From The Classroom To Retirement Planning

When Ramsey Financial was founded in 1982, it wasn’t by Wall Street insiders—it was by educators.

Dave Ramsey and his partner Jeffrey Ramsey both came from education backgrounds.

That perspective shaped everything about the way they built the business. Early on, they saw a major gap: many financial advisors simply didn’t understand how Ohio’s public retirement systems worked—especially for teachers and public employees.

Dave and Jeff made it their mission to change that.

From the start, a core part of Ramsey Financial’s work involved helping educators and public workers prepare for retirement through STRS (State Teachers Retirement System), OPERS (Ohio Public Employees Retirement System), and SERS (School Employees Retirement System). These systems can be confusing—especially when it comes to understanding pension options, severance payouts, and income planning. Most retirement statements only show part of the picture.

We’re still helping clients uncover the rest of it.

Even today, many people are unaware that they can take a portion of their pension as a lump sum to invest elsewhere—potentially increasing flexibility, improving liquidity, and providing access to a higher return during retirement.

At Ramsey Financial, we continue to offer customized retirement estimates for STRS, OPERS, and SERS participants. We walk through all 16+ distribution options, explain how severance and unused sick time fit into the plan, and help you make informed decisions—not just based on the numbers, but based on your real goals for retirement.

If you're a teacher, city worker, or public employee in Ohio, this is still one of the areas we know best. And we’re proud to carry on the work that started more than 40 years ago.

Thinking about retiring in the next few years? Let’s schedule a time to walk through your options—before your paperwork is due.