Legislation has been introduced in the Ohio General Assembly that would make changes to Ohio’s pension benefit plans for the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS). Representatives from both systems will be on the Kent Campus on Tuesday, May 3, for informational meetings on the proposed changes.

The OPERS session will be held at 10 a.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva and the STRS session will begin at 1 p.m. in the same location. Each session will last approximately 75 minutes and will include a question-and-answer period. The session will also be streamed live on the Web and recorded for future viewing online. The links for both will be available on the Faculty/Staff page of the Kent State website at www.kent.edu/facultystaff/index.cfm. Look for the links, beginning on May 3, in the Current Highlights section on that page.

Reservations are required to attend either of the in-person informational sessions. You can register at OPERS May 3, 2011, Session or STRS May 3, 2011, Session. Please note that staff employees who attend the seminar must take the appropriate leave time, which includes vacation or comp time.

Updates on the proposed legislation for both state retirement systems may be found on the OPERS and STRS websites.

For employees in the Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP), please be aware that the proposed changes to the state retirement systems do not impact the ARP plan.

For more information, contact the Benefits Office at 330-672-3107 or benefits@kent.edu.