Ohio § 5505.17

§ 5505.17.

(A)(1) Upon retirement as provided in section 5505.16 of the Revised Code , a state highway patrol retirement system retirant shall receive a life pension,

without guaranty or refund, equal to the greater of one thousand fifty dollars or

the sum of two and one-half per cent of the retirant's final average salary multiplied

by the first twenty years of total service credit, plus two and one-quarter per cent

of the retirant's final average salary multiplied by the number of years, and fraction

of a year, of total service credit in excess of twenty years but not in excess of

twenty-five years, plus two per cent of the retirant's final average salary multiplied

by the number of years, and fraction of a year, in excess of twenty-five years;  provided

that in no case shall the pension exceed the lesser of seventy-nine and one-quarter

per cent of the retirant's final average salary or the limit established by section

415 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415 , as amended. (2) A member with fifteen or more years of total service credit, who voluntarily resigns

or who is discharged from the state highway patrol for any reason except retirement

under this chapter, death, dishonesty, cowardice, intemperate habits, or conviction

of a felony, shall receive a pension equal to one and one-half per cent of the member's

final average salary multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of

total service credit, except that the pension shall not exceed the limit established

by section 415 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415 , as amended.  The pension shall commence at the end of the calendar month in which the application

is filed with the retirement board on or after the attainment of age fifty-five years

by the applicant.  A member or former member who withdraws any part or all of the accumulated contributions

from the employees' savings fund shall thereupon forfeit all rights to a pension provided

for in this division. (3)(a) A surviving spouse of a deceased member who died before the effective date of this

amendment shall receive a monthly pension, determined as follows, during the spouse's

life: (i) If at the time of death the member was not eligible to be granted a pension payable

under division (A)(1) of this section or to elect to receive a reduced pension payable

under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code , nine hundred dollars; (ii) If at the time of death the member was eligible to be granted a pension payable under

division (A)(1) of this section or to elect to receive a reduced pension payable under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code , the greater of nine hundred dollars or fifty per cent of the computed monthly pension

the member would have received had the member been granted a pension under division

(A)(1) of this section or elected to receive a reduced pension under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code . (b) The surviving spouse of a retirant who retired before the effective date of this

amendment shall receive a monthly pension, determined as follows, during the spouse's

life: (i) If the retirant had been granted retirement under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code , but at the time of death had not attained the age of eligibility for a pension,

nine hundred dollars; (ii) If the retirant had been granted retirement under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code and had attained the age of eligibility for a pension, but at the time of death had

not elected to begin receiving the pension, the greater of nine hundred dollars or

fifty per cent of the computed monthly pension the retirant was eligible to receive

under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code ; (iii) If the retirant had been granted retirement and was receiving a pension under division

(A)(1) of this section or section 5505.16 or 5505.18 of the Revised Code , or, regardless of whether or not the retirant had actually received any payment,

was eligible to receive a pension under division (A)(1) of this section or section 5505.16 or 5505.18 of the Revised Code and had elected to begin receiving it, the greater of nine hundred dollars or fifty

per cent of the computed monthly pension awarded the retirant. (c) The surviving spouse of a deceased member who dies on or after the effective date

of this amendment or a retirant who retires on or after the effective date of this

amendment shall receive a monthly pension during the spouse's life if the spouse was

married to the member or retirant while the member or retirant was in the active service

of the state highway patrol.  The pension shall be determined as follows: (i) During the period beginning on the effective date of this amendment and ending December

31, 2018, nine hundred dollars; (ii) During the period beginning January 1, 2019, and continuing the following twelve

months, and the period beginning the first day of January of each year thereafter

and continuing the following twelve months, an amount equal to the monthly amount

payable during the prior twelve-month period plus an amount determined by multiplying

nine hundred dollars by the amount the board determines annually under division (B)(1)(b) of section 5505.174 of the Revised Code . (d) In addition to the pension determined under division (A)(3)(c) of this section, the

surviving spouse of a deceased member who dies on or after the effective date of this

amendment shall receive a monthly pension during the spouse's life if the spouse was

married to the member while the member was in the active service of the state highway

patrol and, at the time of death, the member was eligible to be granted a pension

payable under division (A)(1) of this section or to elect to receive a reduced pension

payable under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code .  The pension shall be an amount equal to the amount the surviving spouse would have

been entitled to receive had the member retired effective the day following the date

of death having selected an option 2 plan under division (A)(2)(b) of section 5505.162 of the Revised Code providing for one-half of the member's lesser pension to be paid to the surviving

spouse. (e) If a monthly pension to a surviving spouse was terminated due to a remarriage, the

surviving spouse is eligible to receive a monthly pension under division (A)(3) of

this section effective the first day of the first month following June 5, 1996.  The pension shall be computed under division (A)(3) of this section as of June 5,

