FERS Survivor Benefit Options Explained
At retirement you elect a survivor annuity for your spouse: the maximum election pays your spouse 50 percent of your earned annuity after your death and reduces your own annuity by 10 percent; the partial election pays 25 percent and reduces your annuity by 5 percent; electing no survivor annuity leaves your payment unreduced but pays nothing to your spouse and ends health benefits. Your spouse must consent in writing to anything less than the maximum. Separate rules cover insurable-interest annuities (10 to 40 percent reduction, 55 percent to the survivor) and former spouses (25 or 50 percent, with matching reductions).
Electing a survivor annuity is the only decision at retirement that directly trades your income for someone else's security. Every option reduces your annuity while you are alive in exchange for paying your spouse after your death. The election is effectively permanent, and if you are married, anything less than the maximum requires your spouse's written consent. Understanding the exact costs before you sign is essential.
Maximum survivor annuity
Your annuity is reduced by 10%. Upon your death, your spouse receives an annuity equal to 50% of your earned annuity. This is the default protection level: it costs a tenth of your payment and replaces half of it for your spouse. For a $3,000 monthly annuity, the maximum election costs $300 per month and pays your spouse $1,500 per month after your death.
Partial survivor annuity
Your annuity is reduced by 5%. Upon your death, your spouse receives 25% of your unreduced earned annuity. On the same $3,000 annuity, this costs $150 per month and pays your spouse $750 per month. Because the cost is exactly half and the benefit is exactly half, the choice between maximum and partial is proportional: you are buying half as much protection for half the price.
Your spouse must consent to an election of a partial survivor benefit. The consent is made in writing at retirement, and it exists because the election reduces the spouse's future security.
No survivor annuity
There is no reduction to your annuity. But no survivor annuity will be paid to your spouse upon your death, and any health benefits coverage for your spouse will cease. If you are married at retirement, your spouse must consent to an election of no survivor annuity benefit.
This election maximizes your monthly income and is sometimes chosen when the spouse has independent retirement income, when health issues make the spouse's longer life unlikely, or when life insurance has been purchased to replace the survivor benefit. Compare the price honestly: declining the maximum election saves 10% of your annuity but forfeits a 50% survivor annuity plus continued health coverage.
Insurable interest annuity
You may elect an insurable interest annuity for anyone who can show a financial interest in your continued life, not just a spouse. You must be healthy and willing to provide medical evidence. This option is not available to disability retirement applicants.
Your annuity is reduced based on the age difference between you and the person named: the reduction ranges from 10% to 40%, growing as the age gap widens. Upon your death, this person receives 55% of your reduced annual annuity. It is a niche option, most often used for a dependent relative or a long-term partner who is not a legal spouse.
Former spouse survivor annuity
You may elect a survivor annuity for a former spouse if you were married for at least nine months total. You may elect either the partial (25%) or maximum (50%) benefit, and your annuity is reduced accordingly, 5% or 10%. A court order can also award a former spouse a survivor annuity, which can override your preferences.
If you are married at retirement, your current spouse must consent to a former spouse election, because anything elected for a former spouse limits what can be elected for the current spouse. The maximum combined survivor benefit for current and former spouse is 50%.
Worked comparison
Take a $36,000 annual annuity ($3,000 per month). Maximum election: you receive $32,400 per year ($2,700 per month); your spouse receives $18,000 per year after your death. Partial election: you receive $34,200 per year ($2,850 per month); your spouse receives $9,000 per year. No election: you receive the full $36,000; your spouse receives nothing and loses health coverage.
Practical guidance
Three questions settle most cases. First, does your spouse have enough independent income to be secure without the survivor annuity? Second, what is the realistic life-expectancy difference between you, given that the survivor benefit only pays while the spouse outlives you? Third, have you priced term life insurance as an alternative, since insurance can replace the income protection without the permanent annuity reduction, though it carries its own costs and underwriting risk?
Model each option with our FERS pension calculator by changing the survivor election and comparing the net monthly figures side by side.
Data current as of October 2026. Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (opm.gov), FERS survivor benefits information.