STRS Ohio’s primary purpose is to provide a monthly benefit in retirement for Ohio’s public educators. As a participant in the Combined Plan, a portion of your retirement income comes from the performance of the investment choices you selected for the defined contribution portion of your account during your teaching career. You are eligible to begin receiving monthly payments from this account at age 50.

You also receive 1% of your final average salary for each year of service from the defined benefit portion of your account. For example, if you retire with 30 years of service, your annual retirement benefit from the defined benefit portion is 30% of your final average salary. You are eligible for defined benefit payments at age 60 with five years of service.

For more benefit recipient information related to participants in STRS Ohio’s Combined Plan, select a topic below.