Answers to OPERS member questions

This month: We address disability issues, how to apply for your pension

By Michael Pramik, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

June 25, 2026 – Members and retirees often ask us questions through our social media channels that others could benefit from. Periodically we post these questions and answers in our PERSpective blog.

Q: Do I have to come to Columbus to start to receive my pension?

A: You are not required to travel to Columbus to begin receiving your pension. We do offer virtual appointments and phone appointments for your convenience, or in-person counseling in our Columbus office if you need assistance. You also may apply through your online account on your own, and our representatives are available by phone to assist you with questions and guide you through the application process.

Q: I worked an OPERS position for 27 years and now am in a position with another Ohio pension fund. I have two years to retirement but after the two years I will be one quarter short of my 31 years due to the gap between positions. Is this an instance where I may purchase service for that quarter to shore up my time? And would that be through OPERS or the other system?

A: Service credit cannot be purchased to fill a gap in employment. However, you may be eligible to purchase service credit for other qualified purposes, depending on your circumstances. Please refer to the Service Credit and Contributing Months leaflet for detailed information on eligibility and the types of service credit that may be purchased under OPERS.

Q: Can disability recipients sign up to permanently have OPERS send us paper Employment & Earnings through the mail? It would save us having to ask for them.

A: OPERS does not offer an option to permanently mail the paper Employment and Earnings form automatically.

Q: Why does OPERS contribute the full amount of HRA benefits to pre-Medicare re-employed retirees if their employer pays for their health care? This practice seems unfair.

A: The Pre-Medicare HRA is an open HRA, meaning retirees are not required to enroll in a medical plan through the OPERS connector to receive their HRA deposit. In contrast, the Medicare HRA is a closed HRA, which requires retirees to enroll in a medical plan through the OPERS connector to receive their deposit.

Both Pre-Medicare and Medicare HRA participants may continue to receive their full eligible HRA deposit during a period of re-employment, provided all eligibility requirements are met. However, neither group may submit for reimbursement requests for expenses that they incurred during the re-employment period.

Q: Why is OPERS disability taxed whereas Social Security disability benefits generally are not?

A: Disability benefits from a state retirement system such as OPERS are taxed mainly because they are treated as a form of income earned through employment. These plans are funded by employer and employee contributions, many of which were not taxed when they were put in. As a result, when you receive disability payments, the IRS treats them like wages (before retirement age) or pension income (afterward), so they are generally taxable.

Social Security disability benefits are different because they come from a federal social insurance program, not an employer retirement plan. In simple terms, the difference comes down to purpose and design. State retirement system disability benefits are viewed as a replacement for your salary or retirement income, so they are taxed like other earnings. Social Security disability benefits, on the other hand, are meant to provide a basic financial safety net, so the federal tax system gives them more favorable treatment—especially for people with modest incomes.

Q: Are disability benefit recipients eligible for COLAs?

A: Yes, they are. Disability retirees follow the same COLA rules as all benefit recipients. While members with a retirement effective date prior to Jan. 7, 2013, automatically receive a 3 percent adjustment, those with a retirement effective date on or after that date have their COLAs based on the Consumer Price Index-W, the government’s inflation index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, not to exceed 3%.

Q: I’m under the Member Directed Plan. If I cash out my retirement when I retire, what happens to my HRA account?

A: As a Member-Directed Plan participant, you have a Retiree Medical Account, or RMA. This account may be used to reimburse eligible medical expenses and insurance premiums incurred after you begin receiving a distribution from the Member-Directed Plan, whether through a refund or a monthly benefit.

Once you are eligible to access the account, you may submit reimbursement claims through the third-party administrator OPERS uses to manage the RMA. You may continue to submit eligible expenses until the account balance is exhausted. Your vested percentage in the RMA is determined by your contributing service and your start date in the plan.