That depends. If you choose a pension payment option that provides a lifetime benefit for a beneficiary, you cannot change your beneficiary even if they die before you do. However, if you choose a pension payment option that provides a benefit for a certain period after retirement, you can change your beneficiary after you retire. Learn more about the different pension payment options and whether they allow you to change your beneficiary below.
If your retirement plan provides a one-time lump sum death benefit after you retire, you can also change your beneficiary (or beneficiaries) for that benefit.
Available Pension Payment Options
At retirement, you will choose a pension payment option:
- Single Life Allowance option: Provides the maximum monthly benefit payment to you for the rest of your life. This option does not provide a continuing benefit so you will not select a beneficiary, and all payments stop when you die.
- Joint Allowance options: Provide a lifetime benefit to a loved one in exchange for a reduction to your monthly benefit payment. After your death, your beneficiary will continue to receive your pension (or part of it, depending on the option you choose) for the rest of their life. If your beneficiary dies before you, your monthly benefit payment remains the same and all payments stop when you die. However, if you choose one of the Popup-Up/Joint Allowance options and your beneficiary predeceases you, your monthly benefit payments will increase to the amount payable under the Single Life Allowance option. For these options, you can only choose one beneficiary, and you cannot change your beneficiary after you retire.
- Five Year Certain or Ten Year Certain options: Provide a benefit for a certain period after retirement in exchange for a reduction to your monthly benefit payment. If you die within the five- or ten-year period after your retirement (depending on the option you choose), your beneficiary will continue to receive your monthly pension payment for the remainder of the five- or ten-year period. For these options, you can choose more than one beneficiary, and you can change your beneficiary after you retire.
Post-Retirement Death Benefit
Your pension is not your only NYSLRS retirement benefit. Most NYSLRS retirees are eligible to leave a death benefit if they retired directly from payroll or within one year of leaving employment. The post-retirement death benefit is a one-time lump sum payment. For information on how it’s calculated, visit our Death Benefits for Retirees page.
You can change your beneficiary for this benefit at any time, and your beneficiaries for this benefit do not have to be the same as your pension payment option beneficiary.
Manage Your Beneficiaries in Retirement Online
The fastest way to view or update your beneficiaries for your post-retirement death benefit is in Retirement Online.
- Sign in to Retirement Online.
- Look under My Account Summary.
- Click View and Update My Beneficiaries button.
You should also review the contact information for your beneficiaries so we can find them when needed.
I want to know if you get divorced how does that affect the health insurance.
NYSLRS doesn’t administer health insurance programs for its retirees. For New York State retirees and some municipal retirees, the New York State Department of Civil Service administers the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP). You can find contact information on the Department of Civil Service website.
If you retired from a public employer that does not participate in NYSHIP, your former employer’s benefits administrator should be able to help you.
This is my third attempt to try to change my pop-up joint allowance since my spouse has passed away I sent all the paperwork needed death certificates, and information requested. I still got nothing. I’m still receiving a reduced monthly pension payment. Her passing date was August 6, 2022. This should have been moved up to the single life payments.Can someone take a look at this again and get back to me thank you.
We’d like to help resolve your issue. Your message is important to us, and we have sent you a private message in response.
Please update the website information to provide guidance for how a retiree can report the death of the beneficiary designated when the pop-up joint allowance option was selected at retirement. It appears that the beneficiary could be removed on the page where beneficiary changes can be made, however there is a pop-up note saying to call for further instructions.
When attempting to call the local and 866 number provided every day for the past week, each time I reached a recording that says call volume is very heavy and I must try back another day.
Can I go to the NYSLRS office to notify you?
We are very sorry for your loss. Please provide us with a photocopy of your beneficiary’s death certificate along with a cover letter with your name, NYSLRS ID or the last four digits of your Social Security number, and your contact information. If you chose a pop-up option, your pension amount will be increased to the amount you would have received if you had selected the Single Life Allowance at retirement.
