FRS Investment Plan Beneficiary Claim: How to File After a Member Dies

If the person you lost was in the FRS Investment Plan rather than the Pension Plan, the claim process routes through a completely different organization. The Division of Retirement in Tallahassee doesn't handle Investment Plan accounts. Your claim goes through Alight Solutions, the third-party administrator working on behalf of the State Board of Administration.

This trips up many families who call the Division first and wait days for a callback before learning they're in the wrong queue.

Who to Contact and How

Call the MyFRS Financial Guidance Line at 1-866-446-9377 and select Option 4. This connects you to Alight Solutions, which manages all Investment Plan account activity. You can also access forms and account information through myfrs.com.

Have the deceased member's Social Security number, date of death, and your own identification ready. Alight will verify your status as a designated beneficiary before releasing any account information.

Beneficiary Priority Rules

The current spouse is automatically the primary beneficiary for Investment Plan accounts unless the spouse executes a formal written waiver allowing a different designation. If no valid beneficiary form exists at death, the account defaults through the statutory order: surviving spouse first, then living children, then surviving parents, then the estate.

If the member was married after filing their most recent Form IPBEN-1, the spouse still takes priority unless the spouse executed a formal written waiver allowing a different designation.

Distribution Options Depend on Your Relationship

Surviving spouse beneficiaries have three choices:

• Maintain the account balance within the FRS Investment Plan
• Execute a direct rollover to an IRA or eligible employer plan
• Take a full or partial cash lump-sum distribution

Non-spouse beneficiaries face stricter rules. You must elect a distribution method within one year of the member's death. Your options are a lifetime installment annuity or complete liquidation of the account within five years. Missing that one-year election deadline defaults the account to full five-year liquidation.

Vesting Matters for Active Members

If the member died while actively employed, vesting status affects how much you receive. Members with less than one year of service: you get only the employee contributions plus any investment earnings. Members with one or more years: you receive the full account balance, including employer contributions and all investment earnings.

Tax Treatment

A direct cash distribution triggers 20% mandatory federal income tax withholding. A trustee-to-trustee rollover to a traditional IRA defers taxation until you withdraw from the IRA. Alight Solutions issues Form 1099-R for all Investment Plan distributions—not the Division of Retirement.

If you're a non-spouse beneficiary taking a lump sum, the entire distribution counts as taxable ordinary income in the year you receive it. Consider the tax bracket impact before choosing a distribution method.

Don't Forget the Health Insurance Subsidy

If you meet the Investment Plan survivor eligibility rules, including receipt of a qualifying monthly annuity, you may also qualify for the Health Insurance Subsidy using the HIS-IP form. The subsidy pays $7.50 per year of the member's creditable service (minimum $45, maximum $225 per month), but you must apply separately and prove you have active health insurance coverage.

The Florida FRS Survivor Benefits Guide covers the full Investment Plan claim process alongside the Pension Plan and DROP workflows, with side-by-side comparisons of distribution options and their tax consequences.

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