Retirement Plan Reselection

Plan Reselection Overview

If you are a Combined Plan participant hired as a new member between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, you are now in your fifth year of membership and are eligible for a one-time opportunity to reselect your STRS Ohio retirement plan. If you are changing your retirement plan, you must notify STRS Ohio by June 1, 2024; otherwise, you will remain in your current plan. Your three plan options are the Combined Plan (your current plan), the Defined Contribution Plan or the Defined Benefit Plan. The plan you choose now will be your retirement plan for the duration of your STRS Ohio membership.

A personalized cover letter mailed to you with your reselection brochure includes your current account balance information and how that account will transfer if you change retirement plans. Please review the information about your plan options, select the best plan for you and notify STRS Ohio of your selection using your Online Personal Account. (Click on “Member Information” in the top menu and then “Retirement Plan Reselection” under Useful Links.)

A group or individual benefits counseling appointment can be scheduled by calling STRS Ohio at 888‑227‑7877 (toll-free). You may also schedule a group benefits counseling appointment using your Online Personal Account. For more information regarding your plan options, review the Retirement Plan Reselection brochure or video (shown below). If you have questions, please call STRS Ohio.

Plan Reselection Video

 
Video Script

Combined Plan and Defined Contribution Plan participants in their fifth year of STRS Ohio membership are eligible for a one-time opportunity to reselect an STRS Ohio retirement plan. This video includes information about plan options, the features of each plan, plan selection details and how your STRS Ohio account will transfer if you change plans.

Beneficiary Designation

If you change retirement plans during your reselection period, you will need to complete a new beneficiary designation form. Since the survivor benefits differ among the three retirement plans, a beneficiary designation filed while participating in one retirement plan will not be valid upon your change to a different plan.

The quickest way to change beneficiary information is through your Online Personal Account. (Select “Member Information” from the top menu and “Update My Beneficiaries” under “Change Beneficiaries”.) If preferred, you can instead complete and submit a beneficiary designation form. PDF versions of the beneficiary designation forms for the three STRS Ohio retirement plans are listed below.

If a new designation form is not received, in the event of your death before retirement your account will be paid out under statutory succession as follows:

Combined Plan

  1. Spouse
  2. Children, share and share alike
  3. Parents, share and share alike
  4. Estate

Defined Contribution Plan

  1. Spouse
  2. Children, share and share alike
  3. Parents, share and share alike
  4. Estate

Defined Benefit Plan

  1. Spouse and qualified children
  2. Qualified children
  3. Nonqualified children, share and share alike
  4. Dependent parents
  5. Parents, share and share alike
  6. Estate

Qualified children are children who are: (1) under age 18; or, (2) under age 22, unmarried and attending school on at least a two-thirds of a full-time basis; or, (3) physically or mentally incapacitated and unmarried.

If you have questions or need further information, please contact STRS Ohio using the website or call us at 888‑227‑7877 (toll-free) Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.