You can attach the death certificate and your cover letter to our secure contact form or send them by mail (we recommend certified mail, return receipt requested) to:
NYSLRS
110 State Street
Albany, NY 12244-0001
That all sounds good and that is exactly what I did. For months of nothing changing and being advised that these things take time, I was able to speak with someone who offered to look into the matter. Moments later I was told I mailed a photocopy and needed to send the original. I told her that I was advised by a NYSLRS representative to not send the original, but a copy. Also, after searching the websites of NYSLRS and the State Comptroller I had located information that a copy of the Death Certificate was required, NOT the original. So off to the Post Office and paying again for Certified Mail I went. Good luck D Saulsbery!
was wondering if you recieved new ifformation reguarding recalculation months ago why does it take so long to recalculated.
Your message is important to us, and we have sent you a private message in response.
i still never heard from ny state reguarding my recalculation i was sent a private message requestion my phone number. never heard from them..
We have forwarded your message to a customer service representative.
just wondering why it takes so long to recalate my pension if you recieved new information months ago.
Your message is important to us, and we have sent you a private message in response.
Is your post retirement beneficiary the same as your pension beneficiary? When I pass away who gets the payments? I have one name as my post retirement and a different name on my pension beneficiary.
Your beneficiaries for your post-retirement death benefit do not have to be the same as your pension payment option beneficiary.
To view or update your beneficiaries for your post-retirement death benefit:
I have 2 questions: If I retired in 2012 and chose a single life option but have since married, will my wife be eligible to receive my benefit when I die? She is the beneficiary of the ‘Pension Payment Option/Survivor Benefit’. How can I find out the value of such benefit and if it declines over time? Thank you.
Once you select a pension payment option, you have 30 days after the first day of the month following your date of retirement to change it. After that, you cannot change it.
If you chose the Single Life Allowance option in 2012, you’re receiving the maximum monthly benefit available. However, this option does not provide a continuing benefit, so all payments will stop when you die.
Most NYSLRS retirees are eligible to leave a one-time lump sum payment death benefit if they retired directly from payroll or within one year of leaving employment. You can change your beneficiary for this benefit at any time.
For information on how it’s calculated, visit our Death Benefits for Retirees page.
The amounts for this death benefit were provided in a letter when you retired. If you no longer have this letter, please call our customer service representatives at 866-805-0990. Press 2, then follow the prompts. You can also message them using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information.
The death benefit listed on my retirement letter from NYSLRS indicates an amount that is paid after 24 months. My question: does that figure remain the same until I pass?
The post-retirement death benefit is based on the ordinary death benefit you had before you retired and how long you have been retired.
Visit our website for more information about the post-retirement death benefit.
I chose a joint survivor benefit when I retired. My husband is now deceased. May I now choose my daughter to receive the payments when I pass?
We’re sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, with Joint Allowance options, you cannot change your beneficiary even if they die before you do.
You can find more information on the Pension Payment Option Descriptions page of our website.
Is this correct, you can NEVER change your pension payment option after you choose it?
You have up to 30 days after the last day of your retirement month to change your pension payment option. After that date, you cannot change your option for any reason.
can your beneficiary be changed to a trust or transferred to a trust?
The pension payment option you chose at retirement and your eligibility for death benefits determine whether you can change your beneficiary.
For account-specific information, or if you wish to designate a trust as your beneficiary for a post-retirement death benefit, please message our customer service representatives using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information and they can provide you with the appropriate form.
Survivor’s Benefit Program beneficiaries are tied to your pension payment option. If you are eligible for a survivor’s benefit and you chose the Single Life Allowance, you can change your survivor’s benefit beneficiary by sending us a completed Pensioner’s Designation of Beneficiaries (RS6439) form. The form contains instructions for providing payment to a trust.
I’m going to be updating my will soon, and possibly establishing a trust. I know that lifetime beneficiaries must be people, but I chose the single life allowance anyway so that isn’t a question. But is there an issue with making the beneficiary of my post-retirement death benefit a trust?
Do people in the tiers who get the post retirement death benefit (I’m tier 4) also get the $3,000 survivor’s benefit paid to their beneficiary? Or does the death benefit replace the survivor’s benefit for them? And is there a problem with the “survivor” being a trust?
