Short answer: if you die before retiring, your contributions plus interest go to your beneficiaries. With enough service, a spouse or partner (or children) can take a monthly benefit instead. After you retire, it depends on your payment option: Option 1 stops at your death, survivor options keep paying. See also leaving teaching and the COLA. Estimate your pension.
If a member dies before retiring
- Plans 1 and 2. If an active or not-yet-retired member dies, contributions plus interest go to beneficiaries; if the member had at least 10 years (or was eligible to retire), a surviving spouse/partner or children can instead take a monthly benefit (joint and 100% survivor, further reduced if the member was not yet eligible for normal retirement). DRS Washington TRS Plan 2 page, Death of an active or not yet retired member; RCW 41.32.805(1)-(2) (Plan 2), RCW 41.32.520 (Plan 1)
- Plan 3. Plan 3: the surviving spouse or eligible children of a vested member receive the pension actuarially reduced for a joint and 100% survivor option and, if not eligible for normal retirement, by the early retirement reduction. RCW 41.32.895(1); DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, Death of an active or not yet retired member ('or reached vested status in Plan 3')
- Line of duty. A member killed in the course of employment, or who dies while honorably serving in the National Guard or reserves during a period of war, is not subject to the early retirement reduction. RCW 41.32.805(4), 41.32.895(2)
If a retiree dies
It depends on your payment option. With DRS's $2,484 Plan 2 example and a survivor two years younger:
| Option | You get | Your survivor gets |
|---|---|---|
| Option 1: Single Life | $2,484 | — |
| Option 2: Joint and 100% Survivor | $2,106.43 | $2,106.43 |
| Option 3: Joint and 50% Survivor | $2,280.31 | $1,140.16 |
| Option 4: Joint and 66.67% Survivor | $2,218.21 | $1,478.88 |
If your survivor dies before you, you can have your benefit changed to the single-life amount beginning the month after the death. DRS TRS23RAPP 11/2022, p. 6, Survivor Benefit Options; DRS Washington TRS Plan 2 page, Death of a beneficiary or survivor; DRS Administrative Factors workbook 2026, sheets Appx E (TRS1 Opt1) and Appx G (J&S); DRS TRS23RAPP 11/2022, p. 6 ('the total life expectancy for you and your survivor determines the exact percentage of reduction') Payment options
Disability
A member totally incapacitated for continued employment may get a disability retirement even if not vested or not old enough; Plan 2/3 disability benefits are reduced for each year before 65. DRS Washington TRS Plan 2 page, Disability; RCW 41.32.790, 41.32.880(1)
What the sources say
- If a member dies before retiring, contributions plus interest go to the beneficiary. If the member had at least 10 years in Plan 1 or 2, or was vested in Plan 3, a surviving spouse or partner can take a monthly pension instead.DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, Death of an active or not yet retired member; RCW 41.32.805, 41.32.895
- A beneficiary gets any lump sum left in your account; a survivor (named at retirement) gets monthly payments for life. You can name only one survivor.DRS Washington TRS Plan 1 page, Beneficiaries versus survivors
Questions
What happens if I die before I retire?
Your beneficiary gets your contributions plus interest. If you had at least 10 years in Plan 1 or 2 (or were vested in Plan 3), a surviving spouse or partner can take a monthly pension instead.
What happens if I die after I retire?
It depends on the option you picked. Single-life options end at your death (Plan 2 and Plan 1 Option 1 refund any contributions not yet paid out). Options 2-4 continue 100%, 50% or 66.67% to your survivor for life.
What's the difference between a beneficiary and a survivor?
A beneficiary gets any lump sum left in your account. A survivor, named when you retire, gets monthly payments for life. You can name only one survivor.
Source: DRS plan pages for Washington TRS Plan 1, Plan 2 and Plan 3 (the DRS member handbook is now published as these web pages), retrieved Nov. 11, 2026, DRS plan pages (Plan 1, Plan 2); TRS23RAPP (11/2022) pp. 6, 10; RCW 41.32.520, 41.32.530, 41.32.785, 41.32.790, 41.32.805, 41.32.851, 41.32.880, 41.32.895; WAC 415-02-320. Last reviewed .