State Universities Retirement System (SURS) spouse benefits
SURS offers various benefits for spouses of deceased members, depending on the specific SURS plan and certain eligibility criteria.
Traditional and portable plans
- Eligibility:
- To be considered a qualified survivor in the Traditional and Portable Plans, a spouse or civil union partner must have been married to the member for at least one year before the member's death and be at least 50 years old.
- Alternatively, a spouse or civil union partner under age 50 caring for a qualifying child (under 18, or under 22 if a full-time student, or disabled prior to age 18) may also be eligible.
- Survivor benefit amount:
- In the Traditional Plan, eligible Traditional Plan survivors are entitled to a minimum of 50% (and potentially up to 66 2/3%) of the member's earned retirement annuity.
- In the Portable Plan, the member's retirement benefits might be reduced to provide for a spouse or contingent annuitant, should the member choose to provide a survivor benefit.
- A reversionary annuity can provide a spouse or other dependent beneficiary with an additional monthly income, but this requires the retiring employee to receive a reduced annuity.
- Automatic Annual Increases (AAI):
- Traditional Plan survivors receive a 3% AAI, compounded annually. The AAI for the Traditional Plan is calculated using the lesser of 3% or half of the CPI change and is not compounded.
- Portable Plan survivors receive a 3% AAI, compounded annually.
Retirement savings plan (RSP)
- Survivor benefit: You can choose to provide a survivor benefit from your RSP. This reduces the monthly retirement benefit you receive.
- Joint and survivor options: If you choose the SURS Lifetime Income Strategy (LIS) within the RSP and elect a Joint and Survivor option (50% or 100%), your spouse can continue to receive monthly withdrawals for life after your death. If the Joint and Survivor option wasn't elected, the surviving spouse might receive a lump sum of the investment's market value.
- Survivor AAI: If a member retires with the SURS LIS and provides a 100% Joint and Survivor benefit, the survivor has the potential to benefit from market gains that could increase the monthly withdrawal amount.
Important considerations
- Marital status & consent: If married, your spouse is your primary beneficiary. You can name someone else with your spouse's signed consent. If you are not married, you may designate any primary beneficiary regardless of relationship. If you divorce, your spouse is disqualified for survivor benefits. After a divorce, you must designate or redesignate your former spouse as your beneficiary for them to be eligible for any lump-sum death benefit.
- Reporting a death: You or a family member should notify SURS as soon as possible after a member's death to ensure timely processing of benefits.
- Required documents: SURS requires certain documents to process survivor benefit claims, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates.
- Insurance coverage: A spouse receiving a monthly survivor benefit may also qualify for health and dental insurance coverage under the state-paid plan.
