How does the FERS survivor benefit election work?
When you retire under FERS, you choose what your spouse gets if you die first. A full survivor benefit pays your spouse 50% of your unreduced annuity and costs 10% of your annuity. A partial benefit pays 25% and costs 5%. Choosing less than full, or none, requires your spouse's notarized consent. With no survivor annuity, your spouse also loses FEHB health coverage when you die.
Your choices at retirement
You make the survivor election in Section D of your retirement application, SF 3107 (OPM: SF 3107). The main options are:
| Election | Your annuity is cut | Survivor gets |
|---|---|---|
| Full (maximum) | 10% | 50% of unreduced annuity |
| Partial | 5% | 25% of unreduced annuity |
| None | 0% | Nothing |
| Insurable interest | 10% to 40% | 55% of reduced annuity |
OPM's computation page confirms the costs: "If the total of the survivor benefit(s) you elect equals 50% of your benefit, your annuity is reduced by 10%," and a 25% benefit costs 5% (OPM: FERS computation). The survivor annuity gets cost-of-living adjustments at any age (FERS COLAs).
In weighing the choice, OPM suggests thinking about your spouse's own retirement benefits, their other income and whether it keeps up with inflation, and your spouse's need for health coverage (OPM: Survivor benefits FAQ). Social Security survivor benefits and life insurance are part of the picture too.
Why FEHB depends on it
This is the point many people miss. For your spouse to keep FEHB after your death, two things must be true: you were enrolled in coverage that included your spouse (not self only) when you died, and a monthly survivor annuity is payable. SF 3107 says plainly that with no survivor annuity, "health benefits end at your death" for your spouse. That's why many retirees elect at least the partial benefit even if the cash amount is small: a 25% survivor annuity keeps the door to FEHB open. See Keeping FEHB and FEGLI in retirement.
Spousal consent
By law, a married FERS retiree gets the full survivor benefit unless the spouse agrees to something less. If you choose partial, none, or insurable interest instead of full spouse coverage, your spouse must sign form SF 3107-2 in front of a notary or other authorized official. The consent is final and can't be revoked. OPM can waive consent only if your spouse's whereabouts are unknown or a court finds exceptional circumstances, with proof.
Insurable interest
An insurable interest annuity lets you provide for someone who depends on you financially, such as a close relative, a fiancé or a partner. OPM may ask for affidavits for other people. You must be in good health (you may need a medical exam at your own cost) and not retiring on disability. The survivor gets 55% of your annuity after it has been reduced. The cut depends on the age gap (OPM: SF 3107):
| Beneficiary is | Your annuity is cut |
|---|---|
| Older, same age, or under 5 years younger | 10% |
| 5 to under 10 years younger | 15% |
| 10 to under 15 years younger | 20% |
| 15 to under 20 years younger | 25% |
| 20 to under 25 years younger | 30% |
| 25 to under 30 years younger | 35% |
| 30 or more years younger | 40% |
Former spouses and court orders
A divorce decree or other court order can require you to provide a survivor annuity for a former spouse. If such an order is on file with OPM, it needs no election from you and no consent from your current spouse, though it can reduce what your current spouse can get. You attach a certified copy of the order to SF 3107.
The limits: the total of all spouse and former spouse survivor annuities can't exceed 50% of your annuity. A former spouse must have been married to you for at least nine months in total, and loses the benefit by remarrying before 55 unless the marriage to you lasted at least 30 years (OPM: FERS survivors). OPM's pamphlet on electing a survivor annuity for a former spouse has more detail. Have a family law attorney check the wording of any order, because OPM can only follow what the order actually says.
Marriage, divorce, death and remarriage
- Changing your mind: within 18 months after your annuity starts, you can increase a survivor benefit, though it may cost more than electing it at first.
- Marrying after retirement: you have 2 years from the marriage to elect a survivor benefit. You take the normal reduction plus a permanent actuarial reduction, usually under 5%, that continues even if the marriage later ends.
