Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: A trooper in the Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System picks a payment plan when filing to retire or enter DROP. The single life annuity pays the most; a joint and survivor annuity or a life annuity certain pays less to leave money to a beneficiary. A member at least 52 with 20 years of total service may also take a partial lump sum of six to sixty times the monthly pension, though the statute caps it at one month’s pension for each month of service beyond 20 years. Withdrawing contributions after leaving pays no interest and forfeits a deferred pension, with 20% federal withholding unless the money is rolled over.
What this page covers and what it does not
This page works from the Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System (HPRS) Member Handbook, which closes with “Updated 11.2025”, and from Ohio Revised Code sections 5505.15 to 5505.19 and 5505.174, all read on October 8, 2026. Figures are the Handbook’s or the statute’s, or are labeled as computed examples from assumed inputs.
The Handbook says “membership in HPRS is limited to troopers with arrest authority and cadets in training at the Highway Patrol Training Academy”. It describes the system’s 1941 start “for troopers and communications personnel employed by the Highway Patrol”, but present membership only as the groups above, so communications personnel are not addressed here. Members hired on or after January 1, 2020 have a different retirement age, noted below.
When a pension can start and how to apply
The Handbook says “A member is eligible to start receiving a full pension at age 48 if the member has at least 25 years of service on or at age 52 with at least 20 years of service”. For members hired on or after January 1, 2020, “the minimum retirement age is 52 with 20 years of qualifying service”. For earlier hires, section 5505.16 says a member may retire if the member “has twenty-five years of service credit according to the rules adopted by the state highway patrol retirement board and has attained age forty-eight”. On timing, “applications should be submitted not less than two weeks prior to the effective date”, and “benefits become effective the day following the last day of service” (except deferred or disability retirement).
With 20 but fewer than 25 years, a member aged 48 to 51 may retire at a permanent discount; the Handbook calls it a “permanently reduced pension”. “Once a member elects to receive a reduced pension in accordance with the schedule provided and has received a payment, the member may not change his/her election”.
| Age at retirement | Reduced pension | Handbook chart value at 20 years (percent of final average salary) |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | 75% of normal service pension | 37.50 |
| 49 | 80% of normal service pension | 40.00 |
| 50 | 86% of normal service pension | 43.00 |
| 51 | 93% of normal service pension | 46.50 |
How the pension is calculated
The Handbook’s formula: “Your pension factor is computed by multiplying 2.5% times your first 20 years of service, plus 2.25% times the next 5 years, plus 2.0% times the years of service over 25 years, to a maximum of 34 years of service or 79.25%”. Final average salary is “the average of the five (5) highest salary years as a contributing member to HPRS”, and “It does not include payment for unused leave, overtime, double back, report back, standby, or bonus pay”. The Handbook’s own example is “FAS ($80,924.26) times the PF (66.51028%) = $53,822.96 for a Single Life Annuity”, a “Pension benefit of $4,485.25 gross per month”. Section 5505.17 also provides “the greater of one thousand fifty dollars or the sum of two and one-half per cent”; the Handbook formula does not mention that minimum.
A computed example from assumed figures, not an HPRS figure: 22 years of service and an assumed final average salary of $90,000. The pension factor is 20 years at 2.5% plus 2 years at 2.25%, a computed 54.50%, matching the Handbook’s 22-year chart line. That is a computed $49,050 a year, or $4,087.50 a month, as a single life annuity. Retiring at 50 under the reduced schedule, 86% of 54.50% is a computed 46.87%, again matching the chart, or a computed $3,515.25 a month.
