How do I enroll?

This is a comprehensive plan that provides benefits during your teaching career and in retirement. Under the Defined Benefit Plan, your retirement income is determined by a calculation that uses:

• Your age
• Your years of service, and
• Your final average salary (FAS) — the average of your five highest salary years

Other items of note:

• You receive access to health care coverage* if you meet health care eligibility requirements
• Benefits while you are teaching include survivor and disability benefits
• STRS Ohio manages assets in the Defined Benefit Plan. You are not responsible for making investment decisions
• Defined Benefit Plan participants are not eligible to reselect their plan during their fifth year of membership as they are under the other two STRS Ohio plans

*Coverage under the STRS Ohio Health Care Program is not guaranteed. STRS Ohio may change or discontinue all or part of the program for all or a class of eligible benefit recipients and covered dependents at any time.

Under this plan, member and employer contributions are deposited in a retirement account that you manage. You choose how to allocate the contributions among various investment choices offered through the plan. Retirement income is driven by three variables:

• The amount of member and employer contributions deposited to your account
• The performance of investment choices you select, and
• The market annuity rates at retirement

Other items of note:

• Benefits such as disability and survivor benefits and health care coverage in retirement are your responsibility; they are not provided by STRS Ohio
• Defined Contribution Plan participants are eligible to reselect their plan during their fifth year of membership

This plan includes features of the Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans, so you have benefits while teaching and the following two elements to your retirement benefit:

• An annuity from the defined benefit portion equal to 1% of your final average salary for each year of service credit
• An annuity from the defined contribution portion based on the value of the account and market annuity rates at the time of retirement

Other items of note:

• You receive access to health care coverage* if you meet health care eligibility requirements
• Benefits while you are teaching include survivor and disability benefits
• You have control of the investments in your defined contribution account
• Combined Plan participants are eligible to reselect their plan during their fifth year of membership

*Coverage under the STRS Ohio Health Care Program is not guaranteed. STRS Ohio may change or discontinue all or part of the program for all or a class of eligible benefit recipients and covered dependents at any time.