Changing Your Beneficiary or Monthly Benefit After Retirement

What You Need to Know About
Changing Your Beneficiary or Monthly Benefit After Retirement

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Add or Change a Lump-Sum Beneficiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 When Your Changes Take Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Add or Change a Payment Option Beneficiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 When Your Changes Take Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 How Your Retirement Allowance Is Impacted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Estimate Your New Retirement Allowance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Do You Have a Qualifying Life Event? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Remove a Beneficiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Are You Eligible for a Benefit Allowance Increase? . . . . . . . . . 14 When Your Changes Take Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Health Coverage for Your Beneficiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Retirement Option Reference Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Instructions for Completing Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Post-Retirement Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Post-Retirement Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation Form . . . . . . . 21 Justification for Absence of Spouse’s or Registered Domestic Partner’s Signature Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Post-Retirement Nonmember Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Post-Retirement Nonmember Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Request for Benefit Allowance Increase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Request for Benefit Allowance Increase Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Become a More Informed Member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 CalPERS Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 myCalPERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 CalPERS Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Experience CalPERS Through Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Reach Us by Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Visit Your Nearest CalPERS Regional Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Privacy Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

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INTRODUCTION
After you retire, certain life events can impact your CalPERS benefits. This publication explains what you need to consider if one of these events happens to you. Depending on the type of event, you may wish to: • Add or change your beneficiary designation, • Remove a beneficiary designation, or • Request a benefit allowance increase.
The changes you’re eligible for depend on the life event, the retirement payment option you chose at retirement, and the type of change you want to make.
When you retired, you may have designated a beneficiary (or beneficiaries) to receive a retired lump-sum benefit, a continuing monthly benefit, or both. If it’s been more than 30 days since you received your first retirement check, you may be limited on the type of change you can make.
As you read this publication, it will be helpful to know who you named as your beneficiary to receive the retired lump-sum benefit, the retirement payment option you chose, and who you named as your retirement payment option beneficiary, if any. If you do not have this information, you can find it by logging in to your personal myCalPERS account at my.calpers.ca.gov or call us toll free at 888 CalPERS (or 888-225-7377).

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A statutory beneficiary is defined by law rather than designated in a will, or on an annuity or life insurance policy.
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A D D O R C H A N G E A L U M P- S U M B E N E F I C I A RY
A lump-sum benefit is a one-time payment paid to your named beneficiary (or beneficiaries) upon your death. You can add or change a lump-sum beneficiary at any time. It’s important to keep your beneficiary designation up to date.
The different lump-sum benefits are:
• Retired Death Benefit – The amount paid ranges from $500 to $5,000 depending on your employer’s contract with us. – The highest amount contracted will be paid to your beneficiary if you had service with more than one employer. – If you last worked with another California retirement system that provides a similar benefit, then the CalPERS retired death benefit is not paid.
• Return of Remaining Contributions – If you selected the retirement payment option that provides a lump-sum payout, your remaining member contributions, if any, will be paid to your named beneficiary. In most cases, no member contributions remain after approximately 10 years of retirement, which means no payment will be made to your beneficiary.
• Temporary Annuity Balance – If you elected to receive a temporary annuity when you retired and you die before your temporary annuity payments stop, a lump-sum payment for the current value of the remaining payments will be paid to your beneficiary. See A Guide to Your CalPERS Temporary Annuity (PUB 13) for more information about temporary annuity.
If there is not a valid beneficiary designation in effect at the time of your death, lump-sum benefits will be paid to your statutory beneficiary in the order determined by law: • Spouse or domestic partner; or if none, • Children; or if none, • Parent(s); or if none, • Brother(s) and sisters(s); or if none, • Your probated estate; or if not probated, • Your trust; or if none, • Stepchildren; or if none, • Grandchildren, including step-grandchildren; or if none, • Niece(s) and nephews(s); or if none, • Great-grandchildren; or if none, • Cousins.
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An existing lump-sum beneficiary designation is automatically revoked with any of the following: • Marriage • Domestic partnership • Dissolution or annulment of marriage, or termination of a
domestic partnership. (If you change your designation after the start of one of these legal processes, your designation is not revoked when the legal process is finalized.) • Birth or adoption of a child
Lump-sum benefits may be considered community property, and it is up to the court to make a final determination. If you are legally married or in a domestic partnership, your spouse or domestic partner may be entitled to his or her community property share even if you name someone other than your spouse or domestic partner to receive the benefit.
If you are a nonmember or if you marry or establish a registered domestic partnership after you retire, your spouse or domestic partner generally does not have a community property interest in your death benefits.
Change your lump-sum beneficiary designation any time through your personal myCalPERS account or complete and mail the Post-Retirement Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation or Post-Retirement Nonmember Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation form. You can find these forms in this publication or on our website at www.calpers.ca.gov.
When Your Changes Take Effect
If you change your lump-sum beneficiary designation in your personal myCalPERS account, and you are required to submit the Spousal/Domestic Partner Notification form, your change takes effect once the form is received. Otherwise, your beneficiary designation is effective immediately. If you submit a Post-Retirement Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation or Post-Retirement Nonmember Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation form, the change takes effect when it is processed and we will mail you an acknowledgment letter. Please allow 30 days for us to process your new lump-sum beneficiary designation.

