CalSTRS Death Benefit: What Survivors Receive and How to Claim

Types of CalSTRS Death Benefits

CalSTRS provides different death benefits depending on whether the member was actively employed, retired, or had left service without retiring. The two main categories are the one-time lump-sum payment and ongoing monthly survivor allowances.

One-Time Lump-Sum Death Benefit

When an active CalSTRS member dies, eligible recipients may receive one-time or ongoing death benefits, depending on the member's coverage and circumstances. A member can name recipients for one-time lump-sum death benefits on the Recipient Designation form. Confirm the current amount and eligibility with CalSTRS.

Who receives this payment depends on the member's Recipient Designation and applicable CalSTRS beneficiary rules. If no designation is on file, ask CalSTRS who is eligible to receive the benefit.

Survivor Allowance for Active Members

Coverage A and Coverage B are legacy structures. Coverage A members retain legacy family-allowance survivor protection structured around dependent children; Coverage B survivor benefits are driven by elected Joint-and-Survivor annuity options.

Preretirement Election of an Option

CalSTRS gives eligible members the ability to lock in survivor protection before they actually retire. By filing a Preretirement Election of an Option, a member who has reached retirement eligibility can designate a beneficiary to receive a lifetime monthly allowance — the same 100%, 75%, or 50% joint-and-survivor payout that would apply if the member had retired with that option.

This is particularly important for members who plan to keep working past their earliest retirement eligibility date. What a survivor may receive without a preretirement election depends on the member's coverage and applicable death-benefit rules; confirm the available protection with CalSTRS.

Death Benefits After Retirement

For retired members, what survivors receive depends entirely on the payout option the retiree selected at retirement:

• Member-Only Benefit: Monthly payments stop at death. If total payments received were less than the member's accumulated contributions and interest at retirement, the remaining balance is paid as a lump sum to the named recipient.
• 100% Joint-and-Survivor Option: The named beneficiary receives 100% of the reduced monthly allowance for life.
• 75% or 50% Options: The beneficiary receives 75% or 50% of the reduced amount for life.
• Compound Option: Each named beneficiary receives their designated percentage.

These elections are permanent 30 days after CalSTRS issues the first benefit check. There is no way to change the payout option after that window closes, even if circumstances change.

The Pop-Up Provision

All CalSTRS joint-and-survivor options include an automatic pop-up. If the designated option beneficiary dies before the retired member, the retiree's monthly benefit increases — "pops up" — to the full Member-Only Benefit amount. The increase takes effect on the first day of the month following the beneficiary's death.

This protects retirees from permanently taking a reduced benefit when the person the reduction was meant to protect is no longer alive.

How to File a Survivor Claim

Survivors should contact CalSTRS directly at (800) 228-5453 and request a survivor benefit application. They'll need the member's CalSTRS Client ID, a certified copy of the death certificate, and documentation establishing their relationship to the member (marriage certificate, domestic partnership registration, or birth certificate for dependent children).

If the deceased member had a prior divorce, a Domestic Relations Order on file may affect benefit distribution. Contact CalSTRS for the current claim-processing timeline and any additional documents required.

The CalSTRS Service Retirement Guide covers how payout option elections affect survivor benefits, the preretirement option election process, and the documentation your survivors will need.

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