Short answer: if you die before retiring while still working, or after vesting, your beneficiary gets 2 times your account balance as a lump sum. If you were vested and your spouse is your only primary beneficiary, your spouse may take a monthly benefit instead. After you retire, what's paid depends on your payment option. See also leaving teaching and Social Security. Estimate your pension.
Before you retire
If you die before retiring: an active member (vested or not) or a vested inactive member's beneficiary gets a lump sum of twice the account balance. A non-vested member who is no longer actively employed: the balance only, not doubled. If your spouse is your single primary beneficiary and you were vested, your spouse may take a lifetime monthly benefit instead, starting when the spouse reaches 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2). Handbook p. 15, If Death Occurs Before Retirement; W.S. 9-3-421(a), (d), (e)
| Situation | Lump sum |
|---|---|
| Still working (vested or not), or vested and left | $80,000 |
| Not vested, had left the job, first hired on or after July 1, 2019 | $40,000 |
| Not vested, had left the job, first hired before July 1, 2019 | $80,000 |
If you weren't vested and had left your job when you died, the handbook says your beneficiary gets your balance, not double. The law says that applies only if you were first hired on or after July 1, 2019.
The details
The handbook (p. 15) says any non-vested member who is not actively employed at death gets the balance only (not doubled). W.S. 9-3-421(e) limits that to members initially employed on or after July 1, 2019; under W.S. 9-3-421(a) others get double. Our calculator follows the statute's date limit because the handbook is silent on it rather than contrary.
Your spouse's monthly option
The handbook says only a spouse named as sole beneficiary can choose monthly payments instead of the lump sum, starting at 60 or 65. The law seems to allow any beneficiary and names no age. We describe the handbook rule.
The details
The handbook (p. 15) says a vested member's spouse who is the single primary beneficiary may take a lifetime monthly benefit instead of the lump sum, beginning when the spouse reaches 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2). W.S. 9-3-421(a) lets 'a beneficiary' of a vested member elect the actuarial equivalent of the lump sum as a life benefit and states no starting age. The facts follow the handbook; our calculator does not compute the annuity.
A surviving spouse who chose the life benefit may, within 18 months of the member's death, switch to the lump sum plus interest less payments received. W.S. 9-3-421(a)
A designated beneficiary may ask, by affidavit, that medical insurance premiums be paid from the account for up to 4 months after the death or until a benefit option is chosen. W.S. 9-3-421(c)
After you retire
After retirement, the payment option you chose decides whether and how a beneficiary is paid. Under Option 1, if you (and any beneficiary) die before total payments equal your account at retirement, the rest goes to your beneficiary or estate. WRS stops payments on notice of death and recovers any payment made for the month after the death. Handbook p. 16, If Death Occurs After Retirement; W.S. 9-3-421(b) Payment options
A sentence in the handbook's after-retirement death section is copied from the before-retirement section by mistake. We use the sentence that follows it.
The details
The handbook's 'If Death Occurs After Retirement' section (p. 16) begins with a sentence copied from the before-retirement section ('If you pass away prior to retirement...'). The next sentence gives the after-retirement rule; facts use that sentence.
Life insurance
Active members may continue supplemental term life insurance (underwritten by Prudential) into retirement; WRS does not manage the policies. Handbook p. 27, Term Life Insurance
From the sources
- If you die while working (vested or not), or after leaving while vested, your beneficiary gets a lump sum of twice your account balance. If your spouse is your only primary beneficiary and you were vested, your spouse can take a lifetime monthly benefit instead, starting at 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2).Handbook p. 15, If Death Occurs Before Retirement; W.S. 9-3-421(a)
- If you weren't vested and had already left your job, your beneficiary gets your balance, not double. By law this applies if you were first hired on or after July 1, 2019.Handbook p. 15, Non-Vested Members; W.S. 9-3-421(e)
- After you retire, what your beneficiary gets depends on the payment option you chose. Under Option 1, anything left of your account balance at retirement goes to your beneficiary or estate.Handbook p. 16, If Death Occurs After Retirement; W.S. 9-3-421(b)
Questions
What if I die before I retire?
Usually your beneficiary gets 2 times your account balance as a lump sum.
Can my spouse get monthly payments instead?
The handbook says yes if you were vested and your spouse is your only primary beneficiary, starting when your spouse reaches 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2). The law words this differently.
What if I die after I retire?
It depends on the payment option you chose. Under Option 1, any part of your account balance not yet paid out goes to your beneficiary or estate.
Source: WRS Public Employee Pension Plan Handbook, Updated August 2026, pp. 15, 16, 17-18, 27. Also: W.S. § 9-3-421. Last reviewed .