You should keep your beneficiary designation record up-to-date with DRS. The Beneficiary Designation form, which is available online, from your employer, and from DRS, must be mailed to DRS. If you fail to file a Beneficiary Designation form, DRS pays your surviving spouse or, if none, your estate.
If you marry or divorce prior to retirement, file a new Beneficiary Designation form, even if your beneficiary remains the same. However, you should be aware that an ex-spouse may have a right to a portion of your benefits under certain circumstances. See Taxation and legal orders.
At retirement, if you choose an Option 1 benefit payment, you may name a trust, your estate, an organization, or a person as your beneficiary. However, if you choose Option 2, 3, or 4, you must select one person as your beneficiary.
If a disability totally incapacitates you for continued employment with a public school district or ESD, and you leave that employment as a result, you may be eligible for a disability retirement benefit. There is no minimum service credit requirement for this benefit. Benefits will not be paid until you have separated from service.
You can learn more about SERS disability benefits by reading the DRS online publication, SERS Plan 2 and Plan 3 Disability Benefits.
The disability retirement benefit, including survivor options, is determined by the same formula as a service retirement benefit. The disability retirement benefit is reduced to reflect your age at the time benefits begin.
If your monthly benefit will be less than $130.48 (as of September 1, 2005), you may choose to take payment in a lump sum. Refer to the section Lump sum payment instead of a monthly benefit.
Note: Changes were made to this provision (HB 1261) during the 2007 legislative session.
In some cases you can obtain service credit for work time missed while on temporary disability leave. For information on this subject, refer to the publication, SERS Plan 2 and Plan 3 Disability Benefits.