Section 2 - Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB)
Agency Instructions
Method of Payment of BEDB - The surviving spouse of an employee who dies in service is entitled to the BEDB if:
a. the employee completed at least 18 months of civilian service, and
b. the surviving spouse was married to the employee for an aggregate of at least 9 months.
The 9-month marriage requirement does not apply if the surviving spouse is the natural parent of the employee's child (including a
posthumous child or one born out of wedlock), or if the employee's death was accidental.
The amount of the BEDB is $15,000 (increased by Civil Service Retirement System [CSRS] Cost of Living Adjustments [COLAs]), plus
50% of the employee's final annual rate of pay (or average salary, if higher). The $15,000 portion has been increased as follows:
For Death On
or After
Percentage of
Increase
New Amount
12-01-1987 4.2% $15,630.00
12-01-1988 4.0% $16,255.20
12-01-1989 4.7% $17,019.19
12-01-1990 5.4% $17,938.23
12-01-1991 3.7% $18,601.94
12-01-1992 3.0% $19,160.00
03-01-1994 2.6% $19,658.16
For Death On
or After
Percentage of
Increase
New Amount
03-01-1996 2.6% $20,734.01
12-01-1996 2.9% $21,335.30
12-01-1997 2.1% $21,783.34
12-01-1998 1.3% $22,066.52 12-01-2011 3.6% $30,792.98
12-01-2000 3.5% $23,409.82
12-01-2001 2.6% $24,018.48
03-01-1995 2.8% $20,208.59
12-01-2002 1.4% $24,354.74
12-01-2003 2.1% $24,866.19
12-01-2004 2.7% $25,537.58
12-01-2005 4.1% $26,584.62
12-01-2006 3.3% $27,461.91
12-01-2007 2.3% $28,093.53
12-01-2008 5.8% $29,722.95
12-01-2009
No COLA $29,722.95*
12-01-2010 No COLA $29,722.95*
12-01-1999 2.5% $22,618.18
*BEDB did not increase on 12/01/2009 or 12/01/2010 since no CSRS COLA was payable.
For deaths occurring on or after 12-01-2012, the amounts will be further increased by any future CSRS COLAs.
For a part-time (regularly scheduled) employee, the final annual rate of pay is the basic pay, at the rate in effect immediately before the
employee's death, that is applicable to the employee's tour of duty (or, if higher, the hours in a basic pay status) in the 52-week work year
immediately preceding the end of the last pay period the employee was in a pay status. For example, a part-time employee who, at the time
of his/her death, was being paid at the annual rate of $30,000, but whose tour of duty was 20 hours a week, would have a final annual pay
rate of $15,000 for purposes of the BEDB. However, if the same employee actually earned basic pay during 1144 hours (averaging 22 hours
per week) in the 52-week work year, the final annual rate of basic pay would be $16,500 (22/40 x $30,000). If this employee were paid on
an hourly basis at $14.00 per hour, the final annual rate of basic pay would be $16,016 (1144 hours x $14.00).
To determine the final annual pay rate of an intermittent (not regularly scheduled) employee, the employee's final hourly rate of pay is
multiplied by the number of hours he or she worked at basic pay rates (up to full time) in the 52-week work year immediately preceding
the end of the last pay period the employee was in a pay status.
Note: The Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB) is payable (in whole or in part) to a former spouse if a qualifying court order is on file
at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the former spouse was married to the employee for an aggregate of at least 9 months.
Elections That the Survivor Must Make - The surviving spouse must elect whether to receive the Basic Employee Death Benefit
(BEDB) in a lump sum or in 36 monthly installments. To make an election, he or she should complete Part 1 of the Death Benefit Payment
Election Form (on page 15) in Section 5 of this forms package. The employing agency needs to enter the amount payable on the following
page, so the survivor has the information necessary to make this election. To determine the amount of a monthly installment, multiply the
total amount of the lump-sum benefit by .0301643. (The factor for computing the installments is specified in 5 CFR 843.309 and may be
adjusted periodically. Check the regulations for the current factor before computing the amount of the monthly installment payments.)
If the surviving spouse is eligible to receive the BEDB, he/she will also need to complete the election concerning the rollover option in Part
2 of the Death Benefit Payment Election Form (on page 15), found in Section 5 of this forms package. The BEDB is subject to special
provisions of the law which allow recipients to roll over all or part of the benefit into an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) or
eligible employer plan, whether paid as a one-time lump sum or in 36-installments.
Please advise the applicant to read the information in Section 5 carefully, before making these elections.
Standard Form 3104B
Previous editions are not usable.
4
Revised April 2012