ERIP OPERS Appointments
President McDavis recently announced that the Board of Trustees will discuss a voluntary one-year OPERS Early Retirement Incentive Plan (ERIP) in March. (Read President McDavis' 2.7.06 email regarding the ERIP.)

An ERIP, also known as a buyout, would allow the University to purchase additional service credit to enable eligible employees to retire early or to retire with a larger retirement benefit than they may have otherwise.

An employee is considered eligible for the ERIP if:

• they are currently eligible to retire 
• •  5 years of service at age 60,
  • 25 years of service at age 55,
  • or 30 years of service at any age
    
    
•  they become eligible to retire due to the one-year incentive plan 
• •  5 years of service at age 60
    (Note: Ohio Revised Code does not permit employers to purchase more than 20% of an employee's state service credit; therefore a person must have 5 years to receive the full one year buyout; those with less than 5 years should contact OPERS to verify eligibility) 
  • 24 years of service at age 55,
  • or 29 years of service at any age
    
    
• they meet any of the above criteria during the plan (Note: the plan must be available for at least 12 months). 
  
  
• they become eligible due to purchasing service credit (exempt, refunded, military, etc.)

An ERIP must be approved by the Board of Trustees and presented to Ohio's Public Employee's Retirement System (OPERS) prior to implementation. More details regarding the parameters of the plan will be posted as they become available.

Appointments
In anticipation of a possible one year ERIP, OPERS will visit the Athens campus to meet with potentially eligible employees. Representatives from OPERS will be available for appointments on March 21, 22 and 23. These appointments will be for planning purposes only; representatives will meet with individuals and discuss specific questions regarding accounts such as service credit, purchasing time etc. Retirement benefit estimates will also be provided. For appointments call (740) 593-1636 by February 21, 2006.

In addition, OPERS will present “Service Retirement and ERIP’s” from 12pm-1:30pm in room 141 of the Human Resource and Training Center on March 22, 2006. This presentation is open to all employees, registration is not required.