The survivor benefit election you make at retirement is permanent. We help you balance protection with affordability — and make sure your spouse is never left without income.
Once you elect survivor benefits at retirement, that choice is final. There is no going back if your circumstances change, if your spouse passes away first, or if you later realize the decision wasn't right for your family. This is not a decision to make without running the numbers.
If you choose the full survivor benefit — 50% of your pension to your spouse — and your spouse passes away first, you've permanently reduced your monthly pension with nothing to show for it. Full coverage is the right answer for many families, but not all.
The full survivor election reduces your monthly pension by roughly 10%. Over a 20-year retirement, that's a significant amount of income — and if your spouse predeceases you, none of it comes back.
Electing no survivor benefit maximizes your monthly pension check — but if you die first, your spouse receives nothing from your federal pension. For spouses without their own income, this can be financially devastating.
A surviving spouse who depended on your pension income could lose that income entirely — on top of already dealing with the loss of a partner. The survivor benefit exists precisely because this situation is far too common.
Most federal employees don't coordinate these two programs. That gap can leave your household overinsured and over-paying, or — worse — underinsured despite paying for both.
You might be paying for expensive FEGLI Option B coverage AND a full survivor election — two forms of protection for the same risk, reducing your take-home income unnecessarily. Or you might have neither, leaving a dangerous gap.
Federal employees can elect full survivor benefits, a partial amount, or no survivor benefits at retirement. Each option has a different cost and a different level of protection. The right choice depends on your specific income picture — not a general rule.
Your spouse receives 50% of your unreduced pension for life. The highest level of protection — and the highest cost to your monthly income.
~10% pension reductionYour spouse receives 25% of your unreduced pension for life. A middle path — reduced protection at a lower cost. Often overlooked, but worth modeling against full election.
~5% pension reductionYour pension is paid at full value during your lifetime. Your spouse receives nothing from your pension after you die. May be appropriate when your spouse has their own substantial income or when private insurance fills the gap — but requires careful analysis.
Full pension preservedThere is no universally correct election. The right answer depends on your spouse's own income, Social Security benefits, life insurance coverage, health, and how long each of you is likely to live. We model all of it before you make an irreversible decision.
We examine your elections, your insurance, and your spouse's future income to build a plan that works — not just on paper, but for the life your family actually lives.
We analyze all three election options and their permanent impact on your retirement income. You'll see the exact dollar trade-off between protection and monthly cash flow — for your specific pension amount.
Align your federal life insurance with your survivor benefit election so you're not paying twice for the same protection — or leaving a gap you assumed was covered.
Factor your spouse's own Social Security benefits and claiming timing into the overall plan — because survivor income isn't just about your pension. With WEP and GPO repealed, spousal Social Security is now fully in the picture.
Calculate what your spouse will actually need — and verify that the pieces fit together. Pension survivor benefit, Social Security, life insurance, savings, and any other income sources all get modeled together.
We run your numbers under different longevity assumptions — because the value of survivor protection depends heavily on who outlives whom and by how much.
In some cases, a private life insurance policy can replace the pension survivor benefit at lower cost — freeing up your full pension while still protecting your spouse. We show you the math before you decide.
Whether your spouse has a private-sector 401(k), their own pension, or Social Security benefits, we coordinate all household finances around your federal benefits — not just the federal side in isolation.
Your spouse's 401(k), IRA, or private pension gets integrated into the household retirement strategy — not treated as a separate afterthought.
We coordinate withdrawals from multiple accounts to minimize your combined tax burden throughout retirement — because the tax bill is a household problem, not just yours.
If your spouse has their own Social Security, pension, or other income, we build a comprehensive plan that accounts for both income streams — and what happens when either one changes.
Schedule a free survivor benefits analysis. We'll run the numbers on your specific situation and show you exactly what each election is worth — before you make an irreversible choice.