retirement eligibility and is one part of the two-part Ready to Retire series.

Topics include:

Select this link if you will be 65 or older at retirement link opens in new tab

Webinar: Planning for Retirement

This webinar is for all members more than 12 months from retiring but within 5 years of retirement eligibility.

During this presentation you will learn more about service credit, pension and health care program eligibility and how Social Security benefits may be impacted by your OPERS pension.

Topics include:

Sign up for the Planning for Retirement webinar link opens in new tab

Webinar: Bridging the Gap to Retirement Income

Financial wellness is the knowledge of personal finance which enables healthier financial decisions to achieve one's goals, and to enhance the overall quality of life.

The goal of this webinar is to help you assess your financial wellness, review your current spending habits and estimate your retirement income so you can identify the "gap" between what you will have in retirement and what you will need. We'll also show you ways you can begin closing your gap today.

Join us to learn how making sound financial decisions can lead to a more secure retirement in the future.

Sign up for the Bridging the Gap to Retirement Income Webinar link opens in new tab

Webinar: Health Care: The Hidden Cost in Retirement

This webinar will review the long-term cost of health care and better prepare you for retirement. Health care is no longer something you just have in retirement, it's something you need to plan for.

Topics include:

Sign up for the Health Care: The Hidden Cost in Retirement Webinar link opens in new tab

Webinar: Funding Pension and Health Care

Did you know that pension payments have increased by a billion dollars in the last 5 years. Do you ever wonder how OPERS faces this type of challenge?

Do you ever wonder things like:

If so, join us for this webinar as we review the financial status of the OPERS Pension and Health Care Trust Funds as well as the most recent membership statistics from our Annual Financial Comprehensive Report, Popular Annual Financial Report and Annual Health Care Report.

Sign up for the Funding Pension and Health Care Webinar link opens in new tab

Recorded Presentations

Recorded presentations can be viewed online at any time and registration is not required.

Although these presentation are not interactive, they are a great way to get more in-depth information on a specific topic. You can get move through the presentation at your pace, pausing or replaying sections.

Learn More

The following resources provide detailed information on a number of subjects as well as the latest news and updates from OPERS.