What STRS Ohio would pay your family

After you retire

After retirement, a $1,000 death benefit is paid automatically to your named beneficiary, as a nontaxable life insurance payment. Service retirees can buy another $1,000 or $2,000 (taxable), paid for by a monthly deduction; if you retire before 65 you get a second chance in the three months before you turn 65. Coverage bought then has a six-month waiting period. Plan Summary, pp. 16-17; Plans of Payment, pp. 20-27

Monthly payments continue only if you chose a survivor plan or Annuity Certain. See Plans of payment.

Before you retire

If a member dies before retiring, qualified survivors can get monthly benefits: dependent-based (by number of survivors), service-based (20+ years) or retirement-based (if the member could have retired). Members on June 30, 2013 need 1.50 years of qualifying credit with .25 year in the 30 months before death; new members from July 1, 2013 need 5.00 years and death within a year of last service. Survivors get the highest benefit they qualify for. Survivor Benefits, pp. 2-9; Plan Summary, pp. 6-11; Eligibility Requirements web page, Survivor Benefits

In a dependent-based benefit the spouse gets 25% of FAS and the rest is split equally among the other qualified survivors. With no spouse, it's split equally. Survivor Benefits, pp. 6-7

STRS Ohio's examples ($45,000 final average salary)

• Spouse and two children: 50%, $1,875.00 a month: $937.50 to the spouse, $468.75 to each child. Survivor Benefits, pp. 6-7, Sample Estimates #1-#3
• Spouse and one child: 40%, $1,500.00: $937.50 and $562.50. Spouse alone: $937.50. Survivor Benefits, pp. 6-7, Sample Estimates #1-#3
• 24 years of service, spouse and child: 45%, $1,687.50: $1,054.69 to the spouse, $632.81 to the child. Spouse alone: $1,687.50. Survivor Benefits, pp. 10-11, Sample Estimates #1-#2

Figured as if the member had retired and chosen Joint and Survivor Option 1 without reversion (the same amount to the survivor for life), with early reduction if the member wasn't eligible for an unreduced benefit. A PLOP is available. Survivor Benefits, pp. 12-15; Plan Summary, pp. 8-11; ORC 3307.66(C)(1)

Monthly survivor benefits, and a survivor's PLOP, are exempt from all state and local taxes in Ohio, including school district income tax; they're federally taxable. Survivor Benefits, pp. 14-17 More on this under taxes. The member's own benefit in these examples comes from the benefit table; to see yours, use the STRS Ohio calculator.

What the brochures say

• When a retiree dies, STRS Ohio pays a $1,000 death benefit to the beneficiary, not taxed. Retirees can buy another $1,000 or $2,000 through a monthly deduction: $1.28 per $1,000 at 60.Plans of Payment, pp. 20-23
• Monthly payments continue after a retiree's death only with a Joint and Survivor Annuity or Annuity Certain.Plans of Payment, pp. 10-15
• If a member dies before retiring, qualified survivors can get monthly benefits based on the number of survivors (25% of final average salary for one, up to 60% for five or more), on 20 or more years of service (29% to 60%), or, if the member could have retired, as a Joint and Survivor benefit.Survivor Benefits, pp. 4-13
• Members on June 30, 2013 need 1.50 years of qualifying credit for survivor benefits; newer members need 5.00 years and death within a year of last service.Survivor Benefits, pp. 2-3
• Example: a member with a $45,000 final average salary leaves a spouse and two children. Survivors get 50%: $1,875 a month, $937.50 to the spouse and $468.75 to each child.Survivor Benefits, pp. 6-7

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