- 6 - eligibility requirements. He applied for disability retirement benefits from STRS in February 1977, and his application was approved that same year. The STRS Employer’s Manual sets forth the required contribution rates for STRS members and their employers. These contribution rates show the percentage of each member’s compensation contributed to STRS by the member and by the employer. STRS also published a brochure entitled “Disability Retirement” describing the program, including sections on eligibility requirements and taxes. Notably, the STRS publications do not indicate any specific portion of an employee’s contribution which funds the disability benefit. Neither the extent nor severity of the disability affects the computation of the amount of disability benefits. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. section 3309.40 (Anderson 2002) directs calculation of the benefit based on the sum of the following: (1) The number of Ohio service credits actually earned by the member, and (2) the difference between the member’s age upon disability retirement and age 60.3 The resulting sum is then multiplied by the “final average salary”, which is the average of the 3 highest years of earnings, and a specified factor. Therefore, the amount that a 3 The total disability retirement benefit cannot be less than 30 percent nor more than 75 percent of the member’s final average salary. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. sec. 3309.40 (Anderson 2002).Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011