§4049 Death in Service

Summary

When a participant dies before leaving federal service, the system pays survivors either a one-time lump-sum credit (if no monthly pension claim applies) or monthly survivor payments. A surviving spouse (or a former spouse who qualifies) is normally paid 55 percent of the pension the participant would have received. To qualify for that spouse payment the participant must have at least 18 months of civilian service credit. If the participant had under 3 years of service, the survivor’s payment is based on the average pay for that whole short service. If there is a surviving child or children, each child can get a monthly payment when the rules say a spouse or a parent of the child is also present, or the children get payments if no spouse survives. If the participant had under 20 years of service, the system treats them as if they had 20 years for computing the spouse pension, but the extra service credit added cannot be more than the difference between the person’s age at death and age 60. If the person died while recalled to duty, survivor payments are figured as if the recall had ended and the original pension resumed; special supplemental or redetermined pensions may be elected by a surviving spouse or qualifying former spouse in some cases. Limits and the start, stop, or resumption of payments follow the system’s normal rules.