Tax Guide

As a retired Ohio PERS member, the beneficiary of a deceased Ohio PERS retired member, or a member receiving a disability benefit, your retirement benefit must be reported on your federal income tax return.

OPERS is required by the Internal Revenue Service to calculate the taxable amount of your benefit. The taxable amount is then reported to the IRS and is used as the basis for withholding calculations.

The two forms mailed out to OPERS benefit recipients are the:

• 1099-R
• 1095-B

1099-R

OPERS will supply you with the taxable amount of your benefit by sending you a Form 1099-R. We will begin mailing 1099-R statements to our benefit recipients during January.

This guide will provide general assistance to you or your tax advisor in the preparation of your federal and state income tax returns. If you have additional questions, please contact your tax advisor.

If you wish to access your 1099-R prior to receiving it in the mail, you can do so by logging into your OPERS online account after Jan. 21, 2020. Once in your online account, click on 'Documents.'

Watch this video to understand your 1099-R tax return.

1099-R Reminders

• Place the reported pension earnings in Box 1 (shown in light green) on Line 4c of IRS Form 1040.
• Place taxable amount in Box 2a (shown in light gray) on Line 4b of IRS Form 1040.

1095-B

OPERS will provide retirees participating in OPERS Health Care with a Form 1095-B. Form 1095-B is a health insurance tax form which reports the dependents covered by your insurance policy and the period of coverage for the prior year. This form is used to verify on your tax return that you and your dependents have the minimum essential health insurance coverage.

Although there is no longer a penalty for not having health care coverage, the Affordable Care Act requires plan sponsors like OPERS to provide the Form 1095-B to retirees who were enrolled in health care in 2019.

This form will show who was covered under your health plan in the last year and when they were covered. The form does not show the amount paid for health care premiums.

OPERS will mail the Form 1095-Bs around the same time as the 1099-R's but within a separate mailing. As with your 1099-R, if you wish to access your 1095-B prior to receiving it in the mail or need to print additional copies, you can do so by logging into your OPERS online account in late January. Once signed in to your online account, click on 'Documents.'

More information

For more information, refer to the Tax-guide.