Benefits Available to Your Beneficiaries Upon Your Death
A family member or representative of your estate should notify the Retirement Systems Division immediately and provide us with a Certificate of Death. You may also use our online form to report a member death.
Any unpaid monthly benefit payment due in the month of your death is payable to your estate.
If a Guaranteed Refund or monthly benefit is payable to a survivor, we must be provided with current address, telephone number, and a social security number before any payments are made. Of course, if your estate is your beneficiary, we must be provided with Papers of Administration or Letters of Testamentary. See "Choosing and Changing Your Beneficiaries" for more information about monthly payments for survivors.
Guaranteed Refund
Regardless of which retirement plan you select, the total amount paid out after your retirement will not be less than the amount of your contributions and interest. Should your death and the death of the beneficiary you name to receive a monthly payment, if any, occur before the total of all monthly payments equals the amount of your contributions and interest, the unrecovered portion of your contributions and interest will be paid in one lump sum to another beneficiary. Payments made to purchase additional creditable service after retirement are also covered by the Guaranteed Refund provisions.
NOTE: You must designate at least one beneficiary, and that beneficiary cannot be the same person named as your Survivor Beneficiary. If your designated beneficiary(ies) is not living at your death, the benefit will be paid to your legal representative (usually the administrator or the executor of your estate or the collector of funds for your estate).
In addition to the Guaranteed Refund and any optional payment plan you select, the following may be available:
- The Retirement System death benefit to which you were entitled as an employee, equal to the highest 12 months of salary in a row during the 24 months of service prior to your death, is payable to the eligible living beneficiary(ies) named by you for this purpose, if you die within 180 days of your last day of service. Under the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System (if your Local employer elected the death benefit coverage), the minimum payment is $25,000 and the maximum payment is $50,000. (NOTE: Not all employers under the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System have elected to provide the death benefit coverage for their non-law enforcement personnel.).
- You will also have an opportunity to elect coverage under the $10,000 Contributory Death Benefit for Retired Members. Your election must be made within 60 days from the effective date of your retirement.
NOTE: You must designate at least one beneficiary. If your designated beneficiary(ies) is not living at your death, the benefit will be paid to your legal representative (usually the administrator or the executor of your estate or the collector of funds for your estate). - Former state and local law enforcement officers who had at least 20 years of service as on officer (or who are in receipt of a disability retirement allowance from any state administered Retirement System) may be eligible for a $4,000 group life insurance benefit.