By law, all non-teaching employees of Ohio boards of education, school districts, vocational and technical schools, community schools, and community colleges are required to contribute to SERS.
If a person performs a service common to the normal daily operation of a school even though employed by a contractor, that person is considered an employee and must contribute to SERS. Hiring contracted services does not necessarily relieve the obligation of SERS membership. Contact Employer Services for a determination.
Request a membership determination from SERS. Employer Services will need a copy of the job description and/or contract and a completed Membership Determination Form (EMP-7010). Once reviewed, SERS will issue a determination.
Contact SERS with additional information. Staff will review it and provide a final determination. If the district still disagrees, a request can be submitted to bring it before SERS’ Board of Trustees. All Board determinations are final.
Employees who may choose exemption include: students not already SERS members who are employed by the school in which they are enrolled; emergency employees serving temporarily during a flood, fire, snow removal, or similar emergency; and individuals employed in a federal job training program.
Keep the exemption form indefinitely. If an individual contacts SERS to establish service credit for this service, you are required to provide a copy of the form. If you cannot, you may be responsible for paying employee and employer contributions plus any possible interest.
Membership for coaches and athletic directors is based on whether the member currently holds a valid Ohio Department of Education and Workforce teaching license. If the license lapses, membership should be switched from STRS to SERS.
Once a board member elects to contribute to SERS, the decision is irrevocable while continuously holding office. If the board member leaves office and is later reelected, he or she can once again choose between SERS and Social Security.
Please enter all new employees, including reemployed retirees, through eSERS using either the Upload Enrollment Files or Manual Enrollment Entry option.
Do not enter a new membership record. Contact Employer Services at 1-877-213-0861 or email employerservices@ohsers.org for help making a correction.
Call Employer Services at 1-877-213-0861. We will provide instruction on how to securely send a copy of the Social Security card or I9 to correct the record. You may need to enter a new enrollment with the correct SSN.
Yes. If a board member has not worked or been paid within the last six months, a new enrollment must be entered in eSERS.
Federal regulations require employers to submit a Statement Concerning Your Employment in a Job Not Covered by Social Security (SSA-1945). The form must be submitted to SERS once signed by the employee via the SSA-1945 upload option in eSERS, by fax to 614-340-1195, or by mail. Do not email the SSA-1945.
Log in to eSERS and use the Employer Reporting Detail Lookup application. Enter the employee’s Social Security number and name, then click search. The results will show if an enrollment record or transposed number was entered.
Yes. If an individual performs a service common to the normal daily operation of a school even though employed by a contractor, a membership record must be entered into eSERS. The record may be entered by the employer or the contract company if eSERS permissions have been granted.
Yes. Member enrollment must be entered into eSERS before submitting a contribution file. If enrollment is not entered before submission, an error will appear on your contribution report. You must enroll the employee, then go to the individual’s contribution record in review and click save to remove the enrollment error.
Compensation subject to SERS contributions includes, but is not limited to: regular base salary, overtime paid to non-exempt employees, pick-up on pick-up plan, pay for used vacation and sick leave, paid holiday, calamity days, across-the-board retroactive wage settlements, longevity/length of service payments, merit increases, employee payments to an eligible retirement plan, backpay awards, extended days, commissions per contract, salary continuation, and lump sum payments provided in a collective bargaining agreement, individual contract, or school district policy.
Compensation not subject to SERS contributions includes: unused compensatory time cash out, unused leave time cash out, attendance bonuses, wellness rewards, recruitment referral payments, severance, discretionary bonus payments, amounts paid for insurance coverage or in lieu of insurance, incidental benefits, reimbursement for job-related expenses, compensation exceeding the federal tax law limit, payments attributed to retirement or an agreement to retire, and military differential pay exceeding one month.
All settlements must be reviewed by SERS before contributions are remitted. Submit a copy of the settlement agreement to Employer Services. If the settlement is determined to be SERS compensation, the payment must be reported within the same fiscal year to avoid interest.
Payments to an eligible retirement plan as defined in section 402(c)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code are considered compensation. Eligible plans include 403(b) annuity contracts, 457(b) deferred compensation plans, 408(a) individual retirement accounts, and qualified trusts. If the tax-sheltered annuity is an eligible plan under 402(c)(8), it is considered compensation for SERS purposes.
If there is uncertainty as to whether a payment is subject to SERS withholding, submit a written request for determination to SERS before issuing the payment to the employee.
Your contribution report must be submitted to SERS no later than five business days after each pay date in eSERS.
Contribution due dates are determined by payroll schedules entered by the district in eSERS. Refer to the Next 5 Reports Due panel on the eSERS Home Page for upcoming due dates.
Contributions are reported through eSERS using Upload Contribution File or Manual Contribution Entry. For further information, refer to the eSERS Guide – Contribution Reporting.
The employee contribution rate is 10%. The employer contribution rate is 14%.
Yes. The district is responsible for confirming contractor reporting and payments are completed and submitted to SERS no later than five business days after each pay date. If the contractor’s reporting or payment is late, the district will accrue the penalty.
Yes. Coaches and other supplemental employees may be submitted with the regular payroll file if they share the same pay date as regular employees. Use the supplemental earnings code.
Contact SERS to determine the appropriate method for reporting prior fiscal year contributions.
Yes. Use the Employer Reporting Detail Lookup application in eSERS to search by member Social Security number or name. You can also open or export previously reported files using the Posted Employer Reporting Header panel in the Contribution File Correction and Manual Contribution application.
A credit memo is created when an adjustment posts to a member’s account. You may apply the credit memo toward an existing liability or request that the credit be refunded to the district.
