the former spouse did not remarry before reaching age 55 (unless he/she was married to the deceased for at least 30 years). An employee may have made a deposit for temporary time or military service. your survivor annuity begins on the day after the employee’s or retiree’s death. (4) redeposits of previously refunded FERS contributions. The following are the requirements to be met in order for the BEDB is to be paid to the surviving spouse: (1) The employee had completed at least 18 months of creditable federal service at the time of his or her death; (2) the employee died while FERS deductions were being deducted from his or her paycheck; (3) the deceased employee was married to the surviving spouse for at least nine months, or the employee’s death was accidental, or there was a child born of the marriage to the employee and surviving spouse. If a lump sum benefit is payable, it is paid to the first person eligible under the following order of precedence: Contact the personnel office of the Federal agency where the employee worked. If the deceased had less than three years of service at the time of his or her death, then the salary is simply averaged for the total period of service. This column discusses the Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB). The basic employee death benefit (BEDB) is a benefit that continues to be misunderstood by many employees. The Basic Death Benefit Taxable. FERS Basic Employee Death Benefit . Those employees who contributed to both CSRS and FERS – in general, for at least five years to CSRS and then transferred to FERS (most probably during one of the two FERS “open seasons” that OPM conducted in 1987/1988 and in 1998) and will be retiring under FERS – will be receiving two annuities. | The $15,000 portion of the FERS Basic Employee Death Benefit is adjusted by the CSRS COLA. He is the owner of EZ Accounting and Financial Services, an accounting, tax preparation, and financial planning firm also located in Silver Spring, MD. P.O. Finally, spouses and former spouses have the opportunity to directly transfer taxable lump-sum payments such as the BEDB into a traditional IRA or to the traditional TSP. If you are using assistive technology to view web content, please ensure your settings allow for the page content to update after initial load (this is sometimes called "forms mode"). A CSRS lump sum death benefit payment is subject to any properly certified timely request for recovery of a valid debt due the United States. An employee may have left federal service and requested a refund of his or her previously made CSRS contributions. Any amount directly transferred is not subject to mandatory withholding. The minimum 18 months of potentially creditable service includes all prior: (1) Service included in a CSRS component including refunded CSRS service; (2) CSRS Offset service for which the employee received a refund before being covered by FERS; (3) FERS service for which retirement contributions remain to the employee’s credit; and (4) “nondeduction” service – usually temporary service- in which FERS retirement contributions were not deducted from the employee’s paycheck and the service occurred prior to Jan. 1, 1989, regardless of whether a deposit for such service has been made.