Leaving Employment

Although members benefit the greatest by receiving a Retirement Benefit, there are financial benefits available should you cease employment prior to meeting retirement requirements.  As a Tier 1, 2 or 3 DB Member, you may choose to do one of the following:

  • Leave your contributions on account with the CORP and retain rights to future benefits,
  • Transfer your contributions to another CORP employer,
  • Transfer your contributions to another retirement plan or municipal retirement plan,
  • Request a Refund of Contributions. If you elect a refund, you waive any and all rights to CORP benefits such as pension, disability, health insurance and survivor benefits,
  • Leave your contributions on account to provide a death benefit payout, or
  • Leave your contributions on account and, if eligible, receive a Deferred Annuity.

Note:  Under no circumstances can you borrow from or remove any contributions from your account before termination of membership in the Plan. 

Refund of Contributions

If you leave employment prior to retirement, have considered the options stated above and would like to proceed with refunding your contributions plus 3% interest compounded annually, you must complete and return to our office a Refund Packet located under Forms & Resources.  This election will terminate your membership in the Plan and you will forfeit ALL rights to rehearing and appeal.  The refund payment will be paid to you as a lump sum payment either directly to you by check or direct deposit, or you may elect to roll all or a portion of the taxable amount to a qualified plan or institution – less any mandated tax withholding requirements and less any benefit payments or any amounts you may owe to the System.  Also, depending on your Membership Tier, you may receive an additional amount as stated in the table below in addition to the contributions you made.  In order to receive a refund, employment must be terminated for any reason other than death or retirement.

Membership Tier 1

(DB Plan Only)

  • 4.99 years of service or less: no additional contributions
  • 5.0 to 5.9 years of service: 25% of additional employee contributions
  • 6.0 to 6.9 years of service: 40% of additional employee contributions
  • 7.0 to 7.9 years of service: 55% of additional employee contributions
  • 8.0 to 8.9 years of service: 70% of additional employee contributions
  • 9.0 to 9.9 years of service: 85% of additional employee contributions
  • 10.0 or more years of service: 100% of additional employee contributions plus interest (if left on account after 30 days) at a rate determined by the Board of Trustees. 

Membership Tier 2 and 3

(DB Plan Only)

Members receive a lump sum payment of their accumulated employee contributions plus interest as of the date of termination at a rate determined by the Board of Trustees. 

Membership Tier 3

(DC Plan Only)

Employee contributions and investment earnings are fully vested after 3 years of service with employer contributions vested at the following rates:

25% after 1 year of service
50% after 2 years of service
100% after 3 years of service

 Contact Nationwide Retirement Solutions.

Additional Resources

For additional resources, Plan summary, guide books and forms, you may access our Forms & Resources webpage and for the latest news and information, we encourage you to Sign Up for News and Updates.  To estimate future benefits, you may access your Members Only online account, or contact your Local Board for an estimate, or retirement packet.  If you are not certain who the Local Board contact person is, please Contact Us, or visit our Applying for Benefits webpage for retirement information.