Payout Options
Spousal Consent
If you are married when you file your Service Retirement
Application, your spouse must consent to your selection
if you have selected one of the following plans of payment:
Plan I — Single Life Annuity
Plan II — Joint and Survivor Annuity:
- Protecting the spouse with less than one-half of the benefit,
or
- Protecting a named non-spouse beneficiary.
Plan III — Annuity Certain
Your spouse may consent to your selection of any of these plans
by signing the spousal consent on the Service Retirement
Application before a notary public.
Without spousal consent for the plans listed above, a Joint
and Survivor Annuity with one-half to beneficiary with reversion
will be automatically selected for you.
Spousal Consent on Account Withdrawals
If you are married, at least age 50 and are eligible to withdraw
a balance of at least $5,000, you can withdraw your account
if your spouse consents to the withdrawal by signing the refund
statement before a notary public. If your spouse does not consent,
your application for withdrawal shall be considered an application
for service retirement paid as a Joint and Survivor Annuity
with one-half to beneficiary.
Division of Property Order
Legislation effective Jan. 1, 2002, authorizes a court in the
State of Ohio that grants a termination of marriage to issue
a division of property order (DOPO) to STRS Ohio. A DOPO requires
STRS Ohio to pay a portion of a retirement benefit or refund
that is payable now, or in the future, to a member’s former
spouse at the time payment is made to the member. If you have
questions about how this new law relates to a termination of
your marriage, please contact your attorney.
