Legislative update
OPERS opposes deferred retirement plan as proposed in House bill
By Michael Pramik, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System
Aug. 28, 2025 – Ohio House Bill 73 proposes that OPERS be mandated to offer a Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP, exclusively for the Law Enforcement division, which includes deputy sheriffs and a host of other classifications that have been added over the years.
OPERS opposes this proposal because it would require us to unnecessarily devote money and resources toward building a new program that would be accessible only to a small percentage of our members. The OPERS Law Enforcement division comprises approximately 8,000 members out of the total 300,000 active OPERS membership.
A DROP allows retirement-eligible members to accumulate an additional benefit for retirement while continuing to work. This benefit currently is offered by only two of the five Ohio retirement systems: the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund and the Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System.
OPERS believes there is no need to create a program that is inferior to the options that we currently offer. OPERS LE members can replace a greater percentage of their final average salary than the other public safety-focused systems. In addition, for retired members who are re-employed in an OPERS-covered position, a combination of a Partial Lump Sum Option Payment, or PLOP, and paying into a Money Purchase Annuity is a better financial option than a DROP.
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.
This is ridiculous. The legislation needs to stay out of OPERS. Making something mandated for less thank 5 percent of membership is nonsense. Then again politicians are usually idiotic
Because I took a medical retirement from Law Enforcement , why can I not work any other type of job or career that is OPERS related? I hate to turn down a good paying job because it is OPERS related. My retirement and todays economy is hard on one income and I don’t have fine jewelry or expensive car. An try to pay cash vs being in debt for home expenses
I believe that the OPERS should prioritize the 300,000 members that are retired or currently paying into OPERS.
To utilize a disproportionate amount of resources to appease less than 3% of the people would not be a prudent use of resources.
I wish to thank OPERS Board and management in wisely protecting
over 97% of it’s membership.
As a prison worker that now has to work more than what I was promised when I began my career where we were looking for parity with police as our cliental come from them and Trauma rates are highest in research. I would ne enraged if these actions placed a further burden on the system that I already am mad at.
Why don’t they simply participate in Ohio Deferred Compensation program?
If this is necessary for our law enforcement members, I have no problem with it, but not as an unfunded mandate. The legislators need to fully fund their idea for the next thirty years.
Contact our elected officials it has worked in the past.
This HB 73 mirrors the DROP program offered by the other law enforcement pension systems. DROP is designed to be cost neutral to the pension system. It also has safeguards built in to review on an ongoing basis and immediately cease in the event it becomes a liability to the system. Not sure it is inferior to current options offered, just an additional option.
DROP allows for participating member’s funds to accrue interest quarterly and is tax deferred. It also requires them to work a minimum of three additional years and a maximum of eight years to receive the benefit. This retains experience on the job and allows the employer to better plan on hiring needs from year to year. Maybe this DROP program will aid in recruiting new employees paying into OPERS-LE. Replacements have not exactly been easy to come by in recent years and more are leaving every day.
Don’t get me wrong, the LE division is blessed to be part of OPERS. OPERS-LE percentages are better than Police & Fire and Ohio State Highway Patrol. The LE division just doesn’t seem to have a very loud voice. To hear that the OPERS communication strategist doesn’t think the LE division is not worthy of money or resources is not very comforting. What would the projected costs be to implement DROP? The DROP program has already existed for well over a decade in two other pension systems. After all, OPERS is not re-reinventing the wheel.