Ohio Police and Fire Pension Options: Payments, DROP and Refund

Updated October 2, 2026. Quick answer: The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) treats a married member’s election as a 50 percent joint and survivor annuity unless the spouse consents in writing to something else. A plan can be changed any number of times until the first adjusting pension payment is negotiated, then in the first year of retirement from joint and survivor to single life, and afterwards only in limited circumstances. A plan picked on the DROP form cannot be changed at retirement. DROP needs five years of work and retirement within eight years. A refund of contributions cancels service credit and forfeits benefit rights.

More on public pension systems, topic by topic: Ohio Police and Fire DROP.

Ohio state troopers belong to a separate state system with its own rules: Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System decisions.

Cincinnati city employees belong to a separate city system with its own rules: Cincinnati Retirement System decisions.

The decisions that matter, in the order they come up

The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) covers full-time police officers and firefighters in Ohio. The pages read describe four choices with a dollar consequence: the annuity payment plan, whether to enter the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), whether to take a refund of contributions on leaving, and whether to buy, restore or transfer service credit. OP&F adds a caution about its own summaries: “As a result, your rights can only be determined by the provisions of OP&F’s governing documents, which are subject to change.” Every figure here comes from OP&F guides and web pages read on October 2, 2026.

The four annuity payment plans

At retirement a member chooses a plan. “When applying for service retirement, you may opt to receive a reduced monthly allowance so that your designated beneficiary may be eligible to receive a monthly cash allowance upon your death for his or her lifetime.” The plans on offer: “The annuity payment plans offered by OP&F are: Single Life Annuity; Joint and Survivor Annuity; Life Certain and Continuous Annuity; and Multiple Beneficiary Annuity.” “The cost of an annuity payment plan is completely paid by you and equals the lifetime reduction in your monthly allowance.” For a general comparison of the basic shapes, see single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension.

Single Life Annuity: “Under this plan, you receive the maximum monthly pension or benefit you are entitled to receive and upon your death, none of your pension or benefit is continued to any beneficiary.” Joint and Survivor Annuity (JSA): “You can select any percentage between one and 100 percent.” “Under this plan, the greater the continuation percentage selected, the greater the reduction in the benefit and the greater the allowance is that OP&F pays to the beneficiary.”

Life Annuity Certain and Continuous: “The Life Annuity Certain and Continuous annuity plan provides a lifetime allowance to you and will only be paid to a designated beneficiary if you die and the period elected by you has not expired.” Multiple Beneficiary Annuity: “Under the Multiple Beneficiary Annuity plan, you may designate up to four beneficiaries at the time of your retirement so that, upon your death, a certain percentage of your reduced monthly allowance will be continued to your surviving beneficiaries for their lives.”

What each plan costs, using OP&F’s own example

The annuity guide works one example for a member age 52 with a spouse age 47, with an unreduced Single Life pension of $2,400 per month. OP&F labels its charts as examples only and says a member’s reduction could vary.

The 25 and 75 percent rows come from the guide’s chart. In each of those rows the reduction equals $2,400 minus the member’s allowance, and the beneficiary’s allowance equals the stated percentage of the member’s allowance, so the columns line up; the 50 and 100 percent rows match the guide’s worded examples. A recomputation from OP&F’s own figures: the 100 percent JSA gives up $349.92 of $2,400, a computed 14.58 percent, and the 50 percent JSA gives up $188.72, a computed 7.86 percent.

A computed example from an assumed $2,000 reduced monthly allowance, not an OP&F figure: a 50 percent JSA continues 2,000 multiplied by 50 and divided by 100, which is a computed $1,000 a month to the survivor. The $2,000 is an assumed input. Because the reduction depends on both ages, the table cannot be applied to another couple; OP&F’s staff can provide estimates for a member’s own ages.

Spousal consent and the 50 percent default

“If you are married at the time you elect OP&F retirement benefits, the standard annuity plan is a 50 percent JSA plan, which continues 50 percent of your reduced monthly retirement allowance to your surviving spouse for life.” On Single Life: “If you are married at the time you elect a Single Life Annuity, your spouse must consent in writing to this election.” Where a court order requires a former spouse to be named, the guide says OP&F will administer benefits under the order.

