Re-employment Returning to Work After Retirement

Age & Service Retiree

As an age and service retiree, you may become re-employed in an OPERS-covered position. Re-employed retirees contribute to the Money Purchase Plan.

Contributions to OPERS must begin from the first day of re-employment. You must complete, and your employer must certify, a Notice of Re-employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient (SR-6) by the end of your first month of employment.

If you become re-employed on a full-time basis by a public college or university, you will have the option of choosing the OPERS Money Purchase Plan or an Alternative Retirement Plan.*

In most instances, re-employed retirees will continue to receive their retirement allowance during re-employment. However, if you become re-employed anytime within the first two months after your retirement benefit effective date, you will forfeit your retirement allowance during this two-month period.

Contributions remitted during the two-month forfeiture period will not be included in the calculation of a Money Purchase Plan benefit. This penalty will apply even if you waive your salary for this two-month period or volunteer for the period of re-employment.

Forfeiture of your monthly benefit payment will interrupt your access to the OPERS health care program. More information is available within the OPERS health care program section.

Upon termination of re-employment, you will be eligible to apply for either a refund of contributions prior to age 65 or a Money Purchase Plan as a lump sum or annuity benefit on and after age 65. If you elect to receive your Money Purchase Plan account prior to age 65, you will be entitled to receive contributions and allowable interest paid in a lump sum. If you are married, spousal consent is required for your refund to be issued.

If you elect to receive a Money Purchase Plan benefit at age 65 or after, you will be entitled to receive your contributions and allowable interest plus an additional matching amount. You can choose to receive the benefit in either a lump sum payment or as a monthly benefit.**

If you choose to receive monthly benefits, joint and survivor options are also available. If you were to die before receiving the Money Purchase Plan benefit, your beneficiary(ies) would receive a lump sum payment.

Disability Benefit Recipient

If you are receiving a disability benefit, your benefits will terminate if you return to public service as an employee or elected official. The public employer must notify OPERS in writing by certifying and sending a Notice of Re-employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient (SR-6) form. Employers can complete this form through the Employer Contribution System. Any overpayment of benefits due to a failure of notice is the liability of the employer. Contributions must be remitted to OPERS during re-employment.

Employment with a private employer or with an employer covered by State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) or School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) may affect continued receipt of disability benefits. Disability benefit recipients should contact OPERS before becoming re-employed.

OPERS retirees who become re-employed on a full-time basis by a public university or college have the option of participating in OPERS and contributing toward a Money Purchase Plan account or they may be eligible to participate in an Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP).

Re-employed retirees who change their employment status with a public institution or college from part-time to full-time may also be eligible to participate in an ARP. Your college or university employer will provide you with the necessary forms to make this election.

The election to participate in an ARP must be completed within 120 days from the date of re-employment or change in status from part-time to full-time. This election is irrevocable while you remain employed by the public institution or college and you will not contribute to OPERS for this service.

Members who are age and service retirees under OPERS and return to OPERS-covered employment as an elected official are treated as re-employed retirees.

However, if OPERS members contributed for non-elected service and are also an elected official who contributed to Social Security for the elected position, the elected service has no effect on their OPERS retirement, and they are not considered OPERS re-employed retirees for subsequent service as an elected official.

Limitation

There is a limitation for an elected official who retires from OPERS during a term of office and is re-appointed to the position during the same term or is elected to the position in the next consecutive term.

For these elected officials, the retirement allowance is suspended, which results in the pension portion of the allowance being forfeited and the annuity portion of the allowance being suspended for the term(s) unless the elected official:

1. Retired at least 90 days prior to the general election;
2. Files a written notice of intent to retire with the county board of elections at least 90 days prior to the primary election for the term in which the retirement occurred or 90 days prior to the date on which the primary would have been held; or
3. Is appointed to the same position and notifies the appointing authority, in writing, that they retired or intend to retire before the end of the term.

Your employer must complete and return to OPERS a Notice of Re-employment of a Retired Elected or Appointed Office to an Elected Position form (SR-6E) by the end of your first month of employment. Failure to provide OPERS with timely notice of re-employment will result in employer liability for any overpaid benefits. The employers can access this form via the Employer Contribution System.

If you are being re-employed in the same Ohio PERS-covered position that is customarily filled by a vote of members of a board or commission or by the legislative authority of a county, municipal corporation or township, the following must occur:

1. Not less than 60 days before the re-employment commenced, the OPERS employer gave public notice (containing the time, date, and location at which a public meeting was to take place) that the person is or will be retired and will be returning to work in the same position; and
2. Between 15 and 30 days before the re-employment commenced, the OPERS employer held a public meeting on the issue of re-employing an OPERS benefit recipient in the same position.

You must complete and return to OPERS a Notice of Re-employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient (SR-6) form by the end of your first month of employment. Failure to provide OPERS with timely notice of re-employment will result in employer liability for any overpaid benefits.

An OPERS retiree who enters into a contract to provide services to the employer the retiree was employed by at the time of retirement, or to any employer within the first two months of retirement, will forfeit pension benefits and access to health care through OPERS for the entire period of service as an independent contractor.

The public employer is required to provide notice of your service as an independent contractor by completing and returning to OPERS a Notice of Re-employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient (SR-6) form by the end of the first month of service.

Retirees providing services as independent contractors are also required to complete the Independent Contractor/Worker Acknowledgment form.

Disability Benefit Recipient

If you are receiving a disability benefit, your benefits will terminate if you return to public service as an employee or elected official. The public employer must notify OPERS in writing by certifying and sending a Notice of Re-employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient (SR-6) form. Any overpayment of benefits due to a failure of notice is the liability of the employer. Contributions must be remitted to OPERS during re-employment.

Employment with a private employer or with an employer covered by State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) or School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) may affect continued receipt of disability benefits. Disability benefit recipients should contact OPERS before becoming re-employed.

If you are receiving a joint retirement benefit based on service with one or more of the three non-uniformed state retirement systems (i.e., OPERS, State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS), and School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS)), you will be subject to the re-employment restrictions applicable to the retirement system under which you are re-employed.

For example, if you are receiving a joint retirement or disability benefit from OPERS that includes service from SERS, and you become re-employed by a public employer that is covered under SERS, then you are subject to the re-employment restrictions governed by SERS.

Please contact OPERS for a determination with respect to any such re-employment.

If you are receiving an age and service retirement benefit, you may become employed in a position with a private employer and continue to receive benefits.

However, if you wish to undertake employment in the private sector, are receiving a disability benefit, and are subject to an annual re-examination you should notify Ohio PERS before you begin employment for a determination as to whether the private employment will result in your being subject to a reexamination to determine your continued eligibility to receive disability benefits.