"S Noll" <snoll[at]ee.net> wrote in message
news:a656071b.0312130635.3788f8f9[at]posting.google.com...
- quote -

Is it possible she will find another job in the public sector in Ohio? It's
hard to predict the future and paying back the funds represented by those
years of service could be difficult, even if Ohio allows it. The employee
contributions often appear quite negligible in the early years, but the
years of service accumulate no matter the balance in the account. Benefits
are based on the number of years accumulated. Please consider leaving the
account open. If, after several years, you see that public employment is
highly unlikely, she can certainly withdraw the funds at that time.

Elizabeth Richardson

My wife has been an employee in an Ohio public school for a few years.
She has been required to contribute a percentage of her salary to the
State Employee Retirement System (SERS). These are pre-tax
contributions into a "pension-like" fund. It seems likely that my
wife will be terminated as an employee next year. At that time, we
can request a refund of her contributions. Based on the balance of
her account and her low years of service, I see no reason to leave her
contributions in the SERS.

The refund is a taxable event, if paid directly to my wife. Can the
refund be transferred into some type of IRA with no tax consequence
(she currently has a tax deductible-IRA)? If not, we will pay the tax
and put the money into her Roth-IRA.