What is irrevocable, and when it locks

The election is not final on the day it is made. “While you are receiving interim payments and until your adjusting or subsequent pension payment is cashed, deposited, or otherwise negotiated, you may change your payment plan selection any number of times.” “However, once your final exact pension calculation or subsequent checks are negotiated, as described above, a payment plan may only be cancelled and a new one selected under the limited conditions described in the next section.”

The first year of retirement carries one escape: “During your first year of retirement, you may cancel a Joint and Survivor Annuity plan and select in its place a Single Life Annuity plan, but if you are married, you cannot cancel without your spouse’s consent.” After that: “After the first anniversary of your retirement, a plan can be changed only under the circumstances described in the next section.” On the Life Annuity Certain and Continuous plan: “However, you may be eligible to cancel the payment plan within the first year of retirement.” On divorce: “Your spouse’s designation as beneficiary under this plan of payment can be cancelled upon a divorce or dissolution of marriage, but only if he or she consents in writing or the court issues an order that specifically cancels the JSA plan of payment.”

DROP: working while the pension accumulates

“The Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) is an optional benefit that allows eligible police officers and firefighters to accumulate a lump sum of money for retirement.” “When you are eligible for a normal service retirement, you can enter DROP by delaying retirement and continuing to work as a full-time police officer or firefighter.” “Enrolling in DROP is a voluntary decision that members should make after careful consideration of their own individual situation.”

What is given up: “Upon the DROP effective date, your pension will be calculated as if that were your date of retirement.” “Since your pension has already been calculated, service credit is not earned while participating in DROP.” “You must work at least five years in an OP&F-covered position and terminate employment and retire within eight years of your effective date to receive the benefit of DROP.” “If you work more than eight years from your DROP effective date, you forfeit all of your DROP accruals, but will receive normal retirement benefits upon retirement and will receive service credit for the DROP participation period.”

DROP interest, the lump sum and the annuity election

“As of April 2, 2012, the rate will be equal to the 10-year U.S. Treasury Note Business Day Series, as published by the United States Federal Reserve, with a cap of 5.0 percent.” OP&F’s DROP page showed “Current DROP interest rate: 4.44%” for July 1 to September 30, 2026. A computed example from an assumed $4,000 monthly benefit, not an OP&F figure: if the benefit credited to DROP were $4,000 a month for the minimum five years, the credits alone would be 4,000 multiplied by 60 months, which is a computed $240,000 before any interest. The $4,000 is an assumed input.

Taking the money out: “You can begin to withdraw funds from your DROP accrual in a lump-sum payment or installments, as long as you have completed the required minimum participation period.”

The annuity plan can be picked on the DROP form, and that choice locks: “If you make an annuity plan selection on your DROP election form, you cannot change it upon your retirement, unless a court order requires you to designate a former spouse as a beneficiary.” “If you do not select an annuity plan on your DROP election form, this will be done at the time of your retirement.” For a married member who picks a JSA: “If you are married on your DROP effective date and select a JSA, the selection must be at least a 50 percent JSA payable to your spouse, unless your spouse files a written consent stating otherwise or there is a court order requiring the designation of your former spouse as a beneficiary.” The DROP election form is therefore the first moment the annuity decision can become irrevocable.

“If a member is enrolled in DROP, he or she cannot terminate employment if applying for disability; if a termination of active employment does occur, DROP benefits vest and the member must be paid a service pension.”

Refund of contributions versus leaving them

“By law, you can only withdraw your contributions from OP&F if you terminate active service from a police or fire department and are not receiving a pension or disability benefit from OP&F.” “The refund will be the exact amount of the total employee contributions, less any tax withholding or court-ordered withholdings, if applicable.” “A refund of accumulated employee contributions terminates your membership with OP&F, cancels your service credit with OP&F, and any rights that you and your dependents may have to any benefits from OP&F are forfeited.” For the general trade-off, see pension refund versus leaving it.

“In addition, if you withdraw your contributions, taxes must be withheld at that time.” “Please seek professional tax advice concerning the taxation of your contributions and pension benefits.”

A refund is not necessarily permanent. “If you voluntarily resigned, were laid off or were removed from active service in a police or fire department, and you withdrew your contributions from OP&F, you may restore your cancelled service credit upon reinstatement.” “Although restoration of service credit is not mandatory, you will not receive credit for the refunded service unless restoration is made.”

