August Board News
Aug. 20, 2024
Health care plan premiums approved for 2025
The State Teachers Retirement Board approved premiums for the STRS Ohio Health Care Program for 2025. More than 90% of current medical plan enrollees will have no premium increase. Aetna will continue to be the plan administrator for all enrollees and CVS Caremark will continue to provide prescription coverage. For more information, check out our Monthly Medical Premiums document and our Dental and Vision Premiums document.
2025 health care premiums
Benefit recipients with Medicare (receiving the maximum subsidy — based on years of service)
| Plan | Premium with Medicare Part B credit |
|---|---|
| Aetna Medicare Plan | $25 |
| Aetna Basic Plan | $141 |
Benefit recipients without Medicare (receiving the maximum subsidy — based on years of service)
| Plan | Monthly premium |
|---|---|
| Aetna Basic Plan | $319 |
STRS Ohio achieves a +10.5% net return for fiscal year 2024
STRS Ohio posted a net total fund return of 10.5% for the year ended June 30, 2024. The fund ended fiscal year 2024 with $95.3 billion in investment assets. STRS Ohio’s investment consultant, Meketa, shared that for the five-year period ending June 30, 2024, STRS Ohio’s total fund earned a net annualized return of 8.8% and its performance ranked in the top 8% of pension funds across the country.
Board begins funding policy update discussion
The board reviewed proposed changes to the system’s pension funding policy. The proposed policy is intended to establish a long-term strategic framework for member benefits and provide direction on priority setting for potential benefit changes. Discussions regarding pension funding policy changes will continue at future board meetings.
Election held for vacant board seat; new board member named
Michael Harkness (Akron Public Schools, Summit County) was elected to fill the vacant contributing member seat on the board. His term runs through Aug. 31, 2025. When an elected-member seat is vacated during a board member’s term, the board votes to name a successor until the next regular election is held.
Board names chair, vice Chair
The board reelected retired teacher member Rudy Fichtenbaum as its chair and retired teacher member Elizabeth Jones as vice chair, effective Sept. 1. Chair and vice chair terms last for one year. Board members receive no compensation for serving on the board other than reimbursement for expenses.
Retirements approved
The board approved 1,315 active members and 156 inactive members for service retirement benefits.