Get to know ‘minimum earnable salary’
Amounts differ to earn full service for pension, health care
By Michael Pramik, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System
March 7, 2022 – Minimum earnable salary is the amount that members of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System must earn each month to qualify for pension service credit or health care credit.
There are differing amounts for pension and health care. This year, members must earn at least $696.84 for a full month of service credit. If members earn less than that amount, their service is prorated so they earn partial service credit for that reporting period.
Your total service credit is a key component of the formula we’ll use to determine your retirement benefit.
The minimum earnable salary for one month of health care service credit is $1,000. Health care credit is not prorated, so members must earn at least $1,000 in a month to qualify for a month of service credit that’s applicable to health care eligibility.
Another note on health care service credit: Only the following service credit types apply:
- Contributing service (which includes plan change service credit)
- Eligible Ohio Retirement System service combined at retirement
- Interrupted military time (USERRA)
- Unreported public service
- Redeposit (refunded/restored) service
Please note: “Monthly” credit might not match up with a calendar month, if a pay period straddles two months.
You can use our Benefit Estimator tool, available in your online account, to see how much credit you have earned, or will earn, for both pension and health care.
Here’s a schedule of the increases in the minimum earnable salary for pensions through 2029:
| 2022 | $696.84 |
| 2023 | $709.03 |
| 2024 | $721.44 |
| 2025 | $734.07 |
| 2026 | $746.91 |
| 2027 | $759.99 |
| 2028 | $773.29 |
| 2029 | $786.82 |
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.
I’m retired collecting social security and work during election time (primary and general election) usually about 6 weeks prior to both elections. They take monies out for OPERS , we make $10.45/hr. Does that make sense to you. I will never make enough money to ever take advantage of the OPERS retirement system.
Richard,
OPERS-contributing positions are described in Ohio law. Election worker is one of those categories that has been designated as an OPERS-contributing position. So your local election board has to withhold your 10 percent OPERS contribution from your salary, as well as contribute the 14 percent employer share to OPERS.