If you wish to designate a trust for your post-retirement death benefit, please message our customer service representatives using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information and they can provide you with the appropriate form.
Your beneficiary for the Survivor’s Benefit Program is tied to your pension payment option. If you chose the Single Life Allowance, you can change your survivor’s benefit beneficiary by sending us a completed Pensioner’s Designation of Beneficiaries (RS6439) form. The form contains instructions for providing payment to a trust.
For additional questions, please read our Survivor’s Benefit Program for Retired NYS Employees webpage or message our customer service representatives.
I’m going to be updating my will soon, and possibly establishing a trust. I know that lifetime beneficiaries must be people, but I chose the single life allowance anyway so that isn’t a question. But is there an issue with making the beneficiary of my post-retirement death benefit a trust?
Do people in the tiers who get the post retirement death benefit (I’m tier 4) also get the $3,000 survivor’s benefit paid to their beneficiary? Or does the death benefit replace the survivor’s benefit for them? And is there a problem with the “survivor” being a trust?
If you wish to designate a trust for your post-retirement death benefit, please message our customer service representatives using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information and they can provide you with the appropriate form.
Your beneficiary for the Survivor’s Benefit Program is tied to your pension payment option. If you chose the Single Life Allowance, you can change your survivor’s benefit beneficiary by sending us a completed Pensioner’s Designation of Beneficiaries (RS6439) form. The form contains instructions for providing payment to a trust.
For additional questions, please read our Survivor’s Benefit Program for Retired NYS Employees webpage or message our customer service representatives.
I would like to update the home addresses of my death benefit beneficiaries. I would also like to update the last name of one of my beneficiaries because she has married and taken a new last name. When I go to the Update Beneficiaries web page, it wants me to change their designations to “Pension Payment Option/Survivor Benefit”. I want them to stay designated as death benefit beneficiaries. What is the best way to update their info and keep their current designation? Thank you very much.
For help with updating your beneficiaries’ information in Retirement Online, please call our customer service representatives at 866-805-0990, press 2, then follow the prompts. You can also message them using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information.
i would like to know how i can take off both beneficiaries on my account.
If you are retired and you choose a pension payment option that provides a lifetime benefit for a beneficiary, you cannot change your beneficiaries. If you chose a pension payment option that provides a benefit for a certain period after retirement, you can change your beneficiary after you retire.
You can find out more about the different pension payment options and whether they allow you to change your beneficiary in our Can You Change Your Beneficiary After You Retire? blog post.
If your retirement plan provides a one-time lump sum death benefit after you retire, you can change your beneficiary (or beneficiaries) for that benefit.
Most NYSLRS retirees are eligible to leave a death benefit if they retired directly from payroll or within one year of leaving employment. You can change your beneficiary for this benefit at any time, and your beneficiaries for this benefit do not have to be the same as your pension payment option beneficiary.
The fastest way to view or update your beneficiaries is in Retirement Online.
My husband works at Erie County Medical Center, the same place that I retired from. I chose the pop up retirement plan so that he would receive some of my benefit after I die. My question is will he be able to receive this because he will be collecting his own retirement benefit which is much higher then mine because I got penalized because I had to retire early because of disability. If he can only collect his because its higher then I should just have the single benefit?????
If your husband will collect his own pension from NYSLRS, it will not affect the amount he would receive as the beneficiary of your NYSLRS pension.
As a reminder, you were able to change your option selection up to 30 days after your disability application was approved, or up to 30 days after your retirement date, whichever was later. After that, you cannot change your pension payment option. You also cannot change your beneficiary designation under the pop-up payment option, even if they pass away before you.
Barbara Caprio
Benny Orsino has passed away on 10/10/24 who should I notify
Please accept our condolences. There is a form on our website you can use to report his passing.
The form has two parts. The first section is for your information, including a phone number in case we need to contact you. In the second part, please enter the information you have for Benny. If you know his NYSLRS ID or the last four digits of their Social Security number, that would be helpful, but you can submit the form without those.
If you have any questions, please call our customer service representatives at 866-805-0990. Press 2, then follow the prompts.