The election: payment plans, and what cannot be undone
At filing, “you must select one of several plans of payment”.
| Plan | What the member receives | What a survivor receives |
|---|---|---|
| Single Life Annuity | The highest amount; paid for life | Ceases at the member’s death; the separate statutory spouse benefit below may still apply |
| Joint and Survivor Annuity | A lesser amount, set from the combined life expectancies of member and beneficiary | A percentage chosen by the member (the Handbook says any percentage over 10%) continues for the beneficiary’s life; up to four beneficiaries |
| Life Annuity Certain and Continuous | Paid for life or a guaranteed period of 5 to 20 years, whichever is greater | If the member dies inside the period, the same amount continues to the beneficiary for the rest of it; nothing after |
| Partial lump sum with Single Life Annuity | A one-time payment of six to sixty times the monthly pension (by statute no more than one month’s pension per month of service beyond 20 years), plus a reduced annuity | No continuation under the plan |
“The higher the percentage selected the greater the reduction in pension and the greater the allowance to the beneficiary”. The Handbook publishes no reduction percentages. Section 5505.162 uses its own labels, Options 1 through 4, and requires that “the amount is certified by the actuary employed by the system to be the actuarial equivalent of the member’s pension”; the Handbook does not say which option matches each plan name.
Changes are limited. A Joint and Survivor Annuity: “If you had selected a Joint and Survivor Annuity, you may cancel within one year of receiving your first payment and convert to the Single Life Annuity plan with the written consent of your beneficiary”. The Life Annuity Certain and Continuous is stricter: “If you select the Life Annuity Certain and Continuous plan, you cannot convert to any other plan, even if the beneficiary dies”. If a Single Life Annuity retiree marries, “a selection of a Joint and Survivor Annuity must be made within one year of the marriage”. The documents read do not say whether a spouse must consent to a single life choice; see spousal consent to waive a joint-and-survivor annuity.
A computed example from an assumed $3,000 reduced monthly pension, not an HPRS figure: a 50% continuation to a beneficiary is 50% of $3,000, a computed $1,500 a month. The $3,000 is invented because the reduction is not published. See single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension.
Partial lump sum and DROP
“A member who is at least 52 with 20 years of total service may elect to receive a partial lump sum payment upon retirement”. “The partial lump sum can be any amount between six (6) and sixty (60) times the calculated pension”, and “The single life annuity will be reduced by the partial lump sum”. The statute adds a ceiling: “may designate an amount that does not exceed an amount equal to one month’s pension for each month of service beyond twenty years”. A computed example from an assumed $4,000 monthly pension, not an HPRS figure: six times is a computed $24,000, sixty times is $240,000, but with an assumed 22 years the statute’s ceiling is a computed 24 months, or $96,000. How the pension is reduced, and whether the sum can be rolled over, is not stated; see pension lump sum versus monthly annuity break-even.
DROP is a one-time election at unreduced eligibility. “The DROP program was established in 2006”. “100% of members’ contributions, up to 10% of payroll, are deposited to their DROP account”, and “100% of the member’s computed benefit” goes to the account. The account earns interest on a formula with “a minimum of 2% and a maximum of 5%”. The minimum stay is three years for those entering before age 52 and two years from 52, and “After a maximum of eight (8) years in the DROP program or attaining age 60, the member who entered the DROP program must retire”. Leaving early costs interest: a member who discontinues before the minimum period “will not receive any interest accumulated in the DROP account”. A computed example from an assumed $4,000 monthly pension: 36 months credits a computed $144,000 over three years, before interest and contributions. The statute sections read do not address DROP.
Leaving before retirement: defer, or take a refund
A member with 15 to 19 years who leaves is “eligible to receive a pension equal to 1.5% of final average salary multiplied by the number of years of service”. “Such a pension commences after turning 55 years of age”, and “Contributions must remain with HPRS”. A computed example from assumed figures: 17 years at 1.5% is a computed 25.5% of an assumed $90,000, a computed $22,950 a year.
The refund route: “a member may withdraw his/her accumulated employee contributions”. “There is no interest paid on employee contributions, and the employer contributions are not refundable”, and “There are no provisions in the law that allow for partial refunds or loans from a member’s account”. It takes “The withdrawal or rollover process requires up to 90 days from the receipt of the application in the HPRS office”. The price is stated twice: “If a member withdraws any part of his/her contributions, all rights to a deferred pension are forfeited”, and the statute says a withdrawer “shall thereupon forfeit all rights to a pension provided for in this division”. Service credit goes too: “A member forfeits his/her credit after ceasing employment with OSHP”. After a refund, “full credit for prior service will be granted upon re-employment and repayment of the contributions plus interest”. Compare pension refund versus leaving it.
