When you retire you choose how your pension is paid: all to you, or a smaller check that keeps paying your beneficiary after you die. The choice is hard or impossible to undo.
Your full benefit. Payments stop when you die (any of your contributions not yet paid back go to your beneficiary). You can't change it after you retire.
Handbook, p. 34, SRA Plan; Handbook, p. 40, What if I pass away shortly after I retire?A reduced amount for your life; your beneficiary then gets the same monthly amount for life. You may change it once, to the SRA Plan or Option #2.
Handbook, p. 34, Option #1 - 100% Survivor option; Handbook, p. 44, Appendix DA smaller cut for your life; your beneficiary then gets half of your monthly amount for life. You may change it once, to the SRA Plan or Option #1.
Handbook, p. 35, Option #2 - 50% Survivor option; Handbook, p. 44, Appendix DIf you retire before 62, a supplement is added until 62; from the month after your 62nd birthday the benefit is reduced by the full national-average Social Security estimate, not just the supplement. Stops at death; can't be changed. Not affiliated with the Social Security Administration.
Handbook, p. 35, SRA (Service Retirement Allowance) PLUS and notes 50-52Take ERSRI's own 2012 example teacher, whose SRA Plan pension is $3,732.27 a month. Here's what Options #1 and #2 would pay with beneficiaries of different ages, from the handbook's Appendix D charts.
| Beneficiary is | Option #1: you, then they, get | Option #2: you get | Then they get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your age | $3,359.04 (90%) | $3,545.66 (95%) | $1,772.83 |
| 5 years younger | $3,247.07 (87%) | $3,471.01 (93%) | $1,735.51 |
| 10 years younger | $3,135.11 (84%) | $3,396.37 (91%) | $1,698.18 |
| 20 years younger | $2,761.88 (74%) | $3,209.75 (86%) | $1,604.88 |
SRA Plan amount: the yearly pension in the example, divided by 12. ERSRI RIRSA Guide (Jan. 2012), pp. 14-15 Percentages: Handbook, p. 44, Appendix D (Younger Beneficiary Chart; Older Beneficiary Chart)
Appendix D prints the percentage of the SRA Plan benefit you keep under Option #1 and Option #2, by how much younger or older your beneficiary is than you, for benefits effective July 1, 2012 or later.
| Years younger | Option #1 | Option #2 |
|---|---|---|
| Same age | 90% | 95% |
| 1 | 90% | 95% |
| 2 | 89% | 94% |
| 3 | 88% | 94% |
| 4 | 88% | 94% |
| 5 | 87% | 93% |
| 6 | 87% | 93% |
| 7 | 86% | 93% |
| 8 | 85% | 92% |
| 9 | 85% | 92% |
| 10 | 84% | 91% |
| 11 | 83% | 90.5% |
| 12 | 82% | 90% |
| 13 | 81% | 89.5% |
| 14 | 80% | 89% |
| 15 | 79% | 88.5% |
| 16 | 78% | 88% |
| 17 | 77% | 87.5% |
| 18 | 76% | 87% |
| 19 | 75% | 86.5% |
| 20 | 74% | 86% |
More than 20 years younger: take off 1% (Option #1) or 0.5% (Option #2) for each extra year.
| Years older | Option #1 | Option #2 |
|---|---|---|
| Same age | 90% | 95% |
| 1 | 91% | 95% |
| 2 | 91% | 95% |
| 3 | 92% | 96% |
| 4 | 92% | 96% |
| 5 | 93% | 96% |
| 6 | 93% | 97% |
| 7 | 94% | 97% |
| 8 | 94% | 97% |
| 9 | 95% | 97% |
| 10 | 95% | 97% |
| 11 or more | 95% | 97% |
For benefits effective July 1, 2012 or later.
Handbook, p. 44, Appendix D (Younger Beneficiary Chart; Older Beneficiary Chart)
The charts go by whole years of age difference. We count completed years between your two birth dates; ERSRI's exact rounding isn't stated. ERSRI's option estimate uses your beneficiary's exact birth date.
What would settle it: ERSRI's option estimate for a specific beneficiary.
SRA PLUS is only for Schedule A and Schedule AB members (10+ years of service by July 1, 2005). It is not available with a disability retirement or to a teacher without 10 years by July 1, 2005. Handbook, p. 35, SRA PLUS and note 52
SRA PLUS depends on ERSRI's national-average estimate of Social Security at 62, which isn't published. Our calculator doesn't price it; ask ERSRI for an estimate.
What would settle it: An ERSRI SRA PLUS estimate.
Whatever option you pick, the one-time death benefit is paid too; see survivor benefits. Your COLA raises apply to the option amount (how the COLA works).
You may split the actuarial value among more than one person, chosen only from your children, adopted children, stepchildren and spouse or domestic partner. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-10-18(b)
If you choose Option #1 or #2 (or have the Teachers' Survivors Benefit), send a copy of your beneficiary's birth certificate or passport. Handbook, p. 36, note 53
The SRA Plan (your full benefit, for your life only), Option #1 (100% to your beneficiary for life after you die), Option #2 (50% to your beneficiary) and, for Schedule A and AB members, SRA PLUS (more before 62, less after).
It depends on your beneficiary's age. With a beneficiary your own age you keep 90% of the SRA Plan amount under Option #1 and 95% under Option #2. A beneficiary 20 years younger: 74% and 86%.
Option #1 or #2 can be changed once after retirement (to the SRA Plan or the other option). The SRA Plan and SRA PLUS can't be changed. Divorce from the beneficiary raises special rules: call ERSRI.
Source: ERSRI Membership and Retirement Handbook, 10th edition, June 2020 (with the 2024 Article 12 changes from the Treasurer's guide, July 1, 2024), pp. 34, 35, 36, 40, 44. Also: Rhode Island General Laws. Last reviewed .