Purchasing Service Credit

Important Considerations Before Purchasing Credit

When evaluating the purchase of STRS Ohio credit, it is important to understand how various benefits will be affected. Most purchases increase the amount of the retirement benefit, but some types of credit can have a greater impact on the amount of the benefit than others. Most, but not all, types of credit are included when determining eligibility for STRS Ohio optional health care coverage.

Certified service credit may be purchased up to three months following your retirement date. Although the cost of credit may increase because of interest rates or a change in the liability factor, it is not always best to buy credit early. In fact, a variety of circumstances may arise before retirement that would make such an investment unwise, such as:

• The death of the member before qualifying for retirement. (Survivor benefits may be determined without regard to service credit.)
• Acceptance of disability benefits.
• A short Ohio public career.
• Better investment options. In some situations, the money may be invested in long-term savings where it may net a higher return (after taxes) than the interest STRS Ohio is charging to buy the credit.
• Negative impact on Social Security. Many STRS Ohio retirees have potential benefits as the spouse of a Social Security wage earner or because of their own employment under Social Security.

Social Security may reduce or eliminate its benefit because of your eligibility for STRS Ohio benefits.

We cannot calculate your Social Security benefit or predict future legislative changes regarding Social Security.

For more information, contact Social Security directly toll-free at 1-800-772-1213.

The following table is designed to help you compare the impact various types of credit can have on your STRS Ohio benefits.

Type of Credit	Used When Calculating Benefit Amount	Used to Qualify for Access to Optional Health Care Coverage	Contributes Toward Enhanced Benefit at 35 Years	Determines Rate of Interest or Eligibility for Matching Funds When Account is Withdrawn
Earned STRS Ohio	•	•	•	•
Earned OPERS or SERS	•	•	•
Military (3307.75, 3307.751 and 3307.752*)	•	•	•
Absence due to pregnancy (3307.771*)	•	•	•
Police, Fire and State Highway Patrol (3307.761*)	•	•	•
Restoration or transfer of service credit between STRS Ohio and other Ohio retirement systems (3307.763*)	•	•	•
Leave of absence (3307.77*)	•	•	•	•
Restoration of withdrawn Ohio credit (3307.71*)	•	•	•	•
Ohio noncontributing public teaching service (for service which occurred on or after July 1, 1978) (3307.72*)	•	•	•	•
Ohio noncontributing public teaching service (for service which occurred before July 1, 1978) (3307.72*)	•	•		•
Teaching and public service (3307.74*)	•	•
Other Ohio public service (3307.76*)	•	•
Early retirement incentive (3307.54*)	•	•**
Waived service (3307.73*)	•	•**
School board (3307.78*)	•	•**
Non-Ohio-valued (3307.741*)

*Represents applicable section of Ohio Revised Code.
**Service credit is used in the health care premium calculation once the member is qualified for service retirement without using this purchased service.

Can a Survivor Buy Credit
A survivor may buy all credit except credit for service as an Ohio school board member. Purchases are permitted if the additional credit increases survivor benefits for the member’s qualifying beneficiary.

A survivor may also buy non-Ohio-valued credit if it adds enough credit to the account to have qualified the deceased member for service retirement.

Buying Credit While Receiving a Disability Benefit
You can buy purchasable service while receiving a disability benefit. Purchasing credit will not increase your disability benefit, but it will be used to calculate survivor benefits for your spouse or qualified beneficiary. It may also enhance any future service retirement benefits.