Retirement Plan Reselection

Plan Reselection Overview

If you are a Defined Contribution Plan participant hired as a new member between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019, 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, 2023; otherwise, you will remain in your current plan. Your three plan options are the Defined Contribution Plan (your current plan), the Combined 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.)

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

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.

Beneficiary information can be updated through your Online Personal Account by selecting “Member Information” from the top menu and then under “Change Beneficiaries“ select “UPDATE MY BENEFICIARIES.” This information can also be updated by completing and returning 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.

If a designation is not filed with STRS Ohio, the succession of beneficiaries below applies to members who have filed a designation:

Defined Contribution Plan

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

Combined 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.