State Public Pensions in Kentucky

A death is reported to the member's system so the pension payments stop: KPPA for KERS, CERS, and SPRS members, or TRS for educators.¹

KPPA pays a $5,000 death benefit when a retiree who was receiving a monthly benefit based on at least 48 months of service credit dies.¹

Members with multiple accounts receive only one death benefit.¹

If a retiree elected a survivorship option, the named beneficiary receives a monthly benefit beginning the month after the death.²

The $5,000 death benefit goes to the beneficiary the retiree designated specifically for it on Form 6030, a designation separate from the monthly-benefit beneficiary.¹

The beneficiary named for the death benefit may be a person, the estate, a trust, or a funeral home.¹

An estate named as beneficiary may take only a lump sum or actuarial refund.²

The benefit for a member who dies before retiring depends on the beneficiary designation (Form 2035) on file before the death.²

If a KPPA member dies before retiring, a monthly benefit is available only if the member was eligible for normal or early retirement at death, was working for a participating agency with at least 60 months of service credit, or had at least 144 months of service credit.²

An eligible individual beneficiary may choose a lifetime monthly benefit equal to the Survivorship 100% Option amount, a lump sum actuarial refund, or a monthly payment for 5 or 10 years. Otherwise the beneficiary receives a lump sum of the member's contributions and accumulated interest.²

The estate's representative supplies a death certificate listing the manner of death and court documents naming the representative.¹

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