Buying, restoring and transferring service credit

For a transfer from another Ohio system: “If you joined OP&F after Sept. 16, 1998, and transferred service credit, you can pay the difference between the employee and employer contribution rates of OP&F and the other retirement system, plus interest, if you wish to receive the full credit.”

Federal and out-of-state service has its own gate: “In order to request a cost to purchase full-time federal or public out-of-state service, you must be within 90 days of retirement.” “This type of service credit can be expensive since you must pay the present value of the predicted increase in benefits.” On timing, OP&F advises: “If you are eligible to purchase additional service credit, you should request a statement of cost for purchasing the credit at least 90 days before terminating employment to avoid unnecessary delays in receiving your pension.”

When the pension starts, how it is figured and the COLA

Eligibility depends on the hire date. “For persons whose OP&F membership began on or before July 1, 2013, normal service retirement eligibility is age 48 with at least 25 years of service.” “For persons whose OP&F membership began after July 1, 2013, normal service retirement is age 52 with at least 25 years of service.” The size of the pension: “When eligible for a normal service retirement, the pension benefit is equal to 60 percent of your average annual salary.” “The percentage increases each year after 25 years to a maximum pension of 72 percent of your average annual salary after 33 years of service credit.” The formula is written in bands: “(2.5% x 1 through 20 years) + (2.0% x 21 through 25 years) + (1.5% x 26 through 33 years) x Average Annual Salary”.

A computed example from an assumed $90,000 average annual salary and 30 years of service, not an OP&F figure: the bands give 2.5 percent for each of 20 years, 2.0 percent for each of 5 more, and 1.5 percent for the last 5, a total of a computed 67.5 percent. Applied to the salary that is 90,000 multiplied by 67.5 and divided by 100, which is a computed $60,750 a year, or a computed $5,062.50 a month before any annuity plan reduction. The $90,000 and the 30 years are assumed inputs, and OP&F’s chart for 30 years shows 67.50 percent, which matches.

The cost of living allowance follows hire date and years of service. “Members are eligible for a COLA once they have received pension benefits for at least one year and have reached age 55.” “OP&F members who have 15 or more years of service credit as of July 1, 2013 and who are not receiving a benefit from OP&F, and members who are receiving a pension that became effective before July 1, 2013, will receive a COLA equal to three percent of the member’s base pension benefit.” Taxes on the pension itself are covered on 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 OP&F’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 OP&F pages read say a DROP payout may be subject to taxation and that taxes must be withheld from a refund, and the IRS rollover rules apply to any portion that is paid out. 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.

What this page could not settle

• The pages read do not state a vesting period for a deferred pension, so vesting outside DROP is unconfirmed.
• The pages read do not state whether a DROP lump sum or installment can be rolled over to an IRA or another plan, only that it may be subject to taxation. Confirm any rollover with OP&F and a tax preparer before taking a payment.
• The pages read do not state the interest paid on a refund of contributions beyond the handbook’s description of the refund amount.
• The pages read do not state the conditions for switching from Single Life to a JSA after a post-retirement marriage.
• The pages read do not give the reduction factors used to compute a survivor plan for other ages, so the example table applies only to the stated ages.
• The pages read do not state whether a particular refund or DROP payout qualifies for an early distribution exception, which depends on the member’s facts.

Common mistakes

• Treating the retirement plan choice as open, when the choice made on the DROP election form cannot be changed at retirement.
• Naming a continuation percentage below 50 percent for a married member without the spouse’s written consent; the pages read make a 50 percent JSA the standard plan and require that consent for anything else.
• Staying in DROP beyond eight years, which forfeits the DROP accruals.
• Taking a refund without recognizing that it cancels service credit and forfeits benefit rights for the member and dependents.
• Waiting until the last moment to request a cost for purchased service credit.

Related on this site: Ohio retirement taxes, does Ohio tax pensions, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, pension refund versus leaving it and public pension retirement decisions by system.

Sources

• Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, DROP Information: https://www.op-f.org/ActiveMembers/DropInformation
• Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, Member’s Guide to Service Retirement: https://www.op-f.org/media/lyzbtml0/mgservice_retire.pdf
• Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, Member’s Guide to Annuity Payment Plans: https://www.op-f.org/media/wagdzupd/mgannuitypayments.pdf
• Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, Member Handbook for New Members: https://www.op-f.org/media/xgoppoyi/memberguide.pdf
• 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 2, 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.