DOL

Federal Benefits

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

ERISA rights to pension survivor annuities and COBRA continuation coverage

When someone dies Survivor benefits Forms

The U.S. Department of Labor protects employee benefit rights under ERISA, including pension and health plan survivor benefits. When someone dies, their surviving spouse has federal rights to private pension survivor annuities, COBRA health coverage continuation, and unpaid wages. The DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) helps survivors understand and recover these benefits. For a federal employee who died of a work-related injury or illness, the DOL Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), through its Division of Federal Employees' Compensation, pays survivor compensation and funeral expenses under FECA.

Notifying the DOL when someone dies

A family member reports the death. DOL's page on what to do after a death →

Executors and surviving spouses

Notify the plan administrator through the employer's HR or benefits office, with a certified copy of the death certificate:

•Ask about pension survivor benefits and COBRA rights
•Request the plan documents in writing; an administrator who fails to furnish them within 30 days can be held liable for up to $110 a day

Claim the pension survivor benefit with the plan administrator, sending the marriage certificate. A surviving spouse receives a QJSA or QPSA from a pension, or the 401(k) balance, unless the spouse signed a written waiver.

Elect COBRA within the election period, at least 60 days from the notice, to continue group health coverage for up to 36 months. Compare the surviving spouse's own employer plan and an ACA Marketplace special enrollment.

Search for money owed to the deceased:

•Back wages from a Wage and Hour Division investigation: webapps.dol.gov/wow
•A plan whose employer cannot be found: askebsa.dol.gov/AbandonedPlanSearch
•A lost pension: contact former employers or unions, or call EBSA at 1-866-444-3272

Call EBSA Benefits Advisors at 1-866-444-3272 when the plan administrator denies a claim. The plan must allow at least 60 days to appeal.

Families of federal employees

File a FECA death claim when a federal employee died of a work-related injury or illness. The survivors, the employing agency or the estate may file:

•Surviving spouse or children: Form CA-5
•Parents, siblings, grandparents or grandchildren: Form CA-5b
•File through ecomp.dol.gov, or mail to U.S. Department of Labor, OWCP/Federal Employees Program, P.O. Box 8311, London, KY 40742-8311

File within three years of the death. The limit does not apply when the employee's immediate superior knew of the injury or death, or received written notice, within 30 days.

Ask about funeral and burial expenses of up to $800 and the $200 sum for ending the decedent's federal employment status, both payable alongside survivor compensation.

Call (202) 513-6860, Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET, with questions about the claim.

Required Documents

Certified copy of the death certificate
Marriage certificate: for surviving spouse claims
Summary Plan Description from the employer's plan
Most recent account statement: From the pension or 401(k) plan.
Beneficiary designation forms: if available
Letters testamentary or letters of administration: for estate claims

Timeline

A retirement plan decides a claim within 90 days of receiving it, and decides an appeal within 60 days, extendable by a further 60 days if the plan notifies the claimant in writing.

Deadlines9

The employer reports the employee's death to the group health plan: within 30 days of the death^{1, 2}
The plan sends the COBRA election notice: within 14 days of the employer's notice of the death^{1, 3}
COBRA election: at least 60 days after the election notice or the loss of coverage, whichever is later^{4, 1}
First COBRA premium: at least 45 days after the election^{4, 1}
Claim for a pension survivor benefit: per the plan's terms⁵
Appeal of a denied retirement plan claim: at least 60 days after the denial⁶
The plan administrator furnishes plan documents a beneficiary requests in writing: within 30 days of the request; An administrator who fails or refuses can be held personally liable by a court for up to $110 a day from the date of the refusal.^{7, 8}
FECA death claim, unless the immediate superior knew of the injury or death or had written notice within 30 days: within 3 years of the date of death^{9, 10}
Claiming back wages the Wage and Hour Division recovered: within 3 years; The recovered wages are transferred to the U.S. Treasury.¹¹

What DOL pays or provides to survivors6

Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity (QJSA)

Monthly survivor benefit or annuity

Under ERISA, a surviving spouse is entitled to at least 50% of the benefit paid in the participant's lifetime by a defined benefit pension or money purchase plan, the default for married participants. Waiving it takes both spouses' written consent, the spouse's signature witnessed by a notary or plan representative.^{12, 13}

Who qualifies: Surviving spouse of a married participant in a defined benefit pension or money purchase plan

Amount: At least half of the benefit paid during the participant's and spouse's joint lives (plans may offer more)

How to apply: Contact the plan administrator. If the participant did not waive the QJSA, the surviving spouse is entitled automatically.

Qualified Pre-Retirement Survivor Annuity (QPSA)

Monthly survivor benefit or annuity

If a vested participant in a defined benefit pension plan dies before retirement, the surviving spouse is entitled to a lifetime annuity, even though the worker died before retirement age. It is automatic unless both the participant and the spouse gave written consent to waive it.^{12, 13}

Who qualifies: Surviving spouse of a vested participant who died before the annuity starting date

Amount: Lifetime annuity based on the participant's accrued benefit

How to apply: Contact the plan administrator and provide a certified copy of the death certificate and the marriage certificate.

Defined Contribution Plan Survivor Benefits (401(k))

Account balance paid to beneficiaries

If a participant in a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan dies before receiving benefits, the surviving spouse receives the account balance. The spouse can be excluded only if the participant named a different beneficiary and the spouse signed a witnessed written waiver.⁵

Who qualifies: Surviving spouse of a deceased 401(k) or defined contribution plan participant

Amount: Full account balance (unless a valid spousal waiver and alternate beneficiary designation exists)

How to apply: Contact the plan administrator. A surviving spouse may assert spousal rights where a different beneficiary was named without consent.

