OPERS & STRS Retirement Planning in Columbus, Ohio
Quick answer: OPERS and STRS Ohio retirement planning involves coordinating pension payment options, healthcare and Medicare decisions, tax strategy, Social Security eligibility, investment withdrawals, and estate documents — all before you submit retirement paperwork. For Columbus-area public employees and teachers, the most consequential decisions are typically the pension payment option, whether to take a partial lump-sum payment (PLOP), and how healthcare will work in coordination with Medicare. Coordinated planning 12-24 months ahead of your retirement date is essential because most of these decisions are difficult or impossible to reverse.
Key Takeaways
- OPERS and STRS retirement decisions are interconnected — pension payment choices affect taxes, healthcare costs, and survivor income for decades.
- Most planning decisions are best made 12-24 months before your retirement date, not in the final weeks.
- Healthcare and Medicare coordination is one of the most complex and consequential areas, particularly for OPERS retirees using the HRA through Via Benefits.
- OPERS and STRS pension income is generally subject to both federal and Ohio income tax; Ohio does not tax Social Security.
- The Social Security Fairness Act has changed Social Security planning for many public employees, but eligibility still depends on individual work history.
- Pension beneficiary designations and estate documents should be reviewed and coordinated together, not handled separately.
Table of Contents
- What Makes OPERS and STRS Retirement Planning Different
- What OPERS Employees Should Review Before Retirement
- What STRS Employees Should Review Before Retirement
- How to Think About Pension Income
- Healthcare and Medicare Decisions
- How OPERS and STRS Pensions Are Taxed
- Social Security for Public Employees
- Estate Planning Before You Retire
- How a Financial Advisor Can Help
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes OPERS and STRS Retirement Planning Different
OPERS (Ohio Public Employees Retirement System) and STRS Ohio (State Teachers Retirement System) members face retirement decisions that look very different from private-sector workers. Instead of building a 401(k) over a career, public employees and teachers earn a defined pension benefit — dependable lifetime income that provides a strong foundation for retirement, but that also requires careful upfront decisions.
The choices you make at retirement — pension payment option, whether to take a lump sum, how to coordinate Medicare, when to claim Social Security if eligible — set the trajectory for the next twenty or thirty years. Most of them are irrevocable once submitted.
For City of Columbus employees, Franklin County workers, central Ohio teachers, and school administrators across the region, the goal isn't simply to retire. It's to retire with a plan that coordinates pension income, healthcare, taxes, investments, and estate considerations into one connected picture.
What OPERS Employees Should Review Before Retirement
OPERS members should begin meaningful planning at least 12-24 months before their target retirement date. The decisions that matter most include:
Retirement eligibility. Confirm your eligible retirement date based on age and years of service credit. OPERS provides estimates through its member portal.
Pension payment option. OPERS offers single-life and joint-life payment options. The choice affects monthly income and what your spouse or beneficiary receives if you pass away first.
PLOP decision. OPERS members may elect a Partial Lump Sum Option Payment, which exchanges some monthly pension income for an upfront lump sum. This decision interacts with taxes, liquidity needs, and investment strategy in significant ways. A detailed walkthrough on whether OPERS employees should take the PLOP is coming soon in this series.
Healthcare and the HRA. OPERS offers a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to benefit recipients who meet certain age and service requirements. OPERS describes the HRA as an OPERS-funded account providing tax-free reimbursement for qualified medical expenses, including eligible premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. A detailed explanation of how the OPERS HRA works in retirement is coming soon in this series.
Tax withholding. Pension income is taxable. Setting withholding correctly avoids large balances due at tax time.
Beneficiaries. Pension survivor designations and IRA/457/403(b) beneficiaries should all be reviewed and coordinated.
A step-by-step pre-retirement checklist — the OPERS Retirement Checklist for 2026 — is coming soon in this series.
What STRS Employees Should Review Before Retirement
STRS Ohio members face a parallel but distinct set of decisions. Service credit, eligibility, payment options, and healthcare all have STRS-specific rules.
Key areas to confirm before retiring:
- Service credit total and the impact of any purchased credit on your benefit
- Pension payment option including single-life and survivor options
- Healthcare coverage through STRS Ohio's plan, including Medicare coordination if applicable
- Premium costs and prescription drug coverage under your chosen plan
- Survivor benefit elections and the trade-off with monthly income
- Tax withholding and how pension income will interact with any other income sources
STRS healthcare planning has its own complexity, particularly around Medicare integration and plan options. A detailed walkthrough on STRS Ohio health care in retirement is coming soon in this series.
