Although the KCERA office will advise you of the exact dollar amounts that are available, the information given here may be helpful in your general estate and insurance planning.
Please click on one of the options below to view specific information about survivor benefits.
If you die while actively employed, your spouse, domestic partner, minor children or named beneficiary will be eligible for certain survivor benefits.
| A. |
Death Before Retirement, Less than Five Years Service -- If you die while employed with less than five years of retirement service credit, and your death is not the result of a job-caused injury or disease, your designated beneficiary will be entitled to receive the Basic Death Benefit. The Basic Death Benefit consists of a lump sum payment of your accumulated contributions plus interest, and one month of salary for each full year of service up to a maximum of six months salary. |
| B. |
Death Before Retirement, After Five Years Service -- If you die while employed after you have obtained five years of retirement service credit, and your death is not the result of a job-caused injury or disease, your spouse or registered domestic partner will be entitled to receive a monthly allowance equal to 60 percent of the retirement allowance to which you would have been entitled if you had retired for non-service connected disability on the date of your death. Your spouse or registered domestic partner may choose the Basic Death Benefit as set forth above instead of this monthly allowance, but the monthly allowance is usually more valuable.
The same choice is given to the guardian of your eligible children if you have no spouse. Eligible children are your unmarried children under age 18, or under 22 if enrolled full time in an accredited school.
If you have a registered domestic partner and eligible minor children, the monthly allowance will be paid to your minor children until they attain age 18 (or 22 if enrolled full time in an accredited school), or they marry. At that time, the monthly allowance will revert to the registered domestic partner.
Should you have no spouse, registered domestic partner or eligible children, your designated beneficiary or estate will be entitled to the Basic Death Benefit only. |
| C. |
Death Before Retirement, Job Caused -- If you die while employed as a result of a job-caused injury or disease, your spouse will be entitled to receive a monthly allowance equal to at least 50 percent of your final compensation. This 50 percent benefit will be payable to the guardian of your eligible children if you have no spouse. Eligible children are your unmarried children under age 18, or under 22 if enrolled full time in an accredited school.
If you have a registered domestic partner and eligible minor children, the monthly allowance will be paid to your minor children until they attain age 18 (or 22 if enrolled in an accredited school), or they marry. At that time, the monthly allowance will revert to the registered domestic partner.
If you have no spouse, domestic partner or eligible children, your designated beneficiary or estate will be entitled to the Basic Death Benefit only.
If your job-caused death is the result of an accident or injury caused by external violence or physical force, an additional monthly amount is paid on behalf of your eligible children as follows:
One child: 12.5% of your final compensation
Two children: 20% of your final compensation
Three or more children: 25% of your final compensation | |
| D. |
Additional Benefit for Safety Members -- If you are a safety member and are killed in the performance of duty, your surviving spouse will receive one year's pay based on your salary at the date of your death, in addition to any other benefits payable. |
| E. |
Alternative Benefit for Spouse -- As an alternative to the selection of either the Basic Death Benefit alone or the retirement allowance alone, your surviving spouse may choose a lump sum payment equal to a maximum of six month's salary plus the retirement allowance otherwise payable. The monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by the actuarial value of the lump sum payment. This choice is available to your spouse regardless of whether your death was job-connected or not. |
If you die after retirement, a $3,000 death benefit is payable to your designated beneficiary or to your estate in addition to any continuance of benefit which may be payable.
| A. |
Death After Retirement for Years of Service or Non-Job-Related Disability -- If you choose the unmodified plan, your spouse or registered domestic partner will receive a monthly allowance equal to 60 percent of the retirement allowance you receive. To qualify, your spouse or registered domestic partner must be named as your beneficiary and you must have been married, or your domestic partnership registered, for at least one year before you retired. If you remarry or enter into a domestic partnership after retirement, you must have been married or a registered domestic partner two years prior to your death and your spouse or domestic partner must be age 55 or older upon your death. Should you not have a spouse or registered domestic partner qualified to receive this allowance, your unmarried children will receive the 60 percent continuance until attaining the age of 18, or age 22 if enrolled full time in an accredited school.
If you do not have a qualified spouse, domestic partner or eligible children, any remaining amount of your contributions will be paid upon your death to your designated beneficiary or estate.
If you choose one of the optional plans, the provisions of that plan will determine what happens to your retirement estate upon your death. See "Optional Retirement Allowances" on Page 15 in the KCERA Member Handbook or to the Frequently Asked Questions section of this web site for specific information about each optional retirement allowance. |
| B. |
Death After Retirement for a Job-Caused Disability -- Your spouse, registered domestic partner or minor children will receive a 100 percent continuance of your retirement allowance. To qualify, your spouse or registered domestic partner must be named as your beneficiary and you must have been married, or your domestic partnership registered, before the date of your retirement. If you remarry or enter into a domestic partnership after retirement, you must have been married or a registered domestic partner two years before your death and your spouse or registered domestic partner must be age 55 or older upon your death. |
| C. |
Death While on Deferred Retirement -- If you die while in a deferred retirement status, before you begin to receive a retirement allowance, your designated beneficiary will receive a lump sum payment of your contributions plus interest. |
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Retirement Association. All Rights Reserved.
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