ABOUT OPERS
Overview
OPERS was established in 1935 to make available a secure means to provide retirement for Ohio public employees. The system was originally named the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and added “Ohio” in 2003 to become OPERS. OPERS is older than Social Security.
With a defined benefit and health care investment assets of $90.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2016, OPERS is the largest state pension fund in Ohio, and the 12th-largest public retirement system and 16th-largest retirement system in the U.S.
One out of every 12 Ohioans relies on OPERS for retirement, disability and survivor benefits. In more than 80 years, OPERS has always made its benefit payments.
Membership
OPERS serves more than 1 million members:
• 346,959 are active members, currently working in public employment and contributing to their retirement
• 535,941 are inactive members who maintain retirement accounts from past public employment
• 208,361 are retirees and beneficiaries receiving monthly pension and/or health care coverage
• Nearly 3,680 public employers in Ohio are part of the OPERS system.