A nonmember is the former spouse of a CalPERS member whose awarded interest is transferred into his or her own separate CalPERS account.

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Your lifetime beneficiary is the person you named to receive a continuing monthly benefit upon your death.
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A D D O R C H A N G E A PAY M E NT O P T I O N BENEFICIARY
When you retired, you chose either a payment option for your lifetime only, or one that would leave a lump-sum benefit, a continuing monthly benefit, or a combination of the two, to a named beneficiary (or beneficiaries). If your circumstances have since changed and you want to make a change to your original selection, you may only do so if you have a qualifying life event. This is called the Modification of Original Election at Retirement process.
Qualifying life events may be: • Marriage • Domestic partnership • Death of your beneficiary • Annulment of marriage • Being awarded your entire CalPERS interest upon
– Divorce – Legal separation – Termination of domestic partnership
Good to Know! • If you named someone as your lifetime beneficiary, then later
marry or enter into a domestic partnership with that same person, this is not a qualifying event because he or she is already your lifetime beneficiary. • If you want to name a new lifetime beneficiary due to marriage or registration of domestic partnership, you must name your new spouse or domestic partner as the lifetime beneficiary. • If you are a nonmember, then you do not need to be awarded total interest in your CalPERS benefit. • If you were required by court order at the time of retirement to designate your former spouse or former legally recognized domestic partner as a Court-Ordered Community Property Option 4 beneficiary, you are required to maintain your former spouse or domestic partner as the Court-Ordered Community Property Option 4 beneficiary. You may only change your beneficiary for your portion of the benefit.
When Your Changes Take Effect
If you make an election to change your original retirement selection within 12 months of the qualifying event, the change takes effect the first day of the month following receipt of your completed election document.
Example: Your qualifying event date was May 1, 2021, and you submitted your completed election document on July 15, 2021. The effective date of change would be August 1, 2021.
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If you make an election to change your original retirement selection more than 12 months after the qualifying event, the change does not take effect until 12 months after you make the election. By law, both you and your new beneficiary must be living on the deferred election effective date or the change cannot be processed.
Example: Your qualifying event date was January 1, 2020, and you submitted your completed election document on February 12, 2021. Your deferred election effective date would be March 1, 2022.
How Your Retirement Allowance Is Impacted
When you add or change a payment option beneficiary through the Modification of Original Election at Retirement process, your current retirement benefit is reduced to fund your new beneficiary’s future benefit. How much it’s reduced depends on: • Your original payment option, and • Your and your beneficiary’s age and life expectancy
at the time of election.
Any cost-of-living adjustment and Purchasing Power Protection Allowance is also recalculated using your new lower base allowance.
Estimate Your New Retirement Allowance
Before you can make an election to add or change a payment option beneficiary, you must obtain an estimate of your new retirement allowance. To do this, go to my.calpers.ca.gov and follow the prompts from the Retirement tab to Change Retirement Benefit.
You will be able to create and save estimates based on different life event and beneficiary scenarios. You can then elect to make the change online or you can print and mail us your signed election document. You’ll need to submit supporting life event and beneficiary documentation for us to process your request.
If you are unable to create an estimate through your myCalPERS account, call us toll free at 888 CalPERS (or 888-225-7377) and we will mail you a Modification of Option and/or Life Option Beneficiary Estimate Request form.
Important! If you choose to modify your original election at retirement, your new election is irrevocable. However, should you have a future qualifying event, such as the death of your beneficiary, you may be able to modify your allowance again and name a new beneficiary.
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Base allowance is your monthly retirement allowance prior to any cost-of-living adjustments.
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Do You Have a Qualifying Life Event?
Refer to the following charts to see if you’re eligible to make a change to your original retirement option. For a description of the retirement options you may be eligible to choose from, see the Retirement Option Reference Charts on pages 16–18.

Retirement Date Before January 1, 2018

If your current retirement payment option is…

And the life event is…

Then you…

• Unmodified Allowance
• Option 1

• Death of your current beneficiary
• Annulment of marriage
• You are awarded your entire CalPERS interest upon – Divorce – Legal separation – Termination of domestic partnership

Do not have a qualifying life event that allows you to change your retirement payment option.
Remember: You can change your Option 1 beneficiary at any time.

• Unmodified Allowance
• Option 1 • Option 2 • Option 2W • Option 3 • Option 3W • Option 4 – 2W &
Option 1 combined • Option 4 – 3W &
Option 1 combined • Any other Option 4
types

• Non-spouse or non-domestic partner beneficiary disclaims their entitlement to your CalPERS benefits

Do not have a qualifying life event that allows you to change your retirement payment option.
Remember: You can change your Option 1 beneficiary at any time.

• Unmodified Allowance

• Marriage* • Registration of
domestic partnership

Can change your retirement payment option to: • Option 1** • Option 2 • Option 2W • Option 3 • Option 3W • Option 4 – 2W &
Option 1 combined** • Option 4 – 3W &
Option 1 combined** • Any other Option 4 types

* If you were married at retirement and later divorced, you must have first been awarded 100% of your CalPERS retirement.
** Member contributions are depleted approximately 10 years after retirement. If you have been retired for 10 years or more, there may be no remaining contributions to be paid to a beneficiary.

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888 CalPERS (or 888-225-7377)