You and your family may experience life events that affect your SERS retirement account. Events such as marriage, birth or adoption of a child, divorce, and death should be reported to SERS in order to make necessary adjustments to your account.
Create or access your account anytime to manage your retirement information in one place.
A $1,000 lump-sum death benefit is paid to your designated beneficiary upon your death. If you have multiple beneficiaries, the benefit will be distributed equally among them.
By law, if you do not designate a beneficiary, payment is made according to statutory succession. Payment is issued only after SERS receives a death certificate and any required documentation.
If the beneficiary designated by you at retirement dies first, you should select a new beneficiary. Contact SERS at 1-800-878-5853 to request a Beneficiary Designation form. This form must be signed by the retiree. A power of attorney (POA) cannot sign on behalf of the retiree.
If you die early in retirement before recovering the employee contributions you made while working, and you selected Plan B (Single Life Allowance), a refund is due.
Any remaining employee contributions would be paid to your designated beneficiary or estate.
If you are subject to a court order requiring support payments for a spouse, former spouse, or children, the court can order SERS to withhold funds from your pension payments.
Regardless of the number of support orders received or the total amount ordered to be paid, the combined amount withheld from your pension cannot exceed 50% of your original payment amount.
Your pension payments, including any Partial Lump Sum Option Payment (PLOP), can be subject to an Ohio Division of Property Order (DOPO). A DOPO requires a portion of your pension to be paid to a former spouse as part of the division of marital property.
Important considerations include:
If you are going through a divorce, you should discuss these matters with your attorney.
If you selected Plan A, C, or D, and your beneficiary dies before you, your pension will be adjusted to a Single Life Allowance (Plan B). This adjustment is called a “Pop-Up.”
If you selected Plan F, for multiple beneficiaries, your pension will be adjusted if one or more of the beneficiaries dies before you do.
Pop-Ups apply only to Plans A, C, D, and F. Plan E does not allow the Pop-Up option as it has a guaranteed payment period.
If you selected Plan A, C, D, or F for your spouse, and you later divorce, or your marriage is either dissolved or annulled, your plan may be adjusted only with the written consent of your former spouse or by an order of the court.
If you marry or remarry after retirement, you may re-select a joint survivor plan for your new spouse. This is called a “Pop-Down,” and it must be completed within one year of your date of marriage.
If you are married, it is important to discuss your payment plan choice with your spouse. Upon your death, benefits stop unless you selected a Joint Survivor Allowance under Plans A, C, D, or F. Plan E benefits continue only for the duration of the guaranteed period.
For more information on Pop-Up and Pop-Down features, please contact SERS.
If you selected Plan B (Single Life Allowance) at retirement and later marry or remarry, you may change your plan of payment to provide a benefit for your new spouse.
This applies if you:
Any change must be made within one year of the date of marriage.
Provides a lifetime benefit to your spouse equal to half of your monthly pension after your death.
Allows you to designate a specific dollar amount or percentage to be paid to your beneficiary for life.
Pays your beneficiary the same monthly amount you were receiving at the time of death. Due to federal tax law, if there is too great a difference in ages between you and your beneficiary other than your spouse, this plan may not be available.
Allows up to four beneficiaries to receive monthly benefits upon your death.
You must submit your plan change within one year of the date of marriage.
You must submit your plan change within one year of the date of marriage. Contact SERS to begin the process.
You must submit your plan change within one year of the date of marriage.
If you selected Plan A, C, D, or F and your beneficiary dies before you, your plan may be adjusted to Plan B (Single Life Allowance). If you selected Plan F and one or more beneficiaries dies before you, your pension will be recalculated based on the remaining beneficiaries.
Please contact SERS to discuss your options.
If a child is born or adopted after your retirement, please contact SERS to discuss the options available.
According to the National Institute on Aging, end-of-life planning may include making choices about the following:
Strategies that will increase quality of life for you and those you care for, where you wish to spend your final days, and who you want to spend that time with.
While SERS cannot advise you on specific topics related to end-of-life preparation, we can direct you to several resources that may be helpful.
Ohio Department of Aging (1-800-266-4346)
Central: Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging (1-800-589-7277) | Franklin County Office on Aging (614-525-5230)
Northeast: Direction Home of Eastern Ohio (1-800-686-7367) | Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging (216-621-0303)
Northwest: Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio (1-800-472-7277)
Southeast: Buckeye Hills Regional Council (1-800-331-2644)
Southwest: Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio (1-800-252-0155)
West: Area Agency on Aging (1-800-258-7277) | Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley (1-800-300-2937)
If you have questions about your SERS retirement benefits or need assistance with your account, contact us at 1-800-878-5853.
