Omaha School Employees Pension Plan

With the recent passage of LB198 in the Unicameral there are changes to the return-to-work guidelines for School Plan members. Members who have terminated employment but are not taking a distribution or applying for a retirement benefit are now allowed to provide unlimited substitute and voluntary service, as well as temporary service, following the termination of regular employment. It also changed the required documentation to determine eligibility for plan participation based on immigration status.

Please reference our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about LB198 document. After reviewing the FAQ document, if questions remain, our Member Services area is available at (402) 471-2053 or (800) 245-5712, option #1.

• All permanent employees of the OPS district who work at least 30 hours per week on an ongoing, regular basis or with a full-time contract are members of the system. Employees initially hired at less than 30 hours per week must be enrolled if they provide service for an average of 30 hours or more per week in any three calendar months of a fiscal year. Class V school districts (Omaha) are included in the OPS district.
• Temporary and substitute employees not hired on an ongoing, regular basis cannot participate. Substitute employees who are hired temporarily due to the absence of regular employees are excluded. Temporary employees hired for a specific purpose or task with employment terminating after the task is completed, and whose employment period does not exceed one year, cannot participate.
• Members contribute 9.78% of their gross compensation to the retirement plan. The employer matches these contributions at a rate of 101%.
• Vesting occurs with five years of service credit. Members who joined the plan prior to July 1, 2016, can vest with one-half year of service credit by working for a participating employer up to age 65. Unvested members are only eligible for a refund of their contributions, plus interest.
• The normal retirement age for unreduced benefits is age 65.
• A member may retire as early as age 60 and receive a reduced benefit.
• The "Rule of 85" legislation allows a member who is at least 55 to retire with unreduced benefits when their age plus years of service equal 85. For members hired or rehired as new members on or after July 1, 2018, the minimum age for the "Rule of 85" is 60.