Plan I: Single Life Annuity
The largest monthly benefit, for your life only. If you die before your payments add up to your contributions, the rest of your contributions go to your beneficiary. If you marry later, you can switch to a Joint and Survivor Annuity for your new spouse within the first year of the marriage.
Plans of Payment, pp. 8-11, Plan IPlan II: Joint and Survivor Annuity
A reduced lifetime benefit; after your death your primary beneficiary gets, for life: the same amount (Option 1), one-half (Option 2), or a dollar amount or percent you choose of at least $50 a month and up to 100% (Option 3). Option 4 covers up to four primary beneficiaries, each at least 10% of your benefit. Options 1-3 come with or without reversion (going back to the Single Life amount if your beneficiary dies first or the marriage ends).
Plans of Payment, pp. 10-13, Plan IIPlan III: Annuity Certain
Payments for life; if you die before a guaranteed number of years you choose, your beneficiary gets the same monthly benefit for the rest of that period. You can't change plans later, but you can name a new beneficiary.
Plans of Payment, pp. 12-15, Plan IIIPartial Lump-Sum Option Plan (PLOP)
A lump sum at retirement of 6 to 36 times your monthly Single Life Annuity, in $1,000 steps (unless you take the minimum or maximum), together with Plan I, II or III. Your monthly benefit is permanently reduced, and future increases are figured on the reduced benefit.
Plans of Payment, pp. 14-15, Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan (PLOP); Plan Summary, pp. 16-17Choosing a survivor plan or a guaranteed period lowers your monthly benefit by an amount STRS Ohio works out from your and your beneficiary's ages. STRS Ohio doesn't print those factors.
We show the Single Life Annuity and the PLOP cost (which STRS Ohio does publish), but no dollar figure for survivor plans.
Plan Summary, pp. 22-23; Plans of Payment, pp. 30-31The PLOP: what a lump sum costs
The PLOP must be 6 to 36 times the monthly Single Life Annuity, in $1,000 increments unless you take the minimum or maximum. It's paid 91 days after your retirement date or when your benefit is finalized, whichever is later. The law also says what's left can't be under 50% of the Single Life Annuity. Plans of Payment, pp. 14-15; Plan Summary, pp. 16-19; ORC 3307.60(B) (50% floor)
| Age at retirement | Monthly cut per $1,000 | Age at retirement | Monthly cut per $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | $6.78 | 60 | $7.26 |
| 54 | $6.84 | 61 | $7.35 |
| 55 | $6.90 | 62 | $7.45 |
| 56 | $6.96 | 63 | $7.55 |
| 57 | $7.03 | 64 | $7.67 |
| 58 | $7.10 | 65 | $7.79 |
| 59 | $7.18 |
In the Combined Plan, a PLOP on the pension part at 60 costs $181.50 a month for $25,000. Plans of Payment (Combined), pp. 16-17
A PLOP paid to you has 20% federal withholding and may have a 10% penalty, unless you're 59 1/2 or left service in or after the year you turned 55. Roll it over to defer tax. Plans of Payment, pp. 14-17 The full tax rules are on the taxes page. A PLOP also lowers the base on which any future COLA is figured.
Spousal consent and changes
If you're married on your benefit date, your spouse must consent, before a notary, if you choose a Single Life Annuity, a survivor plan paying your spouse less than one-half or naming someone else, an Annuity Certain, or any PLOP. Without consent you get a Joint and Survivor Annuity paying one-half to your spouse (with reversion) and no PLOP. Plans of Payment, pp. 16-17, Spousal consent; ORC 3307.60(I)
A change to the plan you picked must reach STRS Ohio, signed, by the 15th of the month after your benefit is finalized. Plans of Payment, pp. 8-9; ORC 3307.60(D)
What the brochures say
- STRS Ohio's plans of payment are Plan I, the Single Life Annuity; Plan II, the Joint and Survivor Annuity; and Plan III, the Annuity Certain. You can add a Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan (PLOP) to any of them.Plans of Payment, pp. 8-15
- Single Life Annuity: the largest monthly benefit, for your life only. If you die before your payments add up to your contributions, the rest goes to your beneficiary.Plans of Payment, pp. 8-11
- Joint and Survivor Annuity: a smaller benefit for you, then for life to your beneficiary the same amount (Option 1), one-half (Option 2) or an amount you choose of at least $50 a month (Option 3). Option 4 splits it among up to four beneficiaries, each at least 10%.Plans of Payment, pp. 10-13
- With reversion, your benefit goes back up to the Single Life amount if your beneficiary dies first or your marriage ends.Plans of Payment, pp. 10-13
- Annuity Certain: you're paid for life, and if you die within a guaranteed period you choose, your beneficiary gets the same amount for the rest of it.Plans of Payment, pp. 12-15
- PLOP: a lump sum at retirement of 6 to 36 times your monthly Single Life Annuity, in $1,000 steps unless you take the minimum or maximum. Your monthly benefit drops for life by a cost factor for each $1,000; at 57, $25,000 costs $175.75 a month.Plans of Payment, pp. 14-15
- A PLOP is paid 91 days after your retirement date or when your benefit is finalized, whichever is later.Plans of Payment, pp. 14-15
- If you're married, your spouse must sign a notarized consent for a Single Life Annuity, a survivor plan paying your spouse less than one-half, an Annuity Certain, or any PLOP. Without it you get a Joint and Survivor Annuity paying your spouse one-half, with no PLOP.Plans of Payment, pp. 16-17
- Check with STRS OhioSTRS Ohio doesn't publish the reduction factors for Joint and Survivor or Annuity Certain plans; they depend on your and your beneficiary's ages. Get them from an STRS Ohio estimate.Plans of Payment, pp. 30-31; Plan Summary, pp. 22-23Factors aren't published (needsValidation option-factors).
Questions
What is the STRS Ohio PLOP?
The Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan: a lump sum at retirement of 6 to 36 times your monthly Single Life Annuity, in exchange for a smaller monthly benefit for life. At 57, $25,000 costs $175.75 a month.
Which plan of payment pays the most each month?
Plan I, the Single Life Annuity. Survivor plans and the Annuity Certain pay less so that payments can continue after you die.
Does my spouse have to agree?
If you're married, yes, for a Single Life Annuity, a survivor plan paying your spouse less than half, an Annuity Certain, or any PLOP.
Source: STRS Ohio, Understanding Your STRS Ohio Benefits: Plan Summary, 2026|2027 (form 20-101, Aug. 2026), pp. 16-17, 16-19, 22-23. Also: STRS Ohio Service Retirement and Plans of Payment (Defined Benefit Plan), 2026|2027 (form 15-126, 6/26), pp. 8-11, 8-9, 8-15, 10-13, 12-15, 14-15, 14-17, 16-17, 30-31. Also: STRS Ohio Survivor Benefits (Defined Benefit Plan), 2026|2027 (form 16-100, 6/26), pp. 12-13, 14-15. Also: STRS Ohio Service Retirement and Plans of Payment (Combined Plan), 2026|2027 (form 20-643, 6/26), pp. 16-17. Background: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3307. Last reviewed .