The statute adds that a married member who would be pension-eligible but for a forfeiture under section 2929.192 must file “a written statement by the member’s spouse attesting that the spouse consents to the payment of the member’s accumulated contributions”; the documents read state no spousal consent rule for other refunds. The Handbook also lets contributions move instead: “HPRS can make a direct transfer of accumulated contributions to OPERS, STRS, SERS and OP&F”, but “OPERS will not accept transfers until the member is within 90 days of retirement”. See Ohio Police and Fire, Ohio SERS and STRS Ohio.
What is withheld from a refund
On tax, “The IRS requires 20% of the contributions to be withheld in the year the refund is received”, although “If the contributions are $200.00 or less, no taxes will be withheld”. “Within 60 days of receiving the refund of contributions, the former member may choose to rollover up to 100% of these non-taxed contributions to an IRA or another employer plan that accepts rollovers”, but “he/she must provide the 20% previously withheld by HPRS for tax purposes”. A direct rollover differs: “HPRS will only rollover the taxable contributions to an IRA or other employer plan that accepts the rollover”. The Handbook uses the word non-taxed in the 60-day paragraph and the word taxable in the direct rollover paragraph, so HPRS should confirm what a given account can roll over. “the member may be required to pay an extra 10% of the taxable portion of the refund”, and “HPRS does not withhold any portion of your refund for state tax purposes”.
A computed example from an assumed $10,000 taxable refund, not an HPRS figure: 20% is a computed $2,000 withheld, leaving a computed $8,000 in cash. See 20% withholding on a pension lump sum.
Buying service credit
“The cost to purchase service credit for which members are eligible must be paid to the system prior to retirement or enrollment in DROP”. “The interest rate, compounded annually, is equal to the assumed actuarial rate of return”. For prior service in another Ohio system, “the member would need to pay HPRS an amount equal to the refund plus interest”. If extra credit does not raise the pension, “Any service purchased is refunded to the member upon retirement if such additional credit does not increase the computed pension amount”.
A computed example from assumed figures: one more year at 22 years adds 2.25% of an assumed $90,000 a year; an assumed $15,000 cost would take a computed 88.9 months to recover. HPRS prices each purchase; see the pension buyback calculator.
Survivor benefits and cost-of-living increases
“Surviving spouse and dependent children pension amounts are established by statute”. For a member who retired or entered DROP before May 11, 2018, the spouse “will receive an amount equal to 50% of the retiree’s pension benefit or $900.00/month, whichever is greater”. After that date the spouse “will receive a set amount ($900.00/month in 2018), but this amount increases annually by a COLA amount set by the board”, and “The survivor benefit is in addition to any amount selected through a Joint and Survivor Annuity (JSA)”. For an active member eligible to retire, the spouse “will receive a 50% JSA calculated on what the member’s pension would have been had he/she retired the day after death”. The statute adds the condition that the spouse be married to the member while in active service. “if that member marries or remarries after he/she retires, there is no established surviving spouse benefit” (the retiree can still choose a joint and survivor annuity). Children: “Benefits are $150 per month”. See survivor benefit with a government pension.
Cost-of-living increases: “The board establishes an annual COLA between 0% and 3%”, and “providing the board approves one for that year”. Age and service retirants with at least 20 years are “eligible to receive a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) the month following their sixtieth (60th) birthday or twelve months after they retire, whichever is later”. For other retirants the statute says “the board may increase the pension”; for those 65 or older whose pension is not greater than 185% of the federal poverty level for a family of two, “a three percent (3%) COLA will be applied”. State tax: see Ohio retirement taxes and does Ohio tax pensions.
