Survivor Benefits

A survivor’s benefit of $18,000 (for an active account) or $5,000 (for a retired account) is provided at no cost to the member, and is paid to the member’s beneficiary in addition to the contributions available in the member’s account. Members may submit one beneficiary form for all the benefits through the System or the member may submit a separate beneficiary form specifically for the survivor’s benefit amount. In order to be valid, beneficiary forms must be submitted to and on file with the System prior to the death of the member. You may download the Beneficiary Form here.

For active contributing members, a survivor’s benefit of $18,000 shall be paid in equal shares to the designated beneficiary(s) along with the member’s account balance of contributions and applicable interest. If the member qualified for retirement at the time of death, had ten (10) years or more of creditable service, and the member listed only one (1) primary beneficiary (such as spouse) for both the account balance and the $18,000 survivor benefit, the sole primary beneficiary (if not divorced from the member after date of signed beneficiary designation) may elect to forego the $18,000 survivor benefit and the balance of the member’s account plus accrued interest to retire as the annuitant under the Option 2 retirement plan and receive a lifetime monthly benefit. Member’s beneficiary(ies) may also elect to assign all or a portion of their death benefit to a licensed funeral home.

For more information about Survivor Benefits, please refer to the Member Handbook.