Extended Survivor Benefits for Children of Deceased Federal Employees and Retirees

Last week I wrote about the annuity benefits of children for federal employees and retirees where one or both parents have died. In most cases, those benefits end at age 18, although they can be extended to age 22 if the child is a student regularly pursuing a full-time course of study or training.

However, there is one situation where those benefits can be continued for the life of a child. That’s when a child is both unmarried and incapable of self-support because of a physical or mental disability incurred before age 18.

Amount of the benefit

The amount of a disabled child’s survivor benefit is the same under FERS or CSRS. It is a specific dollar amount established in law and increased by CSRS cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs).

The amounts are the same as described last week.

To review:

If the child has a living parent who was married to the employee or retiree, in 2024 the benefit payable is the lesser of:

$655 per month per child

or

$1,965 per month divided by the number of eligible children

If there is no living parent, the benefit payable is generally the lesser of:

$787 per month per child

or

$2,361 per month divided by the number of eligible children

Note: If you were a FERS or CSRS-Offset employee or retiree, the benefit payments will be reduced by the amount of any Social Security benefit payable based on your Social Security-covered federal service.

Qualifying for an extended benefit

To qualify your disabled child for such a benefit, you have to provide OPM with information about the child’s education, employment (if any), and residence. In addition, your child’s doctor must provide information about the child’s medical condition.

You’ll find an outline of the information needed in OPM Form RI 25-43, which is available in agency personnel offices or on-line at www.opm.gov, click on Forms. OPM will also accept a copy of a letter from the Social Security Administration awarding benefits to your child based on its findings that he or she is incapable of self-support because of a physical or mental disability incurred before age 18.

Former head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management, and longtime FEDweek contributor, Reg Jones is known throughout the federal workforce community as an authority on pay and benefits.

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