State Public Pensions in Delaware: when someone dies
A 4-step process for Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System (DPERS) — Office of Pensions after a death in Delaware.
Administering agency
Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System (DPERS) — Office of Pensions
Steps to take
- Identify which Delaware pension plan the deceased belonged to (for example, the State Employees' Pension Plan or State Police Pension Plan).
- Report the death to the Office of Pensions so the member's pension payments stop.
- Provide the original death certificate for a deceased pensioner or survivor pensioner, and confirm the survivor or beneficiary designation on file.
- File the survivor pension or death-benefit claim with the documents the Office of Pensions requires.
Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System (DPERS) — Office of Pensions
Phone: 800-722-7300
Visit the agency website →Frequently asked questions
Contact the State of Delaware Office of Pensions at 800-722-7300 or 302-739-4208. It administers the State Employees' Pension Plan and the other Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System plans and handles survivor and death-benefit claims. For a deceased pensioner or survivor pensioner, the office requires the original death certificate.
A monthly survivor's pension is payable to the eligible survivor based on the Joint and Survivor option the member irrevocably elected at retirement — for members retiring on or after January 1, 2015, that is 50%, 66.67%, 75%, or 100% of the member's pension, depending on the reduction the member accepted. A surviving spouse under age 50 has the survivor pension actuarially reduced for each month under 50, unless caring for an unmarried child.
If there is no eligible survivor, the designated beneficiary receives a lump sum equal to the excess, if any, of the member's accumulated contributions with interest less all pension payments already made; with no designated beneficiary, that sum is paid to the estate. The State Employees' Pension Plan also pays a $7,000 post-retirement burial benefit to the beneficiary named on the burial benefit designation form.
Sources
Data sourced from State Public Pensions in Delaware primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
Administering agency
Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System (DPERS) — Office of Pensions