Benefits Payable to Children of Deceased CSRS/FERS Employees/Annuitants
FERS/CSRS survivor benefits to eligible children are automatically provided by law. An annuitant does not have to elect these benefits at retirement. There is no reduction in your annuity to provide this benefit.
Length of Payment of Child Benefits
Unmarried children who are dependent upon the employee/annuitant may receive monthly benefits until they reach age 18, marry, or die. Monthly survivor annuity payments for a child can continue after age 18, if the child is a full-time student attending a recognized school. Benefits can continue until age 22.
Unmarried disabled dependent children who are incapable of self-support may receive recurring monthly benefits, if the disability occurred before age 18. The benefits will continue as long as the condition continues and the child does not become capable of self-support.
Benefits to any child end upon the child’s marriage.
Continuing Benefits for Children After Age 18
A child can continue to receive benefits after reaching age 18 if he or she is incapable of self-support because of a disability which began before age 18. If the disabled child is under age 18 when you apply for benefits, we do not need additional information. However, when the child is within three months of reaching age 18 or over age 18, you should send us the information described in disabling conditions for children.
A child can also continue to receive benefits until age 22 if he or she is a full time student. If the child is listed on the application for benefits as a full-time student who is age 18 or more, we will send a request for certification of school attendance to be completed by the person who expects to receive payments and the school. Annuity payments continue between school years unless the break is more than five months or the student does not return to school on a full-time basis.
Disabling Conditions for Children
Monthly survivor annuity payments can continue if a child is incapable of self-support due to a physical or mental disability which began before age 18. If you have a disabled child who receives benefits as a minor, you should send a letter asking us to continue benefits after the child reaches 18 because of incapacity for self-support. You should send the letter about 90 days before your child reaches age 18.
You should include a doctor’s statement that includes the child’s name, the CSF survivor claim number, a full report of the disability, including the date it started, the degree of impairment, and probable length of the disability. The statement should cover a brief educational and employment history, if any, and provide the name, address, telephone number, and signature of the physician.
Monthly survivor benefits to a disabled dependent stop when the disabled child recovers from the disability, becomes capable of self-support, marries, or dies.
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Full-Time Students
Monthly survivor annuity payments for a child can continue after age 18 if the child is a full-time student attending a recognized school. Benefits can continue until age 22.
To be considered a full-time student, high schools, trade schools, and vocational schools generally require 25 or more actual clock hours of classroom attendance each week. Colleges and universities generally require enrollment for a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester to be considered full-time. There are no payments available for part-time school attendance.
A recognized school is one that has a faculty and requires study to be done at the school. High schools must be licensed by the state. All other schools must be accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
We do not recognize correspondence schools, elementary schools, home schools, Job Corps, U.S. military service academies such as the U.S. Naval Academy, or any training programs where the trainee receives pay primarily as an employee.
Determination of Dependence
We consider the child dependent if there is proof that the deceased made regular and substantial contributions to the child’s support. We consider a child dependent if he or she:
- was born of the marriage to the retiree;
- was adopted by the deceased prior to his/her death;
- is an adopted child who meets all of the following conditions-
- the child lived with the deceased retiree, and
- a petition was filed by the deceased to adopt the child, and
- the child was adopted by the surviving spouse before/after the retiree died;
- is a stepchild or recognized child born out of wedlock who was living with the retiree in a parent/child relationship when the retiree died; or
- is a recognized child born out of wedlock for whom a judicial determination of support has been obtained.
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Receipt of Social Security Benefits Affects FERS Benefits Payable to Children of Deceased FERS Employees/Retirees
The combined benefit payable for all eligible children is reduced by the total monthly amount of the children's Social Security Insurance benefits that are payable (or would be payable upon proper application). Benefits payable under Title II of the Social Security Act for all children of the deceased (including those of a former marriage who may not be living with the current spouse) are based on the total earnings of the deceased. In many cases, the FERS children’s benefit is reduced to $0.
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Computation of Children’s Benefits
The children’s survivor benefit is a specific dollar amount established by a formula in the governing United States Code and is increased by cost-of-living-adjustments. Below are the rates a child would receive if the death of the parent occurred in 2012. For a child on the annuity roll prior to 2012, we will apply the 2012 COLA rate to the child’s current annuity. Each child’s rate is determined individually based on the circumstances described below.
When the child has a living parent who was married to the employee or retiree, the benefit payable to the child is the lesser of:
$486 per month per child; or
$1.460 per month divided by the number of eligible children.
