While you're still working
- Less than one year of eligibility service: accumulated contributions.
- One year or more: accumulated contributions plus one year of annual earnable compensation.
If at death you were eligible for normal service retirement, had 25 years of eligibility service, or were 55 (ACPS) / 60 (RCPB) with 15 years, a surviving spouse may instead take a monthly allowance equal to Option 2 (100% survivor); with no spouse, disabled children or children under 26 may share 50% of the Basic Allowance. ACPS Handbook pp. 13-14, Ordinary Death Benefit; RCPB Handbook p. 14; ACFR FY2025 p. 165
Line-of-duty death
Death in the actual performance of duty without willful negligence: accumulated contributions to your designated beneficiaries (or estate), plus a monthly allowance of two-thirds of AFC to your spouse; if none, to disabled children or children under 26; if none, to dependent parents. ACPS Handbook p. 13, Special Death Benefit; RCPB Handbook p. 13
If you'd left with a vested pension
A vested former member who dies before the vested allowance starts: accumulated contributions to the designated beneficiaries. ACPS Handbook p. 14; RCPB Handbook p. 14
After you retire
After retirement, survivor protection depends on the payment option chosen (Options 1-6). ACPS Handbook pp. 19-20
Option 2: $3,000.53 a month, and $3,000.53 to the beneficiary for life.
Option 3: $3,201.82 a month, and $1,600.91 to the beneficiary for life.SRA option factor table (eff. 1/1/2022)
All payment options in dollars
What the handbooks say
- If you die while working with at least one year of service, your beneficiaries get your contributions plus one year of salary. With less than a year, they get your contributions.ACPS Handbook pp. 13-14, Ordinary Death Benefit
- If at death you could have retired, had 25 years, or were 55 (ACPS) / 60 (RCPB) with 15 years, your spouse can choose a lifetime monthly benefit equal to Option 2 instead; with no spouse, children under 26 or disabled children can share 50% of your Basic Allowance.ACPS Handbook p. 14; RCPB Handbook p. 14
- A line-of-duty death pays two-thirds of AFC monthly to your spouse (or children under 26 or disabled, or dependent parents), plus your contributions to your beneficiaries.ACPS Handbook p. 13, Special Death Benefit
- After retirement, what your survivors get depends on the payment option you chose.ACPS Handbook pp. 19-20
Questions
What does my family get if I die while still working?
With at least a year of service: your contributions plus one year of your pay. With less than a year: your contributions.
Can my spouse get a monthly pension instead?
Yes, if when you died you could have retired, had 25 years, or were 55 (ACPS) / 60 (RCPB) with 15 years. The spouse gets a lifetime amount equal to Option 2.
What happens after I retire?
It depends on your payment option. The Basic Allowance stops when you die. Options 2, 3, 5 and 6 keep paying your beneficiary.
Source: SRPS Benefits Handbooks: Teachers' Pension System (Alternate Contributory Pension Selection; Reformed Contributory Pension Benefit), Revised April 2021, ACPS Handbook pp. 13, 14, 18, 19, 20; RCPB Handbook pp. 13, 14; ACFR FY2025 pp. 165, 167; Options Pamphlet PDF pp. 1, 2; SRA web pages; SRA option factor table (eff. 1/1/2022). Last reviewed .