I only signed up to be a substitute. I have 30 years in the private sector. STRS decided to give me a retirement account as a sub and if I build up 5 service credits in 10 years I'm vested -- which means my Social security will take a hit because of the Windfall Act. No thanks. I resigned before I accumulated 5 service credits. I worked one day for a paraprofessional and guess what? Ohio opened up ANOTHER retirement account for me Its called SERS retirement of Ohio. These retirements are forced on me. Why does OHIO do this and who is SERS?? They have no business opening another retirement acct without my consent.
They do because it's a mandatory participation/mandatory contribution thing. You can't opt out, not as far as I know. SERS is for school employees who aren't contract teachers. If you wanted, you could opt to combine SERS and STRS, but that doesn't sound like something you want to do. They should've talked to you first and given you the option to combine from the start. Or, they should've asked if you had a STRS account. I'm in a slightly different boat- STRS and OPERS. I have no clue what your financials are, of course, but it might be worth it for the insurance benefits. My auntie retired from OPERS after starting at OSU, then spending the bulk of her career in the private sector. The windfall deduction hurt (especially since they miscalculated it and she never has been able to get it fixed), but her medical insurance stipend has been great.
