Reporting Deaths
Either your funeral home or relative should notify TRS by telephone or letter soon after your death in order to facilitate the processing of the necessary paperwork. The executor of the estate or your beneficiary will be sent information concerning the benefits available and forms for requesting the life insurance benefit.
Death of an active member
The brochure linked below is a general description of death and survivor benefits in the event of the death of an active member.
The information in the brochure applies regardless of account type (TRS 1, TRS 2, TRS 3 and TRS 4.
For TRS 1, TRS 2 and TRS 3, the life insurance benefit is $2,000 for eligible active members. For TRS 4, the life insurance benefit is $5,000 for a eligible active members.
If you need to update either life insurance or account beneficiaries, complete the appropriate form (the account and life insurance beneficiaries are separate forms) located on the Forms for Active Members page.
Also, the surviving spouse benefits are guaranteed for the surviving spouse’s life (unless the survivor remarried before June 29, 2021, in which case the benefits ceased).
A previously retired member who has returned to work is not eligible for survivor or life insurance benefits from a second account (TRS 4 retirees are not eligible for a second account).