Ohio Administrative Code

In cases where a member is required to elect a joint and survivor annuity at the time of retirement and designate a former spouse as a beneficiary) pursuant to a court order issued under section 3105.171 or 3105.65 of the Revised Code or the laws of another state regarding the di…

A member who remarries and desires to select a new spouse upon a remarriage may only do so if the member makes such selection within the statutory deadline and, in cases where the member has already selected beneficiaries under division (A)(4) of section 742.3711 of the Revised C…

In cases where a member designates a beneficiary upon the person's election to participate in DROP and the member is required to elect a joint and survivor annuity pursuant to a court order, the member shall have the right to designate a former spouse as an additional beneficiary…

(A) As used in this rule, "alternate payee" shall be as defined by section 3105.80 of the Revised Code.(B) Except as provided in paragraph (C) of this rule, effective August 1, 2017, an individual who receives an annuity, pension, allowance, monthly benefit, or monthly payment fr…

(A) All attorneys, agents and representatives of an OP&F member shall abide by the following standards of conduct while representing the member in any dealings with OP&F:(1) Provide competent representation to a member, which requires the knowledge, skill, thoroughness and prepar…

Capitalized terms used in rules 742-4-01 to 742-4-19 of the Administrative Code shall have the following meaning:(A) "Average Annual Salary" is defined in division (G) of section 742.01 of the Revised Code.(B) A "DROP Participant" shall mean an eligible member who files the elect…

As provided for in section 742.43 of the Revised Code, the date of the initial implementation of the deferred retirement option plan (DROP) shall be January 2, 2003. Last updated October 16, 2023 at 11:58 AM Authorized By: 742.10, 742.43 Amplifies: 742.43 Five Year Review Date: 6…

(A) Unless the member has properly rescinded his/her DROP election or the terms of paragraph (B) of this rule apply, the "Effective Date" of an eligible member's election to participate in DROP shall be the later of:(1) The first day of the employer's first payroll reporting peri…

(A) Capitalized terms used in this rule shall have the meaning assigned to them in rule 742-4-01 of the Administrative Code.(B) A DROP participant may rescind his/her election to participate in DROP only upon the occurrence of either of the following events:(1) OP&F receives a wr…

(A) Except for the purchase of service credit done through an irrevocable payroll deduction agreement, which shall be governed by the provisions of rule 742-4-14 of the Administrative Code, OP&F shall offer the member the right to purchase the service credit prior to his/her entr…

(A) For purposes of calculating the DROP benefit, OP&F shall determine the monthly pension amount that would have been payable to the DROP participant had the member elected to receive normal service retirement benefits under division (C)(1) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code,…

(A) For purposes of accruing a DROP participant's contributions in accordance with the provisions of division (B)(1)(a), (B)(1)(b), (B)(2)(a), or (B)(2)(b) of section 742.443 of the Revised Code, the term "thereafter" shall mean the end of the payroll reporting period reported to…

(A) For purposes of determining the effective date of a cost-of-living allowance ("COLA") set forth in section 742.3716 of the Revised Code for DROP participant, the following shall apply:(1) A member whose election to participate in DROP is effective on or before July 1, 2013 an…

(A) Effective the first business day of the second quarter of 2012, interest shall be calculated quarterly at an adjusted rate based on the "10-Year U.S. Treasury Note Business Day Series," as published by the board of governors of the federal reserve. In no event, however, shall…

(A) For purposes of determining the maximum eight-year period for DROP participation, this date will be based on three hundred sixty-five calendar days from the effective date, regardless of the periods during which contributions were paid on behalf of the member. For example, if…

(A) For purposes of section 742.444 of the Revised Code, "termination of a member's active service in a police or fire department" is presumed to occur if OP&F does not receive consecutive reports or payments of contributions from an employer on behalf of the DROP participant, re…

(A) "Family Medical Leave Act" shall mean the statutory provisions outlined in 29 U.S.C. 2601, as amended.(B) If a DROP participant elects to exercise his/her rights under the Family Medical Leave Act, such election shall not extend the time during which the DROP participant can …

(A) This rule shall apply to a member who is a DROP participant, called into active military service, and who is granted service credit for the time period during which the member was called into active military service while a DROP participant, pursuant to section 742.521 of the…

(A) For the purchase of service credit done through an irrevocable pre-tax payroll deduction agreement that provides for the purchase of service credit beyond the member's effective date and which was entered into before the DROP participant's effective date, the member shall not…

(A) If, as part of the DROP election, a DROP participant elected an optional plan of payment under section 742.3711 of the Revised Code to have the member's monthly pension calculated as a retirement allowance that continues or is paid to a surviving beneficiary, the DROP partici…

(A) A DROP participant who is eligible for distributions under division (B)(3) of section 742.444 of the Revised Code may select periodic payments under division (B)(3)(b) of section 742.444 of the Revised Code according to the following methods:(1) Partial distributions, which a…

For purposes of determining the "retirement allowance" under section 742.3714 of the Revised Code, this shall be the amount calculated by OP&F pursuant to section 742.442 of the Revised Code. Last updated October 16, 2023 at 12:04 PM Authorized By: 742.10, 742.43 Amplifies: 742.3…

Unless OP&F receives a written notice of distribution from a surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be, for any monies properly due such person under division (C) of section 742.446 of the Revised Code within thirty days of OP&F's notice to such person of the…

