Ohio Code 3309.36 – Allowances for service retirement
(A) A member of the school employees retirement system who retires on service retirement shall be granted a retirement allowance consisting of the lesser of the sum of the following amounts or the limit established by section 415 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. § 415, as amended:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3309.36
- Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all amounts credited to a contributor's account in the employees' savings fund together with any regular interest credited thereon at the rates approved by the retirement board prior to retirement. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Actuary: means an individual who satisfies all of the following requirements:
(1) Is a member of the American academy of actuaries;
(2) Is an associate or fellow of the society of actuaries;
(3) Has a minimum of five years' experience in providing actuarial services to public retirement plans. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Benefit: means a payment, other than a retirement allowance or the annuity paid under section 3309. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Employee: means all of the following:
(1) Any person employed by a public employer in a position for which the person is not required to have a registration, certificate, or license issued pursuant to section 3301. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Final average salary: means the sum of the annual compensation for the three highest years of compensation for which contributions were made by the member, divided by three. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Member: includes a disability benefit recipient. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Ohio service credit: means all contributing service of a member of the school employees retirement system, and all prior service, computed as provided in this chapter, and all service established pursuant to sections 3309. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Pension: means annual payments for life derived from appropriations made by an employer and paid from the employers' trust fund or the annuity and pension reserve fund. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Retirant: means any former member who retired and is receiving a retirement allowance under section 3309. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Retirement allowance: means the pension plus the annuity. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- total service: includes any period, not in excess of three years, during which a member was out of service and receiving benefits from the state insurance fund, provided the injury or incapacitation was the direct result of school employment. See Ohio Code 3309.01
- Year: means the year beginning the first day of July and ending with the thirtieth day of June next following. See Ohio Code 3309.01
(1) An annuity having a reserve equal to the amount of the employee‘s accumulated contributions at that time;
(2) A pension of equivalent amount;
(3) For members who have ten or more years of service credit accumulated prior to October 1, 1956, a basic annual pension equal to one hundred eighty dollars, except that such basic annual pension shall not exceed the sum of the total annual benefits provided by divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section.
(B)(1)(a) When a member retires on service retirement under division (A)(1) of section 3309.34 of the Revised Code, the member’s allowance when computed as an annual single lifetime allowance as provided in division (A) of this section, based upon attained age sixty-five or thirty years of total service credit, shall be not less than the greater of the amounts determined by multiplying the member’s total service credit by the following:
(i) Eighty-six dollars;
(ii) Two and two-tenths per cent of the member’s final average salary for each of the first thirty years of service credit or fraction thereof plus two and one-half per cent of the member’s final average salary for each subsequent year of service credit or fraction thereof.
(b) When a member retires on service retirement under division (A)(2) of section 3309.34 of the Revised Code, the member’s allowance when computed as an annual single lifetime allowance as provided in division (A) of this section, based on attained age sixty-seven or thirty years of total service credit, shall be not less than the greater of the amounts determined by multiplying the member’s total service credit by the following:
(i) Eighty-six dollars;
(ii) Two and two-tenths per cent of the member’s final average salary for each of the first thirty years of service credit or fraction thereof plus two and one-half per cent of the member’s final average salary for each subsequent year of service credit or fraction thereof.
(2) For a member who retires under division (A)(1) of section 3309.34 of the Revised Code, the annual single lifetime allowance determined under division (B)(1)(a) of this section shall be adjusted by the greater percentage shown in the following schedule opposite the member’s attained age or years of Ohio service credit:
Attained | or | Years of Ohio Service Credit | Per Cent of Base Amount | |
Age | ||||
58 | 25 | 75% | ||
59 | 26 | 80 | ||
60 | 27 | 85 | ||
61 | 88 | |||
28 | 90 | |||
62 | 91 | |||
63 | 94 | |||
29 | 95 | |||
64 | 97 | |||
65 | 30 or more | 100 |
For a member who retires under division (A)(1) of section 3309.34 of the Revised Code, the right to a benefit shall vest in accordance with the following schedule, based on the member’s attained age by September 1, 1976:
Attained Age | Per Cent of Base Amount |
66 | 102 |
67 | 104 |
68 | 106 |
69 | 108 |
70 or more | 110 |
(3) For a member who retires under division (A)(2) of section 3309.34 of the Revised Code, the annual single lifetime allowance determined under division (B)(1)(b) of this section shall be adjusted to be the actuarial equivalent of the member’s retirement allowance, as determined by the retirement board’s actuary, had the member retired at age sixty-seven or with thirty years of service credit, except that the retirement allowance shall not be less than the following:
Years of Service Credit | Per Cent of Base Amount |
25 | 75% |
26 | 80 |
27 | 85 |
28 | 90 |
29 | 95 |
(4) The annual single lifetime allowance which a retirant shall receive under this division shall not exceed the lesser of one hundred per cent of the member’s final average salary or the limit established by section 415 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415, as amended.
(C) Retirement allowances determined under this section shall be paid as provided in section 3309.46 of the Revised Code.
(D) At least once every five years, the school employees retirement board shall direct its actuary to evaluate the actuarial equivalents in division (B)(3) of this section to determine their appropriateness. The board may adjust the actuarial equivalents in accordance with the actuary’s recommendations.