Survivor Protection

Under the Combined Plan, you are eligible for survivor benefits with 1.50 years of contributing service credit. Benefits range from 25% to 60% of final average salary. Survivors receiving this benefit have access to health care coverage through STRS Ohio. 

Upon the member’s death, qualified survivors may elect to:

1. Withdraw the defined benefit and defined contribution portions of your account; or
2. Withdraw the defined contribution account and, provided the participant had 5.00 years of service, maintain the defined benefit account when the member would have reached age 60. The benefit is equal to the maximum joint and survivor benefit to the qualified survivor. A surviving spouse may continue to manage the defined contribution account for payment at a later date; or
3. Combine the defined benefit and defined contribution portions of the account for monthly survivor benefits as below.

A member’s spouse, children under the age of 22, dependent parents and physically or mentally incompetent dependents may qualify for survivor benefits.

STRS Ohio determines eligibility for dependent-based and service-based survivor benefits as follows:

• The member must have 1.50 years or more of Ohio service credit, with .25 of a year having been earned within 30 months before death; or was receiving a disability benefit at the time of death.
• Provided the account has not been withdrawn, protection for qualified survivors extends for 27 months after the member’s last contributing service or while the member is receiving a disability benefit.

If the member meets the eligibility requirements for more than one benefit, the amount of the benefit is the greater of: a dependent-based benefit, a service-based benefit or a retirement-based benefit.

Dependent-based benefits are payable as follows:

Number of Qualified Survivors	Annual Benefit  (Percentage of Final Average Salary*)
1	25%
2	40%
3	50%
4	55%
5 or more	60%

*Final average salary: Average of the member’s three highest years of earnings. If contributions were made for fewer than three years, total compensation during such a period is divided by the total number of years of service credit in the member’s account. (If final average salary is less than $4,608, minimum benefits are payable according to the number of qualified dependents.)

The service-based benefit is payable when the member has 20 or more years of service credit before death.

Service-based benefits are payable as follows:

Years of Service	Percentage of Final Average Salary
20	29%
21	33%
22	37%
23	41%
24	45%
25	48%
26	51%
27	54%
28	57%
29 or more	60%

The spouse’s share of the above service-based benefit is as follows:

Number of Qualified Survivors	Spouse’s Share
1	100%
2	62.5%
3	50%
4	45.45%
5 or more	41.67%

If there is no surviving spouse and more than one qualified survivor, the benefit is divided equally among the qualified survivors.

The retirement-based benefit is payable when the member dies after meeting the eligibility requirements shown in the table below. The defined benefit and defined contribution portions of the account are combined to fund this benefit.

There is no time restriction to apply for this benefit. If a member stops contributing and dies after meeting eligibility, a retirement-based benefit is payable to a qualified survivor.

If a member’s death occurs after the 27-month protection period and the member was not receiving a disability benefit, this is the only benefit type which allows monthly benefits to be paid to the spouse or a named financially dependent individual.

Eligibility requirements for retirement-based benefits are:

Age	Minimum Years of Service Credit
Any age	30
55	25
60	5

If a member had less than 30 years of service credit and had not reached age 65, there is an actuarial reduction in the benefit.

Note: If the member had between 29.01 and 30 years of service credit before death, the benefit may be calculated based on 30 years of credit.

The primary beneficiary may withdraw the deceased member’s account in lieu of receiving monthly benefits.