OPERS Retirement Checklist for 2026
Quick answer: A complete OPERS retirement checklist for 2026 includes nine coordinated decisions: confirming retirement eligibility, requesting pension estimates, evaluating payment options, deciding whether to take the PLOP, reviewing HRA and healthcare eligibility, coordinating Medicare enrollment, planning tax withholding, organizing investment withdrawals, and updating beneficiary designations. For Columbus-area OPERS members, this work should begin 12-24 months before the target retirement date, because most of these decisions are difficult or impossible to reverse once retirement paperwork is submitted.
Key Takeaways
- OPERS retirement planning involves nine coordinated decisions, not just choosing a retirement date.
- The most consequential choices — pension payment option, PLOP decision, and Medicare-coordinated healthcare — are largely irreversible once retirement paperwork is filed.
- Begin meaningful planning 12-24 months before retirement to allow time for pension estimates, healthcare modeling, and tax coordination.
- Medicare-eligible OPERS retirees must enroll in Parts A and B and use Via Benefits to maintain HRA deposits.
- OPERS pension income is taxable at the federal level and generally subject to Ohio income tax as well.
- Beneficiary designations on pension and retirement accounts override your will, making them one of the highest-leverage estate planning items.
Table of Contents
- What OPERS Employees Should Do Before Retiring
- Requesting Your OPERS Pension Estimate
- Choosing Your OPERS Pension Payment Option
- The OPERS PLOP Decision
- OPERS Health Care in Retirement
- Medicare Coordination for OPERS Retirees
- Tax Planning Before Retirement
- Investment and Cash Flow Decisions
- Estate Planning and Beneficiaries
- Frequently Asked Questions
What OPERS Employees Should Do Before Retiring
OPERS retirement isn't a single decision — it's nine connected decisions that affect each other. The pension payment option you select affects your spouse's lifetime income. The PLOP election affects your tax bracket and investment strategy. Healthcare elections affect your monthly budget for the next twenty or thirty years.
The right way to approach 2026 OPERS retirement planning is to treat it as a coordinated project that starts 12-24 months before your target date. This article is part of my broader guide to OPERS and STRS retirement planning in Columbus, which explains how all of these decisions fit together.
For City of Columbus employees, Franklin County workers, Ohio State University staff, and central Ohio public employees across communities like Dublin, Westerville, Upper Arlington, and Worthington, this coordinated approach matters even more — because local cost-of-living, Central Ohio healthcare networks, and Ohio-specific tax rules all factor into the right answer.
OPERS members applying for retirement from the Traditional Pension Plan complete the OPERS retirement application, which can be completed through an OPERS online account or with help from an OPERS counselor. But the application itself is the last step — the real planning work happens in the months leading up to it.
Requesting Your OPERS Pension Estimate
Your OPERS pension estimate is the foundation of every other decision on this checklist. Until you know your projected monthly benefit under each payment option, you can't realistically plan your income, taxes, healthcare budget, or investment withdrawals.
A complete pension estimate should show:
- Your projected monthly benefit at your target retirement date
- The impact of waiting an additional year or two
- Differences between single-life and joint-life payment options
- Survivor benefit amounts under each joint-life option
- The effect of taking a PLOP, including the resulting monthly reduction
- Pre-tax versus after-tax income estimates
The questions worth answering before you finalize your retirement date: What is my estimated monthly benefit at the date I'm targeting? How does retiring this year compare to next year? How does each payment option affect my spouse? How much after-tax monthly income do I actually need? Should my retirement date be coordinated with Medicare eligibility or my spouse's retirement?
For Columbus-area OPERS members, these questions are especially worth thinking through if you're coordinating retirement timing with a spouse, with Medicare enrollment at 65, with Social Security claiming, or with IRA withdrawal strategy.
Choosing Your OPERS Pension Payment Option
Your OPERS payment option determines how your pension is paid during your lifetime and what happens after your death. This decision is generally irreversible after retirement, which is why it deserves careful analysis well in advance.
The trade-off is straightforward in concept but consequential in practice: a single-life option pays the highest monthly amount but stops when you die. Joint-life options pay less monthly but continue paying a surviving spouse — at 50%, 75%, or 100% of your benefit, depending on the option selected.
There is no universal best option. The right choice depends on your spouse's other income sources, your relative ages, your health, your other assets, and how your pension fits into your broader estate plan.
The questions to work through:
- Does your spouse depend on your pension income to maintain their standard of living?
- Do you need the highest monthly benefit, or do you have other income sources that reduce that need?
- Does survivor income protection matter more than maximum monthly income?
- Do you have other assets — investments, life insurance, real estate — that could support a surviving spouse without the pension continuing?