What the IRS adds on tax
A refund or lump sum from a public pension is a distribution, so the IRS rules apply on top of HPRS’s own. On withholding, the IRS says that a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you “is subject to mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%), even if you intend to roll it over later”, and that if you roll it over yourself “you’ll have to add funds from other sources equal to the amount withheld”. The Handbook describes the same 20% federal withholding and 60-day rollover window for its refunds. The rollover clock, if the money is paid to you: “you have 60 days from the date you receive it to roll it over to another eligible retirement plan”.
On early distributions the IRS says “the law imposes a 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from certain retirement plans”. Its list of exceptions includes “Distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55” and “Distributions made to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan”. Whether an exception fits a particular refund depends on your own plan and facts, so confirm it with a tax preparer before you take one.
Where the Handbook and the statute differ
On age 60, the Handbook says “All members who have at least 20 years of contributing HPRS service must retire no later than such member’s 60th birthday”, while section 5505.16 says “The member may, upon written application approved by the superintendent of the state highway patrol, be continued in service after attaining the age of sixty years”. The Handbook gives a flat six-to-sixty range for the partial lump sum; the statute adds a ceiling tied to service beyond twenty years. The statute has a minimum pension that the Handbook formula omits. The Handbook says “You can designate any percentage over 10% you want to go to your beneficiary”, while Option 4 says “no portion allocated under this plan of payment shall be less than ten per cent”. HPRS should confirm which reading it applies.
What this page could not settle
- The documents read do not state the percentage by which a joint and survivor plan, a life annuity certain or a partial lump sum reduces the monthly pension.
- The documents read do not say whether a spouse’s consent is needed for a single life choice, or which statutory option matches each Handbook plan name.
- The documents read do not say whether a partial lump sum can be rolled over or how it is taxed.
- The statute sections read do not address DROP, and the administrative rules were not read.
- The documents read give the spouse benefit as $900.00 a month in 2018, not a current amount, and no current cost-of-living decision.
- The refund application, the plan-of-payment forms, disability, retiree health care and re-employment rules were not worked through.
Common mistakes
- Treating a payment plan as changeable; the Life Annuity Certain and Continuous cannot be converted.
- Withdrawing contributions and expecting to keep a deferred pension; a withdrawal forfeits it.
- Expecting interest or the full amount on a refund; none is paid, and 20% is withheld unless rolled over directly.
Related on this site: Ohio retirement taxes, does Ohio tax pensions, pension refund versus leaving it, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, spousal consent to waive a joint-and-survivor annuity, pension buyback calculator, 20% withholding on a pension lump sum, pension lump sum versus monthly annuity break-even, survivor benefit with a government pension, Ohio Police and Fire retirement decisions, Ohio SERS retirement decisions, STRS Ohio retirement decisions and public pension retirement decisions by system.
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Answer againSources
- Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System (HPRS), Highway Patrol Retirement System Member Handbook (updated 11.2025 as printed): https://www.ohprs.org/ohprs/downloads/miscDocs/Member%20Handbook%202018.pdf
- Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Revised Code Section 5505.15, Employer contribution (effective March 23, 2015): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5505.15
- Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Revised Code Section 5505.16, Application for retirement (effective March 20, 2025): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5505.16
- Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Revised Code Section 5505.162, Election of type of pension (effective September 29, 2017): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5505.162
- Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Revised Code Section 5505.18, Disability retirement (effective May 11, 2018): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5505.18
- Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Revised Code Section 5505.17, Pension and benefits upon retirement (effective May 11, 2018): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5505.17
- Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Revised Code Section 5505.19, Cessation of membership, disposition of accumulations (effective September 29, 2017): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5505.19
- Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Revised Code Section 5505.174, Eligibility for cost-of-living increase (effective May 11, 2018): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5505.174
- IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
- IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information from each system’s own published materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own member statement and the system’s current rules decide your benefit, and a pension counsellor at the system or a fee-only adviser is the right place to confirm anything consequential.