State Public Pensions in Wisconsin

Who may be given benefit information

ETF gives benefit information only to the beneficiaries or the personal representative of the member's estate.¹

Reporting a death

ETF takes death reports by phone and asks for the deceased's full name, address, birth date and date of death, the ETF Member ID or Social Security number, the caller's relationship to the deceased, and a primary contact's name, address, phone number and relationship to the deceased.²

Death before retirement

When a member dies before taking a retirement benefit, an active employee's beneficiary is paid the total account value: employee-required and employer-required contributions, any employee additional contributions, and accumulated interest.¹

An inactive employee's beneficiary is paid a partial account value that excludes the employer-required contributions. At or after age 55 (50 with protective category service), the benefit is the higher of the money purchase or special death benefit calculation.¹

Death after retirement

When a retiree dies, the benefit is based on the annuity option the member chose at retirement: any remaining payments in a guarantee period, a lifetime monthly benefit to one named survivor, or no benefit payable at all.¹

Who receives the benefit

ETF pays retirement and life insurance death benefits on the member's most recent Beneficiary Designation (form ET-2320) on file. With no form on file, benefits pass under the Wisconsin Statutory Standard Sequence.^{1, 3}

A Wisconsin Deferred Compensation (WDC) account pays under its own beneficiary designation.¹

Payments after the date of death

ETF recovers any electronic payments issued to the member after the date of death, and asks that the deceased member's bank account stay open until those funds have been recovered.²

Health coverage and life insurance

Beyond the retirement benefit, a WRS member may leave group life insurance and continued group health coverage for a surviving insured spouse and dependents.¹

Governing law: Wis. Stat. ch. 40 (Public Employee Trust Fund); Wis. Stat. 40.73 (death benefits); Wis. Stat. 40.02(8)(a) (beneficiary; statutory standard sequence)

Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS)

State employees, most local-government employees, and teachers^{1, 2}

Phone: 1-877-533-5020

Wisconsin Deferred Compensation (WDC)

Phone: 1-877-457-9327

1. 1.Death benefits (Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds)
2. 2.Report the death of a WRS member (Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds)
3. 3.Wis. Stat. 40.02(8)
4. 4.ET-8904, Wisconsin Deferred Compensation Program Fact Sheet