Minimum earnable salary amounts increase
Members must earn at least $770.77 for a full month of pension service credit
By Michael Pramik, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System
Jan. 15, 2026 – Minimum earnable salary is the amount that OPERS members must earn each month to qualify for pension service credit, or service credit applicable to health care program eligibility. Your total service credit is a key component of the formula we’ll use to determine your retirement benefit.
This year, the monthly OPERS minimum earnable salary is $770.77, up 5% from $734.07 in 2025.
Why did it increase by 5% this year? When the Ohio General Assembly passed pension legislation in 2012, it tied minimum earnable salary to any legislative pay raise given to township trustees. Thus, whenever township trustees receive a pay raise, the OPERS minimum earnable salary also increases.
The legislature passed a bill in 2018 that established a 1.75% annual increase in the minimum earnable salary from 2020 to 2029.
However, last year the legislature increased that percentage change to 5% until 2029 for trustee terms that begin after Sept. 30, 2025. If OPERS members earn less than that amount, their service is prorated so they earn partial service credit for that reporting period.
To earn a full month of service credit applicable to health care program eligibility, members participating in the Traditional Pension and Combined plans must earn a minimum of $1,000 per reporting month, and partial service credit is not available for health care.
Only the following service credit types apply toward health care program eligibility:
- 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 that “monthly” credit might not match up with a calendar month if a pay period straddles two months.
Members of the OPERS Traditional Pension Plan can use our Benefit Estimator through the online account to see how much credit you’ve earned, or will earn, for both pension and health care eligibility.
For more information about the topic of service credit, refer to the OPERS Service Credit and Contributing Months leaflet.
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.