Ohio Code 742.39 – Eligibility for disability benefit
(A) A member of the Ohio police and fire pension fund determined to be eligible for a disability benefit under division (D)(1) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code shall be paid annual disability benefits, payable in twelve monthly installments, in an amount equal to seventy-two per cent of the member’s average annual salary. If, as of July 2, 2013, the member had fifteen or more years of service credit, the average annual salary shall be determined using three years of contributions. If, as of that date, the member had less than fifteen years of service credit, the average annual salary shall be determined using five years of contributions.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 742.39
- Average annual salary: means the highest average annual salary of a member of the fund during any of the number of years of contributions specified in section 742. See Ohio Code 742.01
- Member of the fund: means any person, except an other system retirant as defined in section 742. See Ohio Code 742.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Salary: includes payments for overtime that are included in the payroll for the period in which the overtime is worked or the payroll for any period not later than sixty days after the overtime is worked. See Ohio Code 742.01
(B) A member of the fund determined to be eligible for a disability benefit under division (D)(2) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code shall be paid annual disability benefits, payable in twelve monthly installments. If the member has fewer than twenty-five years of service credit, the benefit shall be in an amount fixed by the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund. The board may increase or decrease the benefit whenever the board determines that the impairment of the member’s earning capacity warrants an increase or decrease based on the standards adopted under division (C) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code applicable to the determination, but in no event shall the benefit exceed sixty per cent of the member’s average annual salary.
A member who has twenty-five or more years of service credit shall receive annual disability benefits, payable in twelve monthly installments, in an amount equal to a percentage of the member’s average annual salary. The percentage shall be the sum of two and one-half per cent for each of the first twenty years of service credit, plus two per cent for each of the twenty-first to twenty-fifth years of service credit, plus one and one-half per cent for each year in excess of twenty-five years of service credit. The annual disability benefit shall not exceed seventy-two per cent of the member’s average annual salary.
In calculating a benefit under this division, a member’s average annual salary shall be determined using three years of contributions if, as of July 2, 2013, the member had fifteen or more years of service credit. If, as of that date, the member had less than fifteen years of service credit, the average annual salary shall be determined using five years of contributions.
(C) A member of the fund determined to be eligible for a disability benefit under division (D)(4) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code shall be paid annual disability benefits, payable in twelve monthly installments, in an amount to be fixed by the board. The board may increase or decrease the benefits whenever the board determines that the impairment of the member’s earning capacity warrants an increase or decrease based on the standards adopted under division (C) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code applicable to the determination, but in no event shall a benefit paid to the member exceed sixty per cent of the member’s average annual salary.
(D) Each of the following persons who on July 1, 1999, is receiving annual benefits of less than six thousand six hundred dollars shall have the benefits increased to that amount effective July 1, 1999:
(1) A person receiving annual benefits described in division (A) of this section;
(2) A person receiving annual benefits described in division (C) of this section based on an award made prior to September 16, 1998.
(E) Benefits payable under this section continue until death unless adjusted under division (D)(5) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code or adjusted or terminated under division (C)(3) of section 742.40 of the Revised Code.