COBRA Health Coverage Continuation

Health coverage for survivors

The death of an employee is a qualifying event under COBRA, so the surviving spouse and dependent children can continue group health coverage for up to 36 months, paying the full premium. The surviving spouse's own employer plan or an ACA Marketplace special enrollment are alternatives.^{4, 1}

Who qualifies: Surviving spouse and dependent children of a deceased employee covered by an employer group health plan with 20+ employees

Amount: Continuation of existing group health coverage for up to 36 months (not the 18 months that apply to a job loss) at up to 102% of the plan premium, which includes a 2% administrative charge

How to apply: Elect within the period the plan allows, at least 60 days from the election notice or the loss of coverage, whichever is later. The first premium is due no sooner than 45 days after the election.

FECA Survivor Compensation (Federal Employees)

Monthly survivor benefit or annuity

If a federal civilian employee dies from a work-related injury or illness, the OWCP Division of Federal Employees' Compensation pays monthly survivor compensation under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA).^{10, 14, 9}

Who qualifies: Surviving spouse, children, or other eligible dependents of a federal employee who died of a work-related injury or illness

Amount: Spouse with no child: 50% of monthly pay. Spouse with children: 45% plus 15% per child, up to a combined 75%. Children with no spouse: 40% for one child plus 15% for each additional child, up to 75%.

How to apply: File Form CA-5 (surviving spouse or children) or Form CA-5b (parents, siblings, grandparents or grandchildren) with the OWCP Federal Employees Program through the ECOMP portal or by mail, within three years of the date of death. Form CA-5.

FECA Funeral and Burial Expenses

Burial, funeral and memorial benefits

Funeral and burial expenses are payable alongside FECA survivor compensation, with a further sum for terminating the decedent's status as a federal employee.^{10, 14, 15}

Who qualifies: The survivors of a federal employee who died of a work-related injury or illness

Amount: Funeral and burial expenses not to exceed $800, plus a $200 sum for terminating the decedent's status as a federal employee

What happens to each matter1

Retirement account: Under ERISA, retirement plan assets are held in trust and protected from the employer's creditors. If the employer goes bankrupt, 401(k) plan assets remain separate and belong to the participants and beneficiaries.⁵

What DOL's rules say8

Who reports the death

The surviving spouse or executor notifies the employer's plan administrator of the death as soon as possible. For group health coverage the duty to report the death to the plan is the employer's, not the family's.^{5, 2}

What the agency does and does not handle

The DOL does not receive death reports directly; private plan administrators administer the benefits under ERISA.⁵

Order of beneficiaries or payees

A participant cannot name a non-spouse beneficiary for a defined benefit pension unless the surviving spouse signs a witnessed written waiver, so the spouse receives the pension benefit even where the participant named someone else.¹³

Appeals and disputes

If an appeal is denied, a complaint can be filed with EBSA online or by phone. EBSA Benefits Advisors may investigate the plan on the survivor's behalf.⁵

Who may obtain records

A beneficiary can ask the plan administrator in writing for the Summary Plan Description, the latest annual report and the plan document.⁵

The Retirement Savings Lost and Found database only searches plans tied to the searcher's own Social Security number through a Login.gov account; it does not support searches on behalf of a deceased person.¹⁶

Who may act for the estate or the survivor

A FECA death claim may be filed by the survivors, by the employing agency on behalf of the survivors, or by the estate.¹⁰

Remarriage

FECA compensation to a surviving spouse continues for life or until remarriage before age 55, which pays a lump sum equal to 24 times the monthly compensation. Remarriage at 55 or later pays no lump sum, and payments continue for life.^{14, 17}

Coverage limits

Federal COBRA applies only to employers with 20 or more employees. Many states have mini-COBRA laws that extend similar rights to employees of smaller employers.⁵

Forms DOL issues2

CA-5: Claim for Compensation by Surviving Spouse and/or Children

The surviving spouse or children of a federal employee who died of a work-related injury or illness claim FECA death benefits from the OWCP Federal Employees Program.⁹

Completed by the surviving spouse or children. Available to download.

CA-5b: Claim for Compensation by Parents, Brothers, Sisters, Grandparents, or Grandchildren

Dependents other than a spouse or child of a federal employee who died of a work-related injury or illness claim FECA death benefits from the OWCP Federal Employees Program.¹⁸

Completed by a parent, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild. Available to download.

Other agencies and offices involved3

OWCP Federal Employees Program: FECA death claims for a federal employee who died of a work-related injury or illness^{19, 10}
Phone: 1-202-513-6860
Hours: Monday-Friday 9:30 AM-6:30 PM ET
Mailing address: U.S. Department of Labor, OWCP/Federal Employees Program, P.O. Box 8311, London, KY 40742-8311
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC): Terminated pension plans²⁰
Phone: 1-800-400-7242
State insurance department: State continuation coverage rules for employers with fewer than 20 employees⁵

Programs for survivors3

EBSA Benefits Advisors

Benefits Advisors help survivors understand their rights and recover benefits, can request plan documents from the plan administrator on a beneficiary's behalf, help locate a deceased worker's pension, and may investigate a plan.⁵

Who qualifies: Survivors and beneficiaries of private-sector pension and health plans

Phone: 1-866-444-3272

Workers Owed Wages

A database, searched by the employer's name, of back wages the Wage and Hour Division recovered in its investigations, including back pay a deceased worker may have been owed.¹¹

Abandoned Plan Search

Where the former employer cannot be found, the search shows whether the plan was abandoned and names the qualified termination administrator winding it up.²¹