What Reporting Rules Do I Need to Understand Before Training?
As we continue preparing for the transition to our new pension administration system, tentatively planned for October 2026, we are sharing several key reporting concepts that employers should understand before training begins.
While training will provide detailed instruction on reporting processes, several reporting concepts and business rule changes are important to understand before training begins. These include Reporting Periods, Effective Dates, Pick-Up Plan Mapping, and other reporting rules that will affect how information is submitted through the new Employer Portal.
Reporting Periods
In the new Employer Portal, employers will be responsible for providing a Reporting Period for each Work History Report submission.
The Reporting Period represents the month being reported and should reflect the first and last day of that month. For example, a Reporting Period for October 2026 would be October 1, 2026 through October 31, 2026.
It is important to note that Reporting Periods are different from the wages earning dates (Period Start Date and Period End Date for each Pay Code on the file), which continue to identify the actual pay periods associated with reported payroll data.
Effective Dates
Several fields on the Work History Report require Effective Dates that help OP&F determine when a specific employment-related change became active. Examples include:</p>
• Employment Status Effective Date
• Salary Effective Date
• Pay Frequency Effective Date
• Job Title/Rank Effective Date
• Pick-Up Plan Effective Date
For initial reporting, some Effective Dates may be based on a member's most recent hire date, while others may be tied to the Reporting Period Start Date. Ongoing reporting requires employers to update Effective Dates whenever applicable employment information changes. Employers should review the Work History Report Effective Date Guidance document located out on the Employer Knowledge Hub for detailed requirements.
Pick-Up Plan Mapping
All employers currently have an assigned Pick-Up Plan. In the new system, each employer must confirm their new Pick-Up Plan designation before reporting begins.
The Pick-Up Plan determines:
• The taxability of the Gross Amount field
• Expected amounts reported in:
Taxed Member Contributions
Tax Deferred Member Contributions
Fringe Employer Pick-Up Contributions
Because the Pick-Up Plan is a required field on the Work History Report, employers should review the Pick-Up Plan Guidance document available on the Employer Knowledge Hub.
This resource maps your current Pick-Up Plan(s) to the corresponding Pick-Up Plan(s) that will be used in the new system.
Important Change for Pick-Up Plan Updates
Following go-live, employers will need to coordinate any Pick-Up Plan changes so they become effective at the beginning of a reporting cycle, not in the middle of one.
This represents a change from current-state processing, where employers have greater flexibility regarding when Pick-Up Plan changes are submitted. Under the new Employer Portal, Pick-Up Plan changes must align with reporting cycle boundaries to ensure payroll and contribution data are processed correctly.
Common Reporting Scenarios
Upcoming training will also include common reporting scenarios designed to help employers understand how reporting requirements apply in real-world situations, including employment changes, salary updates, payroll adjustments, payroll corrections, and other frequently encountered reporting events.
Access Additional Resources
Additional guidance documents, FAQs, job aids, training materials, and recorded webinars are available through the Employer Knowledge Hub. We encourage employers to review these resources and become familiar with key reporting concepts prior to training.
https://opf-employer-npas.org/index.html
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Thank you for your continued partnership as we move forward with this important transition. If you have questions, please contact the Employer NPAS Team at employernpas@op-f.org.
Posted 8/6/2026