Double dipping: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost retires briefly to draw pension

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost briefly retired from public service to start drawing a pension, a practice known as double dipping.

“Dave Yost filed paperwork with OPERS (Ohio Public Employees Retirement System) to begin receiving his pension. He remains committed to public service and his duty as attorney general," Yost spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau.

The practice, which is legal, allows Yost to collect both his pension and his salary. Yost reported a salary of $124,196 in 2021, according to Yost's financial disclosure statement, which notes no other income.

Yost isn't alone. In 2018, about 12,260 people retired and continued to work for at least $20,000 at a public employer covered by one of the state's four pension systems, according to an Ohio Legislative Service Commission report.

Cincinnati-area Rep. Bill Seitz retired in 2018, then continued to work as a lawmaker. Former Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder reported more than $100,000 in pension income while still drawing a legislator’s salary, according to his 2014 financial disclosure form.

Still, the move is less common for a statewide elected official.

Gov. Mike DeWine's 2021 financial disclosure form lists a pension from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management from his time in Congress. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber and Treasurer Robert Sprague did not list pension income on financial disclosure reports.

How much Yost collects in pension payments depends on his years of public service, his final average salary and his age.

Public employees in Ohio are not in the Social Security system so the public retirement funds are often their primary pensions.

Yost has been in public office for decades. He served on Delaware City Council in 1995 before he was appointed to Delaware County auditor in 1999. He then served as Delaware County prosecutor for eight years.

Yost ran for state auditor in 2010, serving for eight years before he was elected as state attorney general in 2018. Yost recently won reelection in 2022 over Democratic state Rep. Jeff Crossman.

Reporter Laura A. Bischoff contributed to this article.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Double dipping: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost retires briefly to draw pension