OPERS offers array of helpful self-service tools
Take charge of your retirement with your online account
As a member of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, you’ve got an assortment of self-service tools at your fingertips that can help you conduct transactions, and update or review your mailing, banking and beneficiary preferences.
Throughout the last few years, we’ve been increasing opportunities for our members to use our website and your online accounts to transact business, request materials and simply communicate better with us.
Here are a few self-service tools that you might not know about that can be of great value. Just by logging into your online account, you can:
- Change your correspondence preferences: We’ve been moving toward communicating with members more and more through their online accounts, and if you log in, you can tell us how you’d like to hear from us. For instance, do you prefer to receive paper or electronic communication? How about text notifications?
- Update demographic information: The simple task of updating your address, phone number and email address online can be vitally important when you need to get in touch with us, or we need to contact you. Are you a snowbird? If you head south for the winter, you can change your address multiple times each year.
- Make beneficiary changes and update your personal data: Not only can you see your current designation, you can change your beneficiaries and add new family information.
- Change your direct deposit and banking information: You can update this info any time.
Even if you use our website or your online account frequently, it’s worth your time as we head into a new year to log in and make sure your preferences and personal information are up to date.
We’ll be highlighting more self-service options for our members in the coming weeks. Don’t have an online account? To sign up, just go to the OPERS website. The link is on the top right-hand corner. You will need your Social Security number, birth date and home ZIP code.
While you can always call our Member Services desk at 800-222-7377 when you have questions, it’s often so much easier and faster to use our suite of online self-help tools that are available 24/7.
Michael Pramik
Michael Pramik is communication strategist for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and editor of the PERSpective blog. As an experienced business journalist, he clarifies complex pension policies and helps members make smart choices to secure their retirement.
Did they make any adjustments to our monthly pension check. I usually get a statement that itimizes my pension and and taxes. I didn’t get one this year. Thank you.
Pat,
We mailed that information this week to our retirees. If you haven’t gotten that mailing yet, you can log into your online account and see the new total.
— Ohio PERS
Thank you, I will be watching for it.
My friends who retired under SERB get their notices in October. This is the first year you left dental and vision insurance enrollment open until December. In the past, it was always October. However, you still didn’t send statements until the very last minutes. Once again this year, my notice arrived in the mail on Saturday afternoon, December 31. I think you deliberately send them out over the holiday weekend because you don’t want tons of telephone calls and emails coming in from the people who pay your salary. After all, it’s Christmas and all the employees are off on vacation or partying and can’t be bothered.
Linda,
Like you said, we did have later open enrollment dates last year. As a matter of business, we do not send benefit change notices when the benefit is affected by health care choices until after this period has ended. That’s why they arrived the last week of December. However, the cost of the health care options are made very clear during open enrollment, so retirees should know what they will pay long before January.
–Ohio PERS
As I pointed out this was the first year that dental and vision choices were left open until December. But in all past years when they were open until just October, you still sent the benefit letters out so they arrived on New Years eve.
Just an FYI. If you want your automatic premiums every month like Med B, dental & vision, you must file a reoccurring form. it is on line.
If you make a mistake they will send it back and you must do it over. They will not just correct the error.
It is still worth it to not apply each month!
I don’t know about dental and vision because I don’t have those coverages, but I just checked and my Medicare Plan B premium was auto deducted from my OPERS allowance in my TW account just as it was last year — AND — the same amount was deposited into my credit union account on file with TW. Everything is the same as it was last year with no extra effort on my part.
I hope we are on the same page, Dorothea…if not, please let me know,.
You might want to check with TW, The allowance deducted was Dec paid. I had to send in a reoccurring form for 2017, to have It Paid every month auto in 2017.
What about my combined amount through Voya will I get a 1099-R through them
Kathleen –
1099s that are mailed from Voya (Refunded Member Directed and Combined plan accounts) will be mailed by January 31st. Once mailed, participants can access the 1099 form online through their online account (on the Voya side). The member must first click on the link to view their defined contribution portion or member-directed account.
Once on the Voya side of the online account, the member can click on Tax Forms under Statements and Documents.
We hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
I require an update of my name. I have chosen to officially take my mothers last name of Sutton Scott, she kept her maiden name and did not hyphenate it. I require assistance in making this change. Thank you.
Please give OPERS a call (1-800-222-7377) and we can assist in making this change to your account.
OPERS
Are the heath care allowances taxable?
Paula,
No, they are not. That’s one reason we set up the reimbursement system — it allows us to provide the allowance on a tax-free basis.
–Ohio PERS
My annual statement contains a statement, “For an in-depth look at your annual statement, visit opers.org/annualstatement to access the Annual Statement online tool.” But that web address does not work. Do you know the correct information for this online tool?
Russell,
That link is working, so give it a try again.