If you’re a federal employee, you are counting upon your FERS benefits to kick in once you reach retirement. But what about your spouse? If something should happen to you, will they benefit from your years of service? Or are your benefits lost?
For this purpose, FERS provides the Basic Employee Death Benefit, payable to the surviving spouse. The benefit is equal to 50 percent of the deceased employee’s final salary, or average salary if higher, plus $30,792.98 (as of 2011). This benefit is payable if:
● the couple was married for at least nine months, or
● the employees death was accidental, or
● there was a child born of the marriage
In some cases, the Basic Employee Death Benefit may be payable to a former spouse, provided the former spouse was married to the federal employee for at least nine months and did not remarry before age 55. There must be a qualifying court order awarding a death benefit on file with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
As for monthly survivor benefits, your surviving spouse may receive payments if you completed at least 10 years of credible service before your death (18 months of which must have been civilian service). The same rules outlined above still apply.
If you have children, they may also qualify for monthly benefits until age 18, or age 22 if attending a qualified institution of higher education. If your child was disabled before age 18, he or she can receive recurring payments unless they get married. All children born, adopted, or recognized by a court order of support are eligible for monthly benefits. Stepchildren may be included if they were living with you in a parent-child relationship at the time of your death.
Knowing that your spouse and children can be covered by a death benefit should bring you some peace of mind. However, it’s important to meet regularly with your financial professional to plan for retirement, and also to plan for the support of your dependents in the event that something should happen to you.
