State Public Pensions in Rhode Island
The Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island, administered by the Office of the General Treasurer, covers state employees, teachers, MERS municipal employees, MERS police and fire, correctional officers, BHDDH nurses, state police, and judges. What is paid after a death depends on whether the member had retired, on the payment option elected at retirement, and, for a death in service, on whether the death was accidental and in the performance of duty.
Steps to take when someone dies
State Public Pensions in Rhode Island: key facts
What Rhode Island says4
- Death after retirement
Under R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-18, a retiree who elected Option 1 has the reduced allowance continued in full for the nominee's life; Option 2 continues one-half of it.1
Where no option was elected, R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-23(a) pays only the excess, if any, of the member's total contributions over the allowance payments already received.2
Under R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-23(b), a death benefit is payable on the death of any retired member: the ordinary death benefit accrued at retirement is carried in full through the first year of retirement, then reduced 25% on each retirement anniversary until 25% of the accrued amount is reached, and never below $4,000.2
- Death before retirement
For a death from any cause other than one compensable as an accidental death, R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-21 pays the member's contributions back without interest.3
If the member died in employee status (or on official illness leave of under a year), R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-21 also pays an ordinary death benefit of $800 for each completed year of total service, with a $4,000 minimum and a $16,000 maximum.3
A surviving spouse or domestic partner who is the designated beneficiary may elect the Option 1 lifetime allowance instead of a refund of contributions, if the member had at least 10 years of membership service on or before June 30, 2012, or at least five years as an active contributing member on or after July 1, 2012.4
Under R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-19.1, the allowance starts 30 days after the first of the month following a death in employee status; after a death in inactive status it begins the month after the beneficiary turns 60.4
- Who receives the benefit
Under R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-19.1, a member in service may make the same Option 1 election for someone other than a spouse.4
The death benefit is paid to the nominee named in the member's written designation on file with the retirement board. If no nomination was filed, or the nominee died first, R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-24 pays it to the estate of the deceased member.5
The line-of-duty annuity under R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-20 goes to the surviving spouse or domestic partner for life unless they remarry or enter a domestic partnership, then to children under 18, then to a dependent parent for life.6
- Line-of-duty death
Where the death was the natural and proximate result of an accident in the performance of duty and not the result of the member's willful negligence, R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-20 pays the accumulated contributions with interest.6
For such a death, on application by or for the member's dependents, the retirement board grants an annuity equal to one-half of the member's annual compensation at the date of death.6
Governing law: R.I. Gen. Laws 36-10-18, -19.1, -20, -21, -23, -24 (state employees and teachers); R.I. Gen. Laws 45-21-25, -26, -27, -30, -51.1 (MERS municipal members)
Retirement systems1
- Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI)
State employees, teachers, MERS municipal employees, MERS police and fire, correctional officers, BHDDH nurses, state police, and judges7
Phone: 1-401-462-7600
Rhode Island public pension benefits
Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI)
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Rhode Island
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Rhode Island: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Rhode Island: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysR.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-9-1, 33-9-4Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 6 monthsR.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-11-4, 33-11-5, 33-11-5.1, 33-11-5.2, 33-12-11, 33-18-1Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 12 months.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Rhode Island does not revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-9.1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Rhode Island, descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesR.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-1-1, 33-1-7, 33-1-10Verified Sep 10, 2026View source, and an heir must survive the decedent by 120 hoursR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-1-13Verified Sep 10, 2026View source to inherit.
Hire a Probate Attorney
Browse vetted attorneys handling probate matters across all 50 states.