A complete pre-retirement walkthrough — the STRS Ohio Retirement Checklist for 2026 — is also coming soon.
How to Think About Pension Income
Your pension is the foundation of retirement income — but it shouldn't be evaluated in isolation. A complete income plan coordinates pension benefits with Social Security (if applicable), IRA and 403(b) withdrawals, 457 plan distributions, taxable account holdings, cash reserves, and any spousal income.
The pension decisions to think through carefully:
Monthly income level. Single-life payments are higher; joint-life options are lower but provide survivor protection.
Survivor protection. If your spouse depends on your pension income to maintain their standard of living, a survivor option may be worth the reduction in monthly income.
Lump-sum options. Where available (the PLOP for OPERS), lump-sum elections trade guaranteed income for upfront liquidity. The right answer depends on your other assets, your spending plan, your tax situation, and how you'd manage the lump sum.
Tax coordination. Pension income flows into federal and Ohio taxable income, which affects your overall tax bracket and the taxation of other income sources.
A higher monthly pension looks attractive on paper. Whether it's the right choice depends on the full context — survivor needs, liquidity, taxes, and healthcare costs that aren't yet visible.
Healthcare and Medicare Decisions
Healthcare is the area where pre-retirement decisions have the largest immediate financial impact for many OPERS and STRS retirees.
For OPERS Retirees
OPERS states that Medicare-eligible benefit recipients must enroll in Medicare Parts A and B and then enroll in a Medicare medical plan through Via Benefits to receive monthly HRA deposits. OPERS also states that Medicare-eligible benefit recipients participate in a closed HRA, meaning enrollment in a Medicare medical plan through Via Benefits is required to receive monthly HRA deposits.
The practical questions to answer:
- Will you be Medicare-eligible when you retire?
- Do you understand the Via Benefits enrollment process?
- Have you compared Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap options on the Via Benefits platform?
- Are your current doctors covered under the plans you're considering?
- How will the HRA cover your premiums and out-of-pocket costs?
A full breakdown of how the OPERS HRA works in retirement is coming soon in this series.
For STRS Retirees
STRS Ohio offers its own healthcare program with Medicare coordination, plan options, premium tiers, and prescription drug coverage. Eligibility, costs, and coverage details vary based on years of service and Medicare status.
Critical questions to answer before retiring:
- What is your service credit and how does it affect healthcare eligibility?
- What are the premium costs under each plan option?
- How does STRS coverage coordinate with Medicare if you're eligible?
- How are prescription drugs covered, and what are your expected costs?
- Will your spouse need separate coverage?
A detailed STRS Ohio health care guide is coming soon in this series.
Healthcare expenses should be built into your retirement cash flow projection before you submit retirement paperwork — not figured out afterward.
How OPERS and STRS Pensions Are Taxed
Taxes are one of the most under-planned areas of public employee retirement.
Federal taxation: OPERS and STRS pension income is taxable at the federal level as ordinary income. The full amount of your monthly pension counts toward federal adjusted gross income.
Ohio taxation: Retirement income included in federal adjusted gross income is generally subject to Ohio income tax. Ohio does offer a retirement income credit for qualifying income, though the amount is modest and phases out at higher income levels.
Social Security: Ohio does not tax Social Security benefits, even when they're federally taxable.
IRA and 457/403(b) withdrawals: Taxed as ordinary income at both the federal level and in Ohio.
The most common mistake we see is the assumption that retirement automatically means lower taxes. For many OPERS and STRS retirees, pension income plus retirement account withdrawals plus Social Security can put them in the same tax bracket they were in while working — or higher, depending on the order they tap accounts.
Tax planning before and during retirement is one of the highest-leverage areas of public employee retirement planning. A dedicated guide on how OPERS and STRS pensions are taxed in Ohio is coming soon in this series.
Social Security for Public Employees
Social Security planning has changed significantly for many Ohio public employees.
Historically, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for many workers receiving pensions from non-Social-Security-covered employment. The Social Security Administration states that the Social Security Fairness Act ends WEP and GPO, which previously reduced or eliminated benefits for certain workers receiving pensions from non-covered employment.
This change doesn't mean every OPERS or STRS retiree receives Social Security benefits. Eligibility still depends on:
- Whether you paid into Social Security through any covered employment during your career
- Your work history and earnings record
- Spousal or survivor benefit eligibility through a spouse who paid into Social Security
- Your claiming age
For retirees who do qualify for Social Security, the claiming decision should be modeled alongside the pension, tax strategy, and investment withdrawal plan — not made in isolation.
