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Employers Manual
Defined Contribution & Combined Plans
Combined Plan
The Combined Plan incorporates features of both the Defined Contribution
and Defined Benefit Plans. Member contributions are deposited to a defined
contribution account. Members allocate contributions and earnings to
investment choices managed by STRS Ohio investment professionals. Members
can adjust their investment choices to meet their changing needs.
The employer contributions fund a combination of service retirement, disability and survivor benefits and health care coverage.
Withdrawal
Members may withdraw their accounts upon termination of all Ohio public
service. If members withdraw their accounts prior to age 50, they must
withdraw both the defined benefit and defined contribution portions
of their accounts.
At age 50 or after, they may withdraw the defined contribution portion upon terminating employment and leave the defined benefit portion on account for a benefit at age 60. They may withdraw the defined benefit portion only if they are withdrawing the defined contribution portion.
The defined benefit portion of the account has no value if the member withdraws before accumulating 5.00 years of service credit.
Retirement benefits
At age 50 or after, members are eligible to receive an annuity from
their defined contribution account. The contributions plus any gains
or losses are annuitized over the member’s lifetime. The defined
benefit portion provides a monthly benefit for members at age 60 who
have at least 5.00 years of service credit. The benefit is equal to
1% of final average salary (FAS) for every year of service credit. No annual
cost-of-living adjustments are provided.
Disability & survivor benefits
If a member becomes disabled and has 5.00 or more years of service credit,
they have the option of receiving disability benefits under the Disability
Allowance Program. All contributions and earnings from both portions
of the account are surrendered to fund the disability benefits. At age
65, the disability allowance converts to a service retirement benefit.
In the event of a member’s death after 1.50 years of service, survivors have the option of receiving dependent,-service- or retirement-based benefits. All contributions and earnings from both portions of the account are surrendered to fund the benefits. Survivors also have the option to withdraw the defined contribution and defined benefit portions of the Combined Plan Account.
Health care
Combined Plan members who elect monthly retirement
benefits are eligible for the same health care plan options provided
under the Defined Benefit Plan. In addition, disability
recipients and survivors will be eligible
for the same health care plan options provided under the Defined Benefit
Plan.
