Retirement

Plan For Your Retirement Journey

What is OPERS?

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) is your pension system. Unlike Social Security, OPERS requires you to contribute 10% of your salary, with your employer contributing 14%, totaling nearly 24% of your salary being invested for your retirement. The longer you work, the more retirement income you will receive.

How to Select Your Plan

As an employee of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, you are required by law to participate in OPERS, a separate retirement system from federal Social Security. OPERS offers two retirement plan options:

  1. Traditional Pension Plan: Provides a secure, predictable retirement benefit based on your salary and years of service.

  2. Member-Directed Plan: Allows you to manage your own investments and accumulate a retirement benefit based on your account balance.

New Members: You have 180 days from your start date to choose between these two OPERS plans. Each plan has distinct features designed to help you meet your retirement goals, so review your options carefully to select the plan that best fits your career and retirement objectives.

Learn More: For comprehensive information about OPERS, including forms and additional resources, visit OPERS Website.

Contact OPERS

For detailed questions or personalized assistance, please contact OPERS directly by phone at 1.800.222.7377 or through their website www.opers.org. The Board of Commissioners does not manage the OPERS program and may not have answers to specific questions.

Important Note: Contributions to OPERS are made only while you are earning wages. If you take a leave without pay, this period may affect your OPERS service credit, potentially impacting your retirement eligibility and benefits.

Medicare Enrollment for OPERS Benefit Recipients

Medicare is federal health insurance for people age 65 and older, under age 65 with certain disabilities, and any age with End-Stage Renal Disease or ESRD (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplant). Medicare costs vary depending on plan, coverage and the services used.

As an OPERS benefit recipient, you must enroll in both Medicare Parts A and B as soon as you become eligible. After enrolling, you’ll choose between two types of plans using the OPERS Connector:

  • Medicare Advantage Plan: This often includes prescription drug coverage.

  • Medigap plan and a Medicare D Prescription Drug Plan: This helps cover costs not paid by Medicare.

Please note that most Medicare Advantage plans have prescription coverage included so you may not need to enroll in a separate Part D plan. During your enrollment appointment with Via Benefits, a Licensed Benefit Advisor will walk you through the plan selection process.

As you approach retirement, it’s important to understand how Medicare works with your OPERS benefits:

  • Enrollment: You should sign up for Medicare during your Initial Enrollment Period, which begins three months before you turn 65 and ends three months after you turn 65 (You may be eligible for Medicare earlier, if you get disability benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board).

  • Medicare Request Form: Fill out Section A and take the form to your employer. Ask your employer to fill out Section B. You need to get the completed form from your employer and include it with your Application for Enrollment in Medicare (CMS-40B). Then you send both together to your local Social Security office. Find your local office here: www.ssa.gov

  • Coordination with OPERS: Medicare works alongside OPERS, but it does not replace it. OPERS will provide you with a pension, while Medicare helps with health coverage. Ensure you review how Medicare coverage integrates with any health insurance options you may have in retirement. Find out how OPERS and Medicare work together.

Learn More

  • Visit www.medicare.gov

  • Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see the inside back cover of your copy of the “Medicare & You” handbook for their telephone number) for personalized help.

  • Call 1.800.MEDICARE (1.800.633.4227). TTY users should call 1.877.486.2048.

If you have limited income and resources, extra help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage is available. For information about this extra help, visit Social Security on the web at www.ssa.gov, or call them at 1.800.772.1213 (TTY 1.800.325.0778).

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