Estate Planning Before You Retire
Before submitting retirement paperwork, OPERS and STRS members should review and update their estate plan. This goes beyond having a will.
Key areas to address:
- Pension survivor designations — these directly affect what your spouse or beneficiary receives
- IRA, 403(b), 457, and life insurance beneficiaries — these designations override your will
- Transfer-on-death designations on bank and investment accounts
- Joint ownership on real estate and major accounts
- Powers of attorney for financial and healthcare decisions
- Advance healthcare directives including living will and healthcare proxy
- Trust considerations if your estate is large or complex
Beneficiary designations are the most common source of unintended outcomes in public-employee estates. An outdated beneficiary form can override decades of careful planning. This is worth reviewing carefully — and revisiting whenever family circumstances change.
How a Financial Advisor Can Help
A financial advisor can help OPERS and STRS members coordinate retirement decisions that affect each other.
For example:
- Pension payment options affect survivor income and lifetime tax exposure
- PLOP decisions affect liquidity, investment strategy, and tax brackets
- Healthcare choices affect monthly spending and IRMAA exposure
- IRA withdrawal timing affects tax brackets and Medicare premiums
- Roth conversions in lower-income years can affect long-term tax outcomes
- Beneficiary designations affect estate outcomes more than wills do
At Blue Advisors, we work with Columbus-area public employees and teachers to bring these moving parts together into one coordinated plan. Our role isn't to replace OPERS or STRS — both systems administer significant pension benefits — but to help members make the decisions around those benefits with the full picture in view.
A dedicated guide on choosing a financial advisor for OPERS and STRS retirees in Columbus is coming soon in this series.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should OPERS employees do before retiring? OPERS employees should review pension estimates, evaluate payment options, understand healthcare and HRA eligibility, coordinate Medicare enrollment, set tax withholding, update beneficiary designations, and build a coordinated retirement income plan. Most of this work is best done 12-24 months before retirement.
What should STRS Ohio employees do before retiring? STRS employees should confirm service credit, verify retirement eligibility, evaluate pension payment options, understand healthcare coverage and Medicare coordination, plan for taxes, and select survivor benefit options before choosing a retirement date.
Are OPERS and STRS pensions taxed in Ohio? Yes. OPERS and STRS 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. Ohio does not tax Social Security benefits.
Do OPERS retirees need Medicare? OPERS states that Medicare-eligible benefit recipients must enroll in Medicare Parts A and B and then enroll in a Medicare medical plan through Via Benefits to receive monthly HRA deposits. Non-Medicare-eligible retirees follow a different process.
Has the Social Security Fairness Act changed things for OPERS and STRS retirees? The Social Security Administration states that the Social Security Fairness Act ends the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, which previously reduced benefits for certain workers receiving pensions from non-covered employment. Individual eligibility still depends on work history and other factors.
Should OPERS and STRS employees work with a financial advisor? Many OPERS and STRS members benefit from working with an advisor who can coordinate pension decisions, healthcare planning, tax strategy, investments, and estate considerations. The biggest value typically comes from coordinated planning 12-24 months before retirement.
When should I start planning my OPERS or STRS retirement? At least 12-24 months before your target retirement date. The most consequential decisions — pension payment option, PLOP, healthcare elections, Social Security timing — benefit from modeling and reflection rather than being made under time pressure.
Build the Plan Before You Retire
OPERS and STRS benefits provide a strong foundation for retirement — but the decisions you make in the months before retiring shape how that foundation actually supports you for the next thirty years.
Before you submit retirement paperwork, you should understand when you're eligible, which pension option fits your situation, how healthcare and Medicare will work, how your income will be taxed, whether Social Security applies, how your investment accounts coordinate with the pension, and whether your beneficiary designations and estate documents reflect your current wishes.
The best time to make these decisions is before retirement — not after.
Schedule a conversation: If you're an OPERS or STRS member in Columbus, Ohio thinking through your 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, serving public employees, teachers, retirees, and busy professionals across Central Ohio and nationally.
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, STRS Ohio, Medicare, and Social Security is based on publicly available statements from those organizations as of the publication date and may change. Readers should consult OPERS, STRS Ohio, the Social Security Administration, and their financial advisor, tax professional, or attorney before making financial decisions.