The Ohio Public Employee Retirement System is now offering two plans for members interested in taking their accounts into their own hands, but they must be willing to take a risk.

Gina Johnson, benefits consultant in the Office of Human Resources, said the new plans differ significantly from the plan that all employees of the university had until this point.

“The traditional plan was based on the age of the employee, their years of service and their final salary,” she said. “This information was put into a formula to determine their benefits.”

The two new plans allow the employees to invest their contributions on their own.

“In one plan, they invest their money themselves. There is no formula and no guaranteed benefit by the state because they are investing their own dollars,” she said.

The second plan is a combination of the other two, Johnson said.

Shawn Seguin, an OPERS representative, explained how it works.

“The employee can invest their own contributions. The other half, the employer contributions, would still be taken care of by OPER,” he said.

The new plans are only offered to employees of the university that have worked here for five years or less.

“After five years, the employees are vested in the traditional plan, so they are eligible for guaranteed benefits,” Johnson said.

She said the new system, which went into effect on Jan. 1, will affect nearly 7,000 people, including staff and student employees.

“Anyone hired after this date have 180 days to decide on a plan,” she said.

Ross Morgan, D.C. education services supervisor with OPERS, said there were several reasons why they are offering these new options.

“One reason is that members have been asking for different types of plans,” he said.

With people moving out of the state and changing jobs more frequently, Morgan said members have been calling for plans that can better handle these circumstances.

“Another reason is a law was passed saying we had to do this,” he said.

Johnson said the new legislation, which required the new options to be available Jan. 1, stated that OPERS had to establish one or more defined contribution plans for members to do their own investing.

“OPERS also did this to maintain their good reputation and give its members choices on their future,” she said.