- If your spouse dies first: the survivor reduction stops and your full annuity is restored. Tell OPM promptly.
- Divorce after retirement: the reduction for the current spouse ends, and you have 2 years to elect a former spouse benefit. Contact OPM.
- If your survivor remarries: a survivor annuity generally ends if the survivor remarries before 55. Remarriage at 55 or older doesn't end it, and a survivor married to you at least 30 years can keep it. A current spouse annuity can be restored if the later marriage ends.
Source: OPM: Survivor benefits FAQ.
If you die while still working
Different rules apply if a FERS employee dies before retiring (OPM: FERS survivors):
- Basic employee death benefit: with at least 18 months of civilian FERS service, a surviving spouse can receive 50% of the employee's final salary (or high-3 if higher) plus a fixed amount that rises with CSRS COLAs. For deaths on or after December 1, 2025, that fixed amount is $43,800.53. It can be paid at once or in 36 monthly installments (OPM: BAL 26-101). The marriage generally must have lasted 9 months, unless the death was accidental or a child was born of the marriage.
- Monthly survivor annuity: with at least 10 years of service, the spouse also gets 50% of the annuity the employee had earned at death.
- Children: unmarried children under 18 (22 if full-time students, or disabled before 18) can get a monthly benefit, often reduced by Social Security child's benefits.
Jordan is a made-up FERS retiree with an unreduced annuity of $40,000 a year. Jordan's spouse is two years younger.
- Full: Jordan receives $36,000 a year (cut $4,000). If Jordan dies first, the spouse receives $20,000 a year, plus COLAs, and keeps FEHB.
- Partial: Jordan receives $38,000 (cut $2,000). The spouse would receive $10,000 a year and keep FEHB.
- None: Jordan receives $40,000. The spouse receives no annuity and loses FEHB at Jordan's death. The spouse must consent before a notary.
- Insurable interest instead (for an unmarried Jordan): for a sibling 12 years younger, the cut is 20%, so Jordan receives $32,000 and the sibling would receive 55% of that, $17,600.
At the full election, Jordan pays $4,000 a year. If the spouse outlives Jordan by five years, the spouse collects about $100,000 before COLAs, plus continued health coverage.
What to do next
- Talk it through with your spouse. Include their own pension, Social Security and health coverage.
- Check court orders. If you are divorced, find out whether an order requires a former spouse annuity.
- Get the consent right. If you choose less than full, have SF 3107-2 signed in front of a notary.
- Ask for an estimate. Your agency's estimate should show your annuity under each election.
Our planner can include a spouse, so you can see household income under different choices.
Plan with my spouseCommon questions
How much does the FERS survivor benefit cost?
The full benefit costs 10% of your annuity and pays your spouse 50% of your unreduced annuity. The partial benefit costs 5% and pays 25%.
Does my spouse lose FEHB if I don't elect a survivor annuity?
Yes. Your spouse can keep FEHB after your death only if a monthly survivor annuity is payable and your enrollment covered your spouse.
Does my spouse have to agree if I choose no survivor benefit?
Yes. Your spouse must sign SF 3107-2 before a notary or authorized official, and the consent can't be taken back.
Can I add a survivor benefit after I retire?
You can increase it within 18 months of your annuity starting. If you marry after retiring, you have 2 years from the marriage to elect one.
What happens if my spouse dies first?
The survivor reduction ends and your full annuity is restored. Notify OPM.
Does a FERS survivor annuity end if my spouse remarries?
Only if they remarry before 55, and not if you were married at least 30 years.
What is the FERS basic employee death benefit?
For an employee who dies in service with 18 months of service, the spouse gets 50% of final salary (or high-3 if higher) plus $43,800.53 for deaths on or after December 1, 2025.
General information, not advice. We aren't part of OPM. Your agency's HR office can give you an official estimate under each election, and an attorney can review any court order.