FAIRBORN, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland Thursday signed into law a bill that gives a financial boost to military retirees.

It exempts their military pension benefits from the state income tax.

The bill signing ceremony came at SI International LOGTEC, a military contractor near Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

The company’s senior vice president, Mike Zettler, spent 33 years in the Air Force before he retired.

He said the new law will help his company and other contractors recruit military retirees.

Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said the pension benefit exemption, along with other changes, will make Ohio more attractive to people leaving the military who are looking for work.

Strickland said he was glad to sign the bill in Fairborn at Husted’s request.

“Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton region occupy a very special place in Ohio and in Ohio’s economy when it comes to the contributions by military families and personnel who live and work here,” Strickland said.

The new law will save the average military retiree between $400 and $800 a year.

Jim.otte@whiotv.com