Turning points can affect your pension
Life Events section of OPERS website there to help when changes occur
By Michael Pramik, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System
Aug. 29, 2018 – While you’re working as an OPERS member, or after you retire, your life likely will change, and sometimes in significant ways. These developments can affect your retirement benefit, so you need to know how to respond.
We’ve designed the new Life Events section of the OPERS website to guide you through many of the decisions you might have to make during and after your public service career.
Live Events contains helpful links and tools you’ll need as an OPERS member. Let’s look at some of the sections to see what you can reference through Life Events. Refer to the website for more information.
- Beneficiaries: You’ll need to choose a beneficiary for your retirement benefit, someone who will receive either a lump-sum refund or monthly benefits in the event of your death. This section of the website helps you designate a beneficiary or make changes.
- Divorce, dissolution or annulment of marriage: The rules in place regarding these events can have a significant impact on your retirement benefits.
- Turning 65: This section gives you the lowdown on Medicare benefits.
- Returning to work: If you retire and want to become re-employed, check out this section for particulars about where your money goes and how health care works.
- Death of a member: This section is for caregivers and survivors, to let them know how to contact us and what will happen next.
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.
Could you send me by mail a copy of when a members dies, how the survivors can contact OPERS and what they should do. Thank you
Please call us at 1-800-222-7377 and a member of our staff would be happy to help you.
Julie, OPERS
Is there a option for remarried since retirement members to change their benefits to leave a percentage for their spouse. I was a widow and remarried.
If you are receiving a survivor benefit or a joint and survivor benefit as a spouse of the original member, getting remarried later on will not disqualify you for the benefit.
Julie, OPERS
I am the OPERS employee in our family. When I die my retirement pension will go to my husband. My question is if he would remarry would he lose my monthly benefit?
No, Susan. If your husband is receiving a survivor benefit or a joint and survivor benefit as a spouse of the original member, getting remarried later on will not disqualify him for the benefit.
Julie, OPERS
Can a ex spouse that remarry be entitled your regular retirement benefits if he was court ordered before he remarried to receive a certain portion after you retire.
Felicia, A DPO remains in effect until the death of the OPERS recipient, the death of the alternate payee, or the termination of benefits. To terminate a DPO, the OPERS recipient must provide a court order stating the DPO needs to be terminated.
How does OPERS benefits affect earned Social Security benefits?
Your Social Security benefit could be impacted by the amount of time you worked in the public sector. We have information on Social Security at the bottom of our Financial Wellness page at https://www.opers.org/members/financial-wellness.shtml.
In addition, we published a blog on the subject that you may find interesting, https://perspective.opers.org/index.php/2017/04/04/supporting-solutions-to-the-wep-issue/
Julie, OPERS
I was married for 30 years to an opers member and in our divorce was awarded half of the retirement via a division of property order. My ex has terminal cancer at 65 and just retired. He elected to receive monthly payments, not a lump sum, so now I am receiving monthly payments. He has named his new wife as the person to receive his benefits when he dies. My question is, when he dies, what happens to the benefits I am currently receiving?
We can’t answer account questions online. Please call us at 1-800-222-7377 and a member of our staff would be happy to help you.
Julie, OPERS