- How does this decision interact with your beneficiary designations on IRAs and life insurance?
A higher single-life payment looks attractive on its own. Whether it's actually the right choice depends on the full picture.
The OPERS PLOP Decision
The OPERS Partial Lump Sum Option Payment, or PLOP, lets eligible retiring members receive a lump sum at retirement in exchange for a reduced monthly pension. OPERS states that the PLOP allows a member to receive a lump sum benefit payment along with a reduced monthly retirement allowance. The lump sum generally cannot be less than six times or more than 36 times the monthly amount payable under the selected payment option, and it cannot reduce the monthly benefit below 50% of the original monthly benefit.
The PLOP can make sense in certain situations: when you need liquidity to pay off debt at retirement, when you have a short-term cash need, when you want more flexibility with your assets, or when you have a clear plan for investing and managing the lump sum within your broader portfolio.
The PLOP may be less attractive when you need maximum lifetime monthly income, when you're uncomfortable managing a large lump sum, when there's a real risk of spending the money too quickly, when you don't have a clear tax strategy for receiving it, or when you simply value simplicity over flexibility.
This is one of the highest-impact decisions in OPERS retirement planning, and we cover it in much more depth in a dedicated guide on whether OPERS employees should take the PLOP (coming soon in this series).
OPERS Health Care in Retirement
OPERS provides a health care program through a Health Reimbursement Arrangement, or HRA, for eligible benefit recipients. OPERS describes the HRA as an OPERS-funded account that can reimburse qualified medical expenses, including eligible premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copays.
Before retiring, you need clear answers to:
- Am I eligible for the OPERS health care program based on age and service credit?
- Will I be pre-Medicare or Medicare-eligible at retirement?
- What is my projected HRA deposit amount?
- What medical and prescription drug premiums should I budget for?
- Will my spouse need separate coverage?
- How do healthcare costs fit into my overall retirement cash flow?
Healthcare should be modeled as a recurring retirement expense built into your projections, not figured out after retirement paperwork is filed. We cover the mechanics in detail in a dedicated guide on how the OPERS HRA works in retirement (coming soon in this series).
Medicare Coordination for OPERS Retirees
If you're Medicare-eligible at retirement, OPERS health care planning becomes more complex.
OPERS states that Medicare-eligible benefit recipients must enroll in both Medicare Part A and Part B as soon as they become eligible. Once enrolled, retirees select a Medicare Advantage plan or Medigap plan, and a Part D prescription drug plan when needed, using the OPERS Connector.
OPERS also notes that Medicare-eligible retirees must enroll or remain enrolled in a Medicare medical plan through Via Benefits to continue receiving HRA deposits.
The practical checklist for Medicare-eligible OPERS retirees:
- Enroll in Medicare Part A
- Enroll in Medicare Part B
- Compare Medicare Advantage versus Medigap options through the OPERS Connector
- Review Part D prescription drug coverage
- Confirm Via Benefits enrollment to maintain HRA deposits
- Verify that your preferred Central Ohio physicians, hospitals, and specialists are covered under your selected plan
- Build premiums and out-of-pocket costs into your retirement budget
For Columbus-area retirees, network coverage matters. Verify that the hospitals you'd use — OhioHealth, Mount Carmel, OSU Wexner Medical Center, Nationwide Children's if relevant for a family member — accept your selected plan before you finalize the enrollment.
Tax Planning Before Retirement
OPERS pension income is taxable at the federal level as ordinary income, and retirement income included in federal adjusted gross income is generally subject to Ohio income tax as well.
Before retiring, the areas to review:
- Federal tax withholding on your pension
- Ohio income tax withholding
- IRA or 457 plan withdrawal timing
- Roth IRA strategy and potential conversion windows
- Social Security claiming and its tax interaction with pension income
- Medicare IRMAA thresholds, which can be triggered by higher income
- Capital gains realized from taxable accounts
The most important question isn't "how much will my pension be?" It's "how much after-tax monthly income will I actually have?" Pension gross amounts can be misleading when federal taxes, Ohio taxes, Medicare premium adjustments, and other reductions are factored in.
A coordinated pre-retirement tax plan might include adjusting pension withholding, timing IRA withdrawals to manage tax brackets, using Roth conversions strategically in lower-income years, managing taxable income carefully before Required Minimum Distributions begin, and coordinating Social Security claiming with pension income.
We cover the specifics of Ohio public pension taxation in a dedicated guide on how OPERS and STRS pensions are taxed in Ohio (coming soon in this series).
Investment and Cash Flow Decisions
Your OPERS pension may cover a meaningful share of retirement income, but it doesn't eliminate the need for investment planning. You still need a strategy for IRAs, Roth IRAs, 457 plans, 403(b) accounts, taxable brokerage accounts, cash reserves, and bank savings.
