State Public Pensions in Connecticut: when someone dies
A 4-step process for Connecticut State Employees Retirement System (SERS) — Office of the State Comptroller after a death in Connecticut.
Administering agency
Connecticut State Employees Retirement System (SERS) — Office of the State Comptroller
Steps to take
- Identify whether the deceased was a member of SERS (state employee) or CTRB (public school teacher).
- Report the death — to the Office of the State Comptroller Retirement Payroll Unit for SERS (860-702-3528, or the online Report a Death form), or to the Connecticut Teachers' Retirement Board for CTRB — so pension payments stop.
- Provide the death certificate: the SERS Retirement Payroll Unit requests a copy from the executor or representative after the death is reported, and CTRB requires a photocopy mailed with its Reporting the Death of a CTRB Member form.
- Confirm the survivor option and beneficiary designation on file, and ask the system what survivor or death benefit is payable.
Connecticut State Employees Retirement System (SERS) — Office of the State Comptroller
Phone: 860-702-3528
Visit the agency website →Frequently asked questions
For a state employee or state retiree, contact the Office of the State Comptroller, which administers the State Employees Retirement System; the Retirement Payroll Unit is reachable at 860-702-3528 or Osc.Retireepayrollunit@ct.gov, and a death can also be reported through the Comptroller's online Report a Death form. For a public school teacher, contact the Connecticut Teachers' Retirement Board at 1-800-504-1102 and mail its death-notification form with a photocopy of the death certificate.
It depends on the survivor option the retiree elected at retirement. If a survivor option was elected, the designated survivor receives a pension equal to either 50% or 100% of the retiree's reduced benefit, for the survivor's lifetime. If no survivor option was elected, payments stop at the retiree's death.
Yes. If a teacher dies in active service, CTRB pays monthly benefits to statutory survivors — a spouse and/or a minor child under 18: $300 per month for each minor or disabled child, and $300 to $600 per month to a surviving spouse, up to a $1,500 monthly family maximum. A one-time lump-sum death payment of up to $2,000, depending on length of service, is paid to the surviving spouse, or if there is none, to the person who paid the funeral expenses. If the teacher had met the age and service requirements for retirement, a surviving spouse who is the designated beneficiary may instead choose a monthly Plan D 100% co-participant benefit or a lump-sum refund of the account balances.
Sources
Data sourced from State Public Pensions in Connecticut primary sources (6 pages reviewed). How we research.
Administering agency
Connecticut State Employees Retirement System (SERS) — Office of the State Comptroller