Ohio School Support Staff: There Is No Offset Between Workers’ Compensation Temporary Total Disability (TTD) and Your SERS Disability Benefit
If you work in an Ohio public school as a bus driver, custodian, cafeteria worker, secretary, maintenance worker, or in any other non-teaching support role — and you have been injured on the job — you may be entitled to two separate streams of income protection at the same time: Ohio Workers’ Compensation Temporary Total Disability (TTD) and a School Employees Retirement System (SERS) disability benefit.
The question many injured school support employees ask is: will one benefit reduce the other? The answer under Ohio law is clear: there is no offset between Ohio Workers’ Compensation TTD and SERS disability benefits. You are entitled to receive both simultaneously, and neither payment reduces the other.
Who Is Covered by SERS?
The School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) is governed by Chapter 3309 of the Ohio Revised Code and provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for the non-teaching employees who manage the daily operations of Ohio’s K-12 public schools, community schools, and community colleges.
SERS members include, but are not limited to:
- Bus drivers and transportation staff
- Custodians and maintenance workers
- Cafeteria and food service workers
- Administrative assistants and school secretaries
- Paraprofessionals and teacher’s aides
- Librarians (non-teaching)
- Groundskeepers and facilities staff
- Technology support staff in school districts
If you are a non-teaching employee of an Ohio public school district or community college — and you are not covered by STRS (teachers) or OPERS (other public employees) — SERS is your retirement system. Membership is mandatory and begins from your first day of employment.
It is worth noting that SERS members are among Ohio’s most physically active public workers. Bus drivers, custodians, maintenance workers, and food service employees face real occupational hazards every day — slips and falls, repetitive motion injuries, back injuries from heavy lifting, and equipment-related accidents. Work injuries in this population are common, and so is the need to understand the full scope of benefits available.
What Is Ohio Workers’ Compensation Temporary Total Disability (TTD)?
Temporary Total Disability (TTD) is a wage-replacement benefit paid through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) when a work-related injury or illness temporarily prevents you from returning to your job. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 4123.56, TTD is calculated as follows:
- First 12 weeks: 72% of your full weekly wage (FWW)
- After 12 weeks: 66⅔% of your average weekly wage (AWW) over the 52 weeks prior to injury
For 2025, the maximum TTD rate is $1,231 per week (without Social Security retirement benefits) and the minimum is $410.33 per week. These rates are adjusted annually by the Ohio BWC.
TTD continues until one of the following occurs:
- You return to work
- Your treating physician releases you to return to your former position
- Your employer offers a valid light-duty job within your medical restrictions
- You reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) — the point at which your condition has stabilized and further functional improvement is not expected
What Is a SERS Disability Benefit?
A SERS disability benefit is a monthly payment available to qualifying SERS members who are permanently disabled — either physically or mentally — from performing their SERS-covered job duties. SERS is governed by Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3309, and Ohio Administrative Rule 3309-1-40 sets the medical and procedural standards for disability determinations.
SERS has two disability plans depending on when you became a member:
- New disability plan: Applies to members who joined SERS on or after July 29, 1992
- Old disability plan: Applies to members who were members before July 29, 1992, unless they exercised a one-time election to switch to the new plan
Under both plans, to qualify for SERS disability benefits you must:
- Have at least five years of total SERS service credit
- File your application no later than two years from the date your contributing service stopped
- Apply before age 60
- Be found permanently disabled for work in your SERS-covered position by a physician appointed by SERS
- Not be currently receiving a SERS service retirement benefit
- Not be receiving a disability benefit from another Ohio retirement system
Under the new disability plan, the annual benefit is the greater of:
- 45% of your Final Average Salary (FAS); or
- Your total service credit multiplied by 2.2% of your FAS
This is a meaningful monthly benefit — and it is entirely separate from, and not reduced by, any Ohio Workers’ Compensation TTD payments you may be receiving at the same time.
An important SERS-specific note under ORC Section 3309.01: up to three years of service credit may be granted to a SERS member who was out of service and receiving workers’ compensation benefits, provided the injury was the direct result of school employment. This is an additional benefit many injured school employees overlook entirely.
The Key Point: No Offset Between TTD and SERS Disability
Ohio Workers’ Compensation is governed by Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4123. SERS is governed by Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3309. These are entirely separate bodies of law, and neither statute imposes an offset of TTD benefits against SERS disability benefits.
In plain terms: if you are an Ohio school support employee injured at work, you may collect your full TTD workers’ compensation benefit AND your full SERS disability benefit at the same time, without either one being reduced because of the other.
For many school support workers — who often earn modest wages — the combination of TTD and SERS disability benefits can provide a meaningful financial lifeline during recovery. Not knowing you are entitled to both can cost you thousands of dollars.
Important Distinctions to Keep in Mind
The “permanent disability” standard: Unlike Ohio Workers’ Compensation TTD — which covers temporary inability to work — SERS disability requires a finding that the disability is permanent (or presumed permanent for at least 12 continuous months). A SERS member receiving TTD while still in early recovery may not yet qualify for SERS disability, but should begin the application process promptly given the two-year filing deadline.
You cannot apply for SERS disability if you are already receiving disability from another Ohio retirement system. If you have service credit in multiple systems (SERS, OPERS, or STRS), you must apply for disability benefits through the system in which you have the most service credit.
Return-to-work and service credit: After your SERS disability benefits end, you must return to employment covered by SERS, STRS, or OPERS and contribute for at least two years to receive service credit for the period you were on disability.
PTD and Federal Benefits: Ohio Permanent Total Disability (PTD) workers’ compensation benefits — which are distinct from TTD — can be subject to offset if you are receiving federal disability benefits. This does not apply to TTD.
MMI and TTD Termination: A 2024 Ohio Supreme Court ruling (State ex rel. Dillon v. Indus. Comm., 2024-Ohio-744) gave employers and the BWC a faster mechanism to terminate TTD payments after a finding of Maximum Medical Improvement, and to seek reimbursement for overpayments. This makes having experienced legal representation monitoring your TTD claim more critical than ever.
Social Security Fairness Act (2025): Effective January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Some SERS members who also have Social Security work history from private-sector employment may now be entitled to higher combined benefit amounts as a result of this new federal law.
Why This Matters — and What You Should Do
Ohio’s school support employees — the bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and aides who keep our schools running every day — deserve every dollar of protection the law provides when they are hurt on the job. Too often, these workers don’t know they may be entitled to both Ohio Workers’ Compensation TTD and SERS disability benefits at the same time, with no reduction of either.
The deadlines are strict, the medical standards are specific, and the interplay between systems is complex. An experienced Ohio Workers’ Compensation attorney can help you pursue every benefit you have earned.
Mike Gruhin — OSBA Board Certified Specialist in Ohio Workers’ Compensation for over 30 years (1999–2030) — has represented thousands of Ohio’s injured public employees, helping them obtain every dollar of benefits they are legally entitled to receive.
Contact Mike Gruhin for Your Free, No-Obligation Consultation
DISCLAIMER: By accessing any website page or website post, the reader agrees that (1) The information above is general in nature and is not legal advice; (2) No attorney-client relationship is created; (3) Each claim is unique and must be carefully evaluated on its specific facts under current Ohio law and the most recent court decisions; and, (4) Such evaluations require advice from an experienced Ohio Workers’ Compensation Attorney.