The questions to work through before retiring:
- Will my pension cover my fixed monthly expenses?
- How much additional income do I need from investments?
- How much cash should I hold for short-term needs and emergencies?
- Which accounts should I withdraw from first, and why?
- How should my portfolio allocation change after retirement?
- How will inflation affect my spending power over 20-30 years?
A strong retirement income plan coordinates your OPERS pension with investment withdrawals, taxes, healthcare costs, and cash reserves. Each piece informs the others.
Estate Planning and Beneficiaries
Before submitting retirement paperwork, review your estate plan and beneficiary designations. This matters more than many OPERS members realize, because most retirement assets transfer outside of your will.
The pre-retirement estate planning checklist:
- Review OPERS beneficiary designations
- Review IRA, 403(b), and 457 plan beneficiaries
- Review life insurance beneficiaries
- Review joint account ownership on bank and brokerage accounts
- Add or update transfer-on-death designations
- Review and update powers of attorney for financial and healthcare decisions
- Review advance healthcare directives
- Consider whether a trust is appropriate for your situation
Your estate plan should coordinate with your OPERS payment option. If your spouse depends on your pension income, your survivor benefit election may be one of the most important estate planning decisions you make — even though it's filed with OPERS rather than with an attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should OPERS employees start planning for retirement? OPERS employees should begin meaningful planning 12-24 months before their target retirement date. This window allows time to review pension estimates, evaluate payment options, model healthcare and Medicare costs, coordinate tax strategy, and update beneficiaries before paperwork is filed.
What is the OPERS PLOP? The OPERS PLOP is a Partial Lump Sum Option Payment. It allows eligible retirees to receive a lump sum at retirement while accepting a reduced monthly pension benefit. The lump sum is generally between six and 36 times the monthly pension amount, and cannot reduce the monthly benefit below 50% of the original amount.
Do OPERS retirees need Medicare? OPERS states that Medicare-eligible benefit recipients must enroll in both Medicare Part A and Part B as soon as they become eligible. After enrollment, retirees select Medicare coverage through the OPERS Connector and must maintain Via Benefits enrollment to continue receiving HRA deposits.
How does the OPERS HRA work? The OPERS HRA is an OPERS-funded account that can reimburse eligible benefit recipients for qualified medical expenses. Medicare-eligible retirees generally must enroll in a Medicare medical plan through Via Benefits to continue receiving HRA deposits.
Can I change my OPERS payment option after I retire? OPERS payment options are generally difficult or impossible to change after retirement. This is one reason the decision deserves careful analysis well in advance of your retirement date. Consult OPERS directly for the specific rules that apply to your situation.
Are OPERS pensions taxed in Ohio? Yes. OPERS pension income is generally included in federal adjusted gross income and subject to both federal and Ohio income tax. Ohio offers a modest retirement income credit for qualifying income, though it phases out at higher income levels.
Should OPERS employees work with a financial advisor? Many OPERS employees benefit from working with an advisor who can coordinate pension decisions, healthcare planning, Medicare coordination, tax strategy, investments, and estate planning. The biggest value typically comes from coordinated planning well before the retirement date.
Build Your OPERS Plan Before You Retire
If you're an OPERS employee in Columbus, Ohio preparing for retirement in 2026, your checklist should include the OPERS pension estimate, payment option review, PLOP analysis, healthcare and HRA planning, Medicare coordination, tax withholding strategy, investment withdrawal plan, beneficiary review, and estate planning updates.
The best retirement decisions are coordinated. Your pension, healthcare, taxes, investments, and estate plan should all work together — because each one affects the others.
At Blue Advisors, I help Columbus-area OPERS members work through these decisions in the months before retirement. For the full picture of how these pieces fit together, start with my comprehensive guide to OPERS and STRS retirement planning in Columbus.
Schedule a conversation: If you're an OPERS member in Columbus, Ohio thinking through your 2026 retirement plan, you can book an introductory call here: calendly.com/jimblue/blue-advisors-meeting.
By James Blue, Fee-Only Advisor | Blue Advisors
James Blue is the founder of Blue Advisors, a fee-only registered investment advisory firm based in Columbus, Ohio.
This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. The views expressed are those of the author as of the date published and are subject to change without notice. Blue Advisors is a fee-only registered investment advisory firm. Advisory services are offered only pursuant to a written advisory agreement and to clients in the State of Ohio, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and other jurisdictions where Blue Advisors is properly registered or exempt from registration. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Information about OPERS and Medicare is based on publicly available statements from those organizations as of the publication date and may change. Readers should consult OPERS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and their financial advisor, tax professional, or attorney before making financial decisions.