Once your contribution file has posted, a liability is created under the Payment Remittance application in eSERS. Please review the Payment Remittance section of the eSERS Guide for more information.
Most likely, the contribution file has not yet posted. Check the Contribution File Correction and Manual Contribution Entry application to confirm whether the file is still in review status or has not been submitted for posting.
Yes. Select the checkboxes next to the liabilities you wish to pay, then click Add Selected to Pay.
Yes. For security reasons, contractors are restricted from applying their own credit memos. The district is responsible for applying credit memos on their behalf.
Go to the Payment Remittance History section of the Payment Remittance application. Click the payment remittance ID to view the payment details.
Yes. As long as the payment is still in a pending status, you may correct or void the payment remittance.
No. Only one form of payment can be used for each remittance.
An adjustment is used to add or remove information from a previously submitted contribution record.
All adjustments must be entered through eSERS. Adjustments may be submitted as part of an uploaded file with regular contributions or by manual entry. Refer to the Adjustments section of the eSERS Guide for detailed instructions.
Adjustments may be made to correct or update: contribution amounts, tax treatment of contributions, days reported, hours reported, and reporting to the wrong retirement system.
Yes. A complete list of earnings codes and their definitions is available in the contribution reporting resources in eSERS.
You may report the missed contribution by submitting a manual adjustment through eSERS. Refer to the eSERS Guide for more information or call SERS for assistance.
Federal tax law allows employers to pick up employee retirement contributions. To establish a pick-up plan, the employer must adopt a written plan that specifies the group of employees covered, the method of pick-up, and the planned effective date. Employees in the covered group cannot opt out.
There are three methods: (1) Salary reduction – contributions are deducted from salary but deferred for income tax. (2) Fringe benefit not included in compensation – contributions are paid by the employer from its own funds. (3) Fringe benefit with pick-up included in compensation (pick-up on pick-up) – the employer pays the employee contribution and an additional contribution on the 10%, resulting in a higher salary for retirement purposes only.
No. Under IRS guidelines, SERS cannot accept retroactive pick-up plans.
Yes. SERS must be notified of any change to an existing pick-up plan through the Pick-up Plan application in eSERS.
After adopting a pick-up plan in compliance with federal tax law, notify SERS through the Pick-up Plan application in eSERS. Refer to the eSERS Guide for more information.
A reemployed retiree is an individual who retired through a public retirement system (STRS, SERS, OPERS, OP&F, or HPRS) and then returns to work in a position covered by any public retirement system.
Yes. To avoid forfeiting retirement payments, a retiree must wait two months from the effective date of retirement before returning to public employment. Once the waiting period expires, a reemployed retiree can work an unlimited number of days and receive unlimited earnings. Contributions made during reemployment are placed into a reemployed annuity and do not affect the original retirement account.
If the retiree held multiple positions prior to retirement, they may continue working in the lesser-paying position(s) without forfeiting two months of pension payments.
No. Reemployed retirees are enrolled in eSERS the same way as any new employee. Once enrolled, contributions are remitted in the same manner as for non-retired employees.
The surcharge is an additional employer charge used exclusively to fund SERS’ health care. It is calculated as 14% of the difference between an employee’s annual compensation and the minimum compensation amount. The surcharge is limited to 2% of each district’s total qualified SERS payroll, and is subject to a statewide limit of 1.5% of SERS’ eligible compensation.
For fiscal year 2026, the minimum compensation amount is $33,000. This amount is determined annually by the System’s actuaries.
SERS members reported during the fiscal year who earned less than the minimum compensation amount, except reemployed retirees and members who died prior to July 1.
Log in to eSERS and select the Surcharge application. The surcharge report provides a breakdown of the charge amount along with a list of employees on the report. Click Export to Excel to print the report.
For reemployed retirees or members who passed away during the fiscal year, email their name(s) and the last four digits of their Social Security number(s) to employerservices@ohsers.org.
If your district participates in the Foundation Program and elected to have the surcharge collected from Foundation payments, SERS will automatically deduct the surcharge amount. Otherwise, the surcharge amount will be located in the Payment Remittance application under the Unpaid Liabilities panel. If not paying through the Foundation Program, the surcharge is due within 30 days of the surcharge report becoming available in eSERS.
Penalties are assessed whenever there is a late reporting or late payment submitted. The due date is no later than five business days after each pay date in eSERS. Refer to the Penalties Fact Sheet for additional information.
A notification is posted to the eSERS message board when the district is in penalty status. Once the missing item is submitted, a penalty invoice is issued to the Employer Web Administrator and the district’s Fiscal Officer. The liability will be available in the Payment Remittance application to pay.
Employee and employer contributions must be remitted no later than five business days after each pay date. You are penalized $100 per business day until contributions are received. Employers who make employer contributions through the Foundation Program are always considered on time.
Payroll reporting is due no later than five business days after each pay date. You are penalized $100 per business day, not to exceed $1,500 per report. The report must be submitted and posted (not in review status) to be considered on time.
SERS may grant an extension for good cause if the request is received before the due date. There is no allowance for one-time forgiveness after a due date has passed.
Yes. Payments must be received in the SERS lockbox by the fifth business day from your pay date to be considered on time.
For Foundation Program employers, penalties may be deducted from employer contribution amounts. All other employers must pay penalties through the Payment Remittance application in eSERS.
ACH Debit is the preferred method – enrolling the district in ACH debit allows SERS to pull an electronic payment from the activated bank account on a specified date. Other EFT (ACH credit) is also available. Contact Employer Services for wiring instructions.
