Faculty Retirement

Since Ohio public institutions do not participate in the federal social security system, an employee has a choice regarding their retirement plans. Eligible faculty members will be enrolled in the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). New employees have one hundred and twenty (120) days to make an election to opt out of the above plans and participate in the Alternate Retirement Plan (ARP).

STRS is the state retirement plan for faculty. Effective July 1, 2016, faculty contributes 14% of their salary to the retirement plan. The University contributes 14% of the faculty member’s salary to their retirement plan. More information is available at the STRS website.

If enrolling in STRS, employees have 180 days from their eligible appointment date to elect enrollment in of the three STRS plan options:

• Defined Benefit Plan (STRS)
• Defined Contribution Plan (STRS)
• STRS)

Refer to the STRS publications mained to participants for details regarding each of its retirement plan options and the enrollment process. Enrollment in STRS cannot be changed while employed at Youngstown State unless certian criteria is met. 

Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP)

The Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) is an alternative to STRS for eligible faculty. It provides a retirement investment program but does not offer benefits after retirement like STRS. By participating in the ARP, employees must elect an investment provider from the list of a approved vendors by Youngstown State University and the state of Ohio.

Effective July 1, 2022, faculty contributes 14% of their salary to the retirement plan. The University contributes 9.53% of the faculty member's salary to his or her retirement plan, and is required to contribute 2.91% of salary to STRS finance unfunded liability.

Participants in the ARP plan must choose a provider from the approved list and activate an account with the chosen ARP provider. Enrollment in the ARP cannot be changed while employed at Youngstown State. An employee may change their selected ARP provider at any time by returning an ARP Provider Change Form available online.

List of the current ARP vendors and contact information*

Summary of Eligibility

Employees enrolled in the STRS retirement systems are considered to be “retired”, after application to and approval by their respective retirement system to receive retirement benefits. Employees participating in an Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) are considered to be “retired” if they meet the age and years of service requirements of the applicable retirement system (STRS) based on the employee’s position. 

In order to be eligible for sick leave conversion payout at retirement, an employee must meet the above “retired” criteria and the required years of service (10 or more years of active service with the University or a combination of 10 or more years of active service with the University together with other State of Ohio units as specified by law).

            For Retirement, University Post-Retirement benefits and Sick Leave Payout