1996.  The pension payable to a person who is the surviving spouse of more than one state

highway patrol retirement system member or retirant shall be computed on the basis

of the service of the member or retirant to whom the surviving spouse was most recently

married. (4) A pension of one hundred fifty dollars per month shall be paid by the system to or

for the benefit of each child of a deceased member or retirant until the child attains

the age of eighteen years or marries, whichever event occurs first, or until the child

attains twenty-three years of age if the child is a student in and attending an institution

of learning or training pursuant to a program designed to complete in each school

year the equivalent of at least two-thirds of the full-time curriculum requirements

of the institution, as determined by the retirement board.  If any surviving child, regardless of age at the time of the member's or retirant's

death, because of physical or mental disability, was totally dependent upon the deceased

member or retirant for support at the time of death, a pension of one hundred fifty

dollars per month shall be paid by the system to or for the benefit of the child during

the child's natural life or until the child recovers from the disability. (5)(a) If a retirant died prior to June 6, 1988, and the surviving spouse was not married

to the retirant while the retirant was in the active service of the patrol, the surviving

spouse shall receive a pension of the greater of four hundred twenty-five dollars

per month or fifty per cent of the computed monthly pension the retirant was receiving. (b) If the pension payable to a person receiving a pension under division (A)(5)(a) of

this section on June 30, 2000, is less than nine hundred dollars per month, the pension

shall be increased to nine hundred dollars per month. (6) If a deceased member or retirant leaves no spouse or surviving children, but leaves

two parents depending solely upon the deceased member or retirant for support, each

parent shall be paid a monthly pension of one hundred fifty-four dollars.  If in such case there is only one parent dependent solely upon the deceased member

or retirant for support, such parent shall be paid a monthly pension of one hundred

fifty-four dollars.  Such pension shall be paid during the life of the surviving parents, or until dependency

ceases, or until remarriage, whichever event occurs first. (7) Any amount remaining as accumulated contributions at the time of death of a retirant

who leaves no surviving spouse or dependent children or parents shall be paid to the

beneficiary or beneficiaries the retirant has nominated by written designation duly

executed and filed with the board.  A retirant may designate an individual or a trust as a beneficiary.  If there is no designated beneficiary surviving the retirant, the retirant's accumulated

contributions shall be paid according to the state law of descent and distribution;

 provided that, if the retirant's accumulated contributions are not claimed by an

eligible person or by the estate of the retirant within seven years, they shall be

transferred to the income fund of the system and after that shall be paid from that

fund to such person or estate upon application to the board. (8) The increase provided for by division (A)(5) of this section shall be included in

the calculation of the additional benefit paid under section 5505.174 of the Revised Code . (B) The board shall adopt, and may amend or rescind, the necessary rules for the administration

of this section and all decisions of the board shall be final.  Any payment of a pension or benefit under this section is subject to the provisions

of section 5505.26 of the Revised Code . (C) A member's total service credit may include periods during which the member's employment

with the state highway patrol is interrupted by a leave of absence, when requested

by the governor, to accept employment with another agency of the state, provided that: (1) The member is reemployed by the state highway patrol within thirty days following

termination of such other employment; (2) The member pays into the retirement system, to the credit of the employees' savings

fund, an amount equal to the total contributions the member would have paid had the

state highway patrol employment not been so interrupted.  Such repayment shall begin within ninety days after the member's return to duty

with the state highway patrol and be completed within a period equal to that of the

leave of absence. (D) Service credits granted under division (C) of this section shall not include any

duplications of credits for which a pension is payable by the public employees retirement

system.