Active Members

Planning Retirement
All information displayed only relates to the Defined Benefit Plan. Click on Defined Contribution Plan or Combined Plan for information on these retirement plan options.

Purchasing Service Credit

Types of Purchasable Service Credit

Teaching & Public Service

Section 3307.74, Revised Code

Kindergarten through Grade 12

University

Government and Nonteaching

  • Teaching in a public school, college or university in another state, territory or possession of the United States.
  • Graduate teaching assistant outside Ohio if service was with a public university or college, and work performed before July 1, 1978.
  • Teaching in a private school, college or university in the United States.
  • Teaching in a school operated by or for the U.S. government.
  • Other paid public service: service with a governmental agency or subdivision of another state or with the U.S. government.

Eligibility Requirements
Following is a list of the basic eligibility requirements:

  • You must accumulate at least one year of contributing service credit in STRS Ohio after the service to be purchased is performed. If the contributing service is part time, it must total at least one year of service credit.
  • You can buy credit for full-time or regular part-time employment.  All service must span at least 12 consecutive weeks with the same employer.
  • No purchase can be made if the service:
    — Was already used in the calculation or payment of a retirement benefit, or
    — Is being used in the calculation of a retirement currently being paid or payable in the future under a retirement program or annuity (e.g., TIAA-CREF).

    A benefit from Social Security is permissible.
  • Public teaching service and other public service outside Ohio must be such that, if rendered in Ohio, it would have been covered by STRS Ohio, SERS, OPERS, Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, or the Highway Patrol Retirement System.
  • To purchase private teaching service, both the school and the position must qualify.

    The school, college or university must:

    • Be recognized by an established accrediting association or governmental agency.
    • Have educational credits that are recognized by a public school, college or university in Ohio.
    • Be primarily oriented toward preparation for high school graduation, an advanced degree in higher education or an advanced certification in higher education. (Preschools, day care centers, private schools oriented primarily to trades and occupations and self-improvement schools do not qualify.)
    • On a school level, the position must be matched by a position in a public school in Ohio during the time the service was performed.
    • On a college or university level, the position must have had faculty rank or status and the institution must have been accredited at the time the service was performed.

Maximum Credit
The maximum credit you can buy in STRS Ohio, OPERS and SERS is five years. You can purchase all five years under one category or a total of five years as a combination of those listed under Section 3307.74, R.C. and comparable provisions of law governing OPERS and SERS. For each year of purchasable credit, you must have at least one year of service in STRS Ohio.

Certification

  • Out-of-state /private teaching service — K–12.
  • Out-of-state/private teaching service at a college or university.
  • Out-of-state public, nonteaching or government service.

Cost
For STRS Ohio membership and purchasable service both before July 1, 1989, the cost is determined by:

  • Multiplying the first STRS Ohio contract or full-time equivalent earnings after the purchasable service by the system’s contribution rate in effect at that time; then
  • Multiply by 8% annual compound interest (subject to change) from the date STRS Ohio service began following the service to be purchased through the month of purchase; then
  • Multiply by the number of years eligible for purchase. 

Example:
Assume a member taught in a private school from Sept.1, 1972, through June 2, 1977. Full-time STRS Ohio-covered teaching service began Sept. 1, 1978, at an annual salary of $8,900.

To estimate the cost to purchase 5.00 years of credit for private teaching service:

Step 1:  Using the table below, find the STRS Ohio member contribution rate in effect during the 1978-79 school year and multiply it by $8,900.

$8,900 x 8.5% = $757

Member Contribution Rate & Salary Base
9/1/1920–8/31/1945 4.0% up to first $2,000
9/1/1945–8/31/1951 5.0% up to first $3,000
9/1/1951–8/31/1959 6.0% of total compensation
9/1/1959–6/30/1968 7.0% of total compensation
7/1/1968–12/31/1973 7.8% of total compensation
1/1/1974–6/30/1977 8.0% of total compensation
7/1/1977–12/31/1983 8.5% of total compensation
1/1/1984–6/30/1988 8.75% of total compensation
7/1/1988–6/30/1990 8.77% of total compensation
7/1/1990–6/30/1994 9.25% of total compensation
7/1/1994–6/30/2003 9.30% of total compensation
7/1/2003–Present 10.0% of total compensation

Step 2:  Using the table below, find the 8% annual compound interest factor for 30 years (1978 until 2008) and multiply it by the answer from Step 1.

10.06 x $757 = $7,615

Annual Compound Interest Factors by Years
Years 4% 8%
1 1.04 1.08
2 1.08 1.17
3 1.12 1.26
4 1.17 1.36
5 1.22 1.47
6 1.27 1.59
7 1.32 1.71
8 1.37 1.85
9 1.42 2.00
10 1.48 2.16
11 1.54 2.33
12 1.60 2.52
13 1.67 2.72
14 1.73 2.94
15 1.80 3.17
16 1.87 3.43
17 1.95 3.70
18 2.03 4.00
19 2.11 4.32
20 2.19 4.66
21 2.28 5.03
22 2.37 5.44
23 2.46 5.87
24 2.56 6.34
25 2.67 6.85
26 2.77 7.40
27 2.88 7.99
28 3.00 8.63
29 3.12 9.32
30 3.24 10.06

Step 3:  Multiply the number of years of private teaching service by the answer from Step 2.

5.00 x $7,615 = $38,075

In this example, the cost to purchase 5.00 years of credit for private teaching service in June 2008 is approximately $38,075.

For STRS Ohio membership on or after July 1, 1989, or purchasable service after July 1, 1989, the cost is based on 50% of the liability to STRS Ohio resulting from this purchase.