When the child does not have a living parent who was married to the employee or retiree, the benefit payable to the child is the lesser of:
$584 per month per child; or
$1,752 per month divided by the number of eligible children.
These rates are payable from December 1, 2011, through November 30, 2012. They will be increased by future cost-of-living adjustments.
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Students Ages 18-22
A surviving child who meets the Basic Eligibility Requirements as defined in the pamphlet Survivor Benefits for Children and is between the ages of 18 and 22, and is a full-time student at a recognized educational institution may be eligible for a monthly survivor annuity benefit.
If a person who meets these requirements is listed on the Application for Death Benefits, Standard Form 2800 we will send an Initial Certification of Full-Time School Attendance, RI 25-41. This form is completed by the person who expects to receive the payments and by the school. If a child under 18 receives annuity benefits, as the 18th birthday approaches, we notify the parent, guardian, or other payee of the date the annuity will stop and explain how to continue benefits for a son or daughter who is a qualified student.
Self-Certification Website
Students can also self-certify their full-time school attendance online at our Self-Certification of Full-Time School Attendance website.
Eligibility
A recognized educational institution is a school that has a faculty and requires study or training to be done at the school, and is accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Examples include:
- high schools
- technical or vocational institutes
- business schools
- colleges
- junior or community colleges
- universities
Student benefits are not payable to students enrolled in correspondence courses, distance learning, “online” courses, Job Corps, elementary schools, United States military service academies, or any training programs, such as apprenticeship programs, where the trainee receives pay primarily as an employee.
The student must be attending day or evening classes at the school, with enough course work each semester or term to finish his or her education within the length of time generally considered normal by the school for a full-time day student. Full-time students must have a sufficient subject load to allow them to graduate within the minimum time which is considered normal for a full-time student of the school.
High schools generally require 25 to 35 actual clock hours of class attendance each week to consider a student as full-time. For special programs, they generally require a minimum of 20 hours per week. Colleges, junior or community colleges, and universities generally require a minimum of 12 semester or quarter credit hours to graduate in the normal length of time. For tuition purposes, a student carrying fewer credit hours may be designated as full-time. Being designated full-time for tuition purposes does not necessarily establish eligibility for adult student benefits. Vocational or technical schools generally require that students make this schooling their principal activity. This means that the student spends as much as 40 clock hours each week in activities related directly to training in the school. Normally, the activities take place at the school.
Work Study Programs
Acceptable work-study programs generally require some regularly scheduled class attendance; together, the class attendance and the work periods constitute a full-time course of training. High school work-study programs are considered full-time if the school gives the student credit for successfully completing the work-study program. Generally, cooperative programs are not full-time academic course work. However, if the student receives full-time academic credit in a cooperative program and is not receiving pay primarily as an employee, the student may qualify for a monthly annuity.
Continued Eligibility
OPM may request periodic certification from you that the student continues to meet the eligibility requirements. OPM may also request at any time that you provide proof of the school enrollment.
Annuity benefits continue between school years unless the break is longer than 5 months or the student does not continue full-time school attendance. You must notify us immediately if there is a break of more than 5 months between school years or the student does not plan to continue full-time school attendance. Any benefits erroneously continued during the break must be repaid by the recipient.
A son or daughter whose annuity benefits as an adult student stopped because he or she is no longer a full-time student at a recognized school could qualify for benefits again before reaching age 22. In such a case, please request reinstatement of the annuity. Call our toll-free number 1-888-767-6738 or write to:
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Retirement Surveys & Students Branch
1900 E Street; NW;
Washington, DC 20415-3563
Be sure to provide the child’s full name, the survivor annuity claim number (CSF number), and the full name of the deceased Federal employee or retiree.
Discontinuation of Student Benefits
Annuity benefits stop for the student at the end of the month before he/she:
- turns 22 (however, if the 22nd birthday falls on or after September 1 and before the following July 1, payments continue to the end of the month preceding the one in which full-time schooling stops or to June 30, whichever comes first);
- marries;
- dies;
- stops attending school;
- transfers to a non recognized school;
- changes to less than full-time school attendance;
- enters military service or a U.S. military service academy (such as the U.S. Naval Academy); or
- fails to submit proof that he or she is attending school full-time when we request it.
If the student’s 22nd birthday occurs on or after September 1 and before July 1 of the following year and the death of the employee/annuitant occurs during the same period, the student may be eligible for a monthly annuity.
Notify us immediately if any of the events listed above occurs. If benefits are paid after one of these events, the person who received the payment may be indebted to the Civil Service Retirement System, and repayment will be required.
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