(A) For purposes of paying DROP benefits under division (B)(1) of section 742.446 of the Revised Code, the Ohio police and fire pension fund (OP&F) may require receipt of the following documents from the DROP participant's surviving spouse, designated beneficiary or estate, as th…

(A) Years of service and years of active service shall mean years of full-time service, including a full-time appointment to the position as a police officer or firefighter, for which retirement contributions are deducted from "salary," as such term is defined in section 742.01 o…

(A) The rate of compounded interest for the purchase of service credit under section 742.21 of the Revised Code or for the payment of back contributions shall be calculated separately for each year in accordance with the terms of division (H) of section 742.21 of the Revised Code…

(A) As used in this rule:(1) "Contributing service credit" means service credit earned by a member of the police and fire pension fund ("OP&F") as a result of OP&F receiving employee contributions on salary of that member, as required under section 742.31 of the Revised Code, for…

(A) The first full-time Ohio public service covered under any state or in a municipal retirement system of this state which is subject to purchase or transfer under section 742.21, 742.212, 742.51, 742.511, 742.512, 742.513, 742.514, or 742.515 of the Revised Code, subject to pur…

As used in sections 742.52 and 742.521 of the Revised Code, the phrase "honorably discharged" shall be construed to mean the favorable character of service status given by the department of defense or the national guard, as the case may be, for the member's service in the armed f…

(A) For purposes of sections 742.21 and 742.251 of the Revised Code, a "purchase" shall mean that the Ohio police and fire pension fund ("OP&F") member withdrew his/her contributions from the applicable retirement system or out-of-state or local government and a "transfer" shall …

(A) A member of Ohio police and fire pension fund ("OP&F") may purchase any type of service credit through payroll deduction that a member is eligible to purchase under any provisions of Chapter 742. of the Revised Code, including but not limited to, sections 742.21 (service cred…

(A) Upon a member's request to purchase service credit for any period during which the member was laid off, OP&F shall provide the member with certification forms to be completed by both the member and the member's employer where the period of lay-off occurred. The member shall c…

For purposes of division (G) of section 742.21 of the Revised Code and division (F) of section 742.212 of the Revised Code, the term "service rendered concurrently" shall mean service credit earned in another retirement system during the same time period in which the police and f…

The issue date of pension payments to police and fire retirees and their eligible survivors shall be the first business day of each month. Last updated July 28, 2025 at 8:22 AM Authorized By: 742.10 Amplifies: 742.352, 742.353 Five Year Review Date: 5/13/2030 Prior Effective Date…

(A) All records and files of the board and Ohio police & fire pension fund ("OP&F") shall be public information, including an employer's status of the payment of contributions generally due under sections 742.30, 742.31, 742.33, and 742.34 of the Revised Code, but shall not inclu…

Except as otherwise required by law, all benefits and division of property order payments shall be issued by Ohio police and fire pension fund ("OP&F") as follows:(A) For benefit recipients and alternate payees who receive payment by direct deposit, OP&F shall transfer the funds …

(A) The board will authorize payment of the benefits created by section 742.3714 of the Revised Code when the board determines that:(1) A deceased or former member was, on the date of death, eligible to retire and to receive an immediate pension under division (C)(1) or (C)(3) of…

(A) The benefits and contributions of any member shall be calculated on the basis of the member's salary as defined by divisions (G) and (L) of section 742.01 of the Revised Code and rule 742-3-02 of the Administrative Code.(B) A beneficiary's "anniversary date" shall be July fir…

(A) For purposes of division (B) of section 742.45 of the Revised Code, "satisfactory evidence of the payment for coverage" shall mean filing of the medicare part "B" reimbursement statement in the form approved by OP&F or the medicare billing statement, along with a copy of the …

(A) DefinitionsAs used in this rule and rule 742-7-12 of the Administrative Code:(1) "Age and service retiree" means a former member who is receiving a retirement allowance pursuant to division (C) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code.(2) "Claims administrator" means the third p…

(A) OP&F may offer an increase in the stipend amount to an eligible benefit recipient who meets the criteria established by OP&F's board of trustees for such an increase. If such an increase is offered, the eligible benefit recipient requesting the increase shall annually file a …

(A) For reporting and tax purposes, the Ohio police and fire pension fund ("OP&F") will recognize any payment of a member's contributions under section 742.32 of the Revised Code or amounts designated by the member's employer for the purchase of service credit by payroll deductio…

(A) For outstanding fines and penalties due under sections 742.352 and/or 742.353 of the Revised Code, OP&F shall offer a delinquent employer a payment plan if the employer meets the following criteria:(1) The employer has no past due employee contributions; and(2) The employer h…

(A) Except as provided in paragraph (E) of this rule, guardianship of the estate shall be required to do any of the following on behalf of a member or benefit recipient who has a legal disability, as defined in division (A) or (D) of section 2131.02 of the Revised Code:(1) Apply …

(A) Pursuant to the authority outlined in division (C) of section 742.352 of the Revised Code, the board of trustees hereby modifies the statutory penalties and interest in accordance with the following provisions.(B) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (D) of this rule, an em…

(A) Pursuant to division (C) of section 742.353 of the Revised Code, the penalties assessed under sections 742.351 and 742.38 of the Revised Code shall be as follows:(1) If a form, report, or statement is at least one but not more than fifteen days past due, one hundred dollars;(…

(A) In the event any of the following situations occur, which is documented by the employer to the satisfaction of OP&F and the other requirements of this rule are met, this rule shall govern how OP&F will administer the penalties provided for in section 742.352 of the Revised Co…