Survivor benefits
and designating your beneficiary

Form: Beneficiary designation—Active member (2 pages, pdf)

There are two types of survivor benefits: a lump-sum payment and a monthly, member-survivor benefit.

As an active member of the MTRS who is making regular payroll contributions or who is on an authorized leave of absence, you automatically provide a survivor benefit in the event that you die while you are still in active service.

Please see our booklet, What You Need to Know as the Survivor of an Active Member (32 pages, pdf).

If I should die while I am an active member, what benefits will my survivors be entitled to?

The type of benefit that survivors receive depends upon their relationship to you as well as what type of beneficiary you specified and who you named as a beneficiary on your MTRS Beneficiary Designation Form.

• A lump-sum beneficiary will receive your accumulated contributions and interest in a single, lump-sum amount. There are no restrictions on who may be a lump-sum beneficiary and you may name more than one person or entity and you may designate the percentage of the benefit that each is to receive. You may also name contingent beneficiaries who will be paid in the event that the primary lump-sum beneficiary is not alive at the time of your death.
• A member-survivor beneficiary will receive a monthly allowance instead of a lump-sum payment, if, at the time of your death, you have accrued at least two years of creditable service. A member-survivor beneficiary must be your parent, sibling, child, spouse or former spouse who has not remarried. You may designate only one member-survivor beneficiary.

Pursuant to Massachusetts law, however, your surviving spouse and/or the guardian of your dependent children may have a superior legal right to any benefits awarded as a result of your death. This means that, regardless of who you named as a beneficiary, if you are survived by a spouse and/or dependent children, and your spouse and/or dependent children meet certain requirements, your spouse and/or the guardian of your dependent children may elect to receive the survivor benefit.

How do I know who the MTRS has on record as my beneficiary?

There are two ways. First, as an active member, you will receive an annual statement of your annuity savings account which shows your account balance as well as the name(s) of your beneficiary(ies). Second, you can always send us a written request for this information and we will respond in writing. Unfortunately, we cannot provide this information over the phone.

Can I change my beneficiary designation?

Yes—you can change your designation as often as you wish and at any time during your active service. However, such changes must be submitted on our Beneficiary Designation Form—Active Member (2 pages, pdf) in order to take effect.

If I am survived by my spouse, is he or she entitled to any guaranteed benefit?

Yes—if the following criteria are met:

• your spouse must have been living with you at the time of your death and
• your spouse must have been married to you for at least one year and
• you must have been a member in service at the time of your death and
• you must have completed at least two full years of creditable service.

If your spouse meets the eligibility requirements, he or she will be entitled to a guaranteed minimum payment (currently, $250 per month) as well as an additional set allowance for dependent children (currently, $120 per month for the first child and $90 for each additional child).

In this case, if you have named your spouse as:

• a member-survivor beneficiary, he or she will receive either the guaranteed minimum or the member-survivor monthly benefit (see worksheet, below), whichever is greater.
• a lump-sum beneficiary, he or she will always have the option of choosing a lump-sum benefit or member-survivor benefits.

If there is no surviving spouse, the guardian of the surviving dependent children may be entitled to the minimum payments.

What does my beneficiary need to do to claim his or her benefits?

Your beneficiary should contact our office and speak to a representative in our office. He or she will be required to complete a basic claim form and submit it along with a copy of your death certificate. If applicable, we may require that your beneficiary also submit a copy of your marriage certificate, military discharge record (DD214) and/or certified birth records for you, your spouse and your dependent children. We will then let your beneficiary know what the next steps are and whether we need any additional documentation.

Member-Survivor benefit allowance: Formula and worksheet

The amount of the member-survivor benefit is equal to the amount that the member would have received under Option C if he or she had retired at his or her last age or at age 55, whichever age is higher. In other words, for the purpose of calculating the member-survivor benefit, the member’s age is advanced the number of years and months needed to reach 55; likewise, the age of the beneficiary is advanced the same number of years and months.

The example illustrates the calculations for the survivor of a member who died at age 42 with 20 years of creditable service, an average salary of $42,000 for the last three consecutive years, and a beneficiary who is age 40. Note that even though the member was 13 years younger than age 55, the Option A Age Factor for age 55 is used. Because the member’s age was advanced by 13 years, the beneficiary’s age was also advanced by 13 years (to age 53) in determining the Option C Factor.

Note: This is not an interactive worksheet that you can fill in on screen. Accordingly, you may want to print this page and complete the worksheet on paper.

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Option A age factors

Use your age on your retirement date

• the member’s age (which is age 55 or above), then also use the beneficiary’s age on his or her birthday that is closest to the member’s date of death.
• age 55 (which is not the member’s age), then you will need to use an advanced age for the beneficiary. To determine which age to use for the beneficiary, you need to do two calculations. First, subtract the member’s actual age from age 55. Second, add this number of years to the beneficiary’s age. The total is the age of the beneficiary that you should use for the purpose of determining the Option C Factor.

Find these ages on the appropriate axes and follow the row and column into the table. Your Option C Factor is the number where the row and column intersect. Please note that for the purposes of this guide, the values in this table are rounded, approximate percentages. Also, if the age combination for you and your beneficiary is not listed, please see the complete listing (pdf; 8 pages).

Option C factor table for members retiring on or after July 1, 2004