If you die after you begin a service or disability retirement, your survivors may be eligible to receive a defined benefit depending upon the retirement option you chose. See “What are my benefit options?”
If you die before you retire, your surviving spouse, or if none, the guardian of your minor children, will receive a benefit calculated as if you had:
If your spouse dies while receiving a survivor’s retirement benefit and leaves a minor child or children, the children will continue to receive the benefit that was paid to your spouse. The benefit will be shared equally among the children and paid until they reach 18 years of age.
If an active member or disability retiree dies as a result of injuries sustained in the course of employment or if the death resulted from an occupational disease or infection that arose naturally and proximately out of their covered employment, and the Department of Labor and Industries has determined eligibility for the payment, DRS will pay a $150,000 death benefit to the member’s beneficiary.