Retirees on the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System health plan have two different deadlines to set their 2027 coverage. OPERS says Medicare-eligible retirees can make changes from October 15 to December 7, 2026, while retirees who are not yet on Medicare have from November 1 to December 15. Anyone who wants to change or cancel OPERS vision or dental coverage also has until December 15.

Which window applies

The OPERS open enrollment page splits retirees into two groups. Medicare-eligible recipients use Via Benefits, OPERS’s health care connector, at my.viabenefits.com/opers to enroll, change or cancel a plan, or call 1-844-287-9945 to book an appointment with a Benefits Advisor. Pre-Medicare recipients use marketplace.viabenefits.com/opers, where they can change their health reimbursement account (HRA) funding decision under “Your Funding Decision,” or call 1-833-939-1215. OPERS calls an advisor appointment highly recommended for pre-Medicare retirees but not required.

The December 7 date for Medicare-eligible retirees matches the national Medicare window. Medicare.gov lists its annual enrollment period as October 15 to December 7, and a request to change a Medicare plan has to reach the plan by December 7. The pre-Medicare window runs longer because those retirees are choosing through the OPERS arrangement, not through Medicare.

So what happens to a retiree who misses a deadline? It depends on the coverage. OPERS says its vision and dental enrollment continues automatically into 2027 if nothing is done, but that enrollment covers the full calendar year and cannot be changed until the next open enrollment. Change requests received after December 15 will not be accepted. For the HRA, OPERS says a Medicare-eligible retiree must be enrolled in a Medicare medical plan through Via Benefits to keep receiving HRA deposits. For a pre-Medicare retiree, OPERS says skipping the HRA means giving up funds that could be used for qualified medical expenses, and says that is not deducted from the pension. Funding changes take effect January 1, 2027.

An OPERS retiree who is Medicare-eligible has until December 7, the same day Medicare’s own enrollment window closes, to settle a 2027 plan. The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes the Open Enrollment calendar and a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, so the December 7 date and the plan comparison sit side by side.

Compare 2027 PERS plans on the Decision Kit’s Open Enrollment calendar →

Changes that do not wait for the window

OPERS says Medigap plans and non-OPERS dental and vision plans can be changed at any time of year. The page recommends making Medigap changes outside open enrollment unless a retiree is unhappy with current coverage, and it warns that picking a Medigap plan may require medical underwriting, which means the insurer can ask health questions before it agrees to cover you.

One date applies to a narrower group. A retiree who becomes eligible for Medicare before age 65 must tell OPERS and Via Benefits within 30 days of receiving the Social Security Administration’s Medicare notice. OPERS warns that late notice may cause HRA overpayments, and those must be repaid.

OPERS also sends premium notices to Via Benefits for automatic HRA reimbursement when funds are available. A retiree can change that preference in the Via Benefits account under Funds & Reimbursement or by calling 1-844-287-9945. For vision and dental, the plan details are at MetLife’s OPERS page or 1-888-262-4874, and the change form is in the retiree’s packet and in the OPERS online account.

Working back from December 7

The free route is the OPERS open enrollment page and a Benefits Advisor call. A Medicare-eligible retiree can work backward from December 7: pull the current plan’s 2027 notice, list prescriptions and doctors, and call 1-844-287-9945 well before the last week, since OPERS publishes Via Benefits call-volume charts to help retirees pick quieter days and times.

Compare each plan on premium, deductible, drug coverage and whether current doctors are in network, and write down the reason for the final pick. Keep in mind that the HRA deposits continue only with a Medicare medical plan through Via Benefits, so the HRA depends on staying with that route.

A pre-Medicare retiree has until December 15 and should decide the HRA funding question first, since skipping it means forgoing the funds. Vision and dental changes sit on the same December 15 date. OPERS’s health care page confirms the 2027 plan year and says HRA amounts are personalized, so each retiree’s own figure is the number to plan around.

Two OPERS deadlines, December 7 and December 15

A Medicare-eligible OPERS retiree has until December 7 and a pre-Medicare retiree until December 15, and each needs a plan chosen with a reason. The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit gives a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, along with a prescription-by-plan comparison and a provider call script, so the choice is written down before the window closes.

Run the PERS retiree plan comparison in the Decision Kit before the window shuts →

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.