When a government retiree dies: the spouse and children’s pension

This is the law that says what is left for the family when someone already drawing a government pension dies. It is not a new pension calculated from scratch: it is a percentage of the annuity the retiree was receiving, split in equal shares between the surviving spouse and the minor or incapacitated children. The whole matter turns on two questions: whether the retiree was covered by Title II of federal Social Security, and each beneficiary’s age and condition.

The surviving spouse and the minor or physically and/or mentally incapacitated children of a participant of the Retirement System of Government Employees of Puerto Rico and its Instrumentalities and/or of the Judiciary Retirement System who dies **while receiving** a retirement or disability annuity from that System. That phrase matters: the law speaks of the participant who dies already retired, not one who dies in active service. For the surviving spouse, where the fifty percent scenario applies, there are two additional conditions the law expressly writes: they shall receive the pension **upon turning sixty (60) years of age**, and must have been married for **no less than ten (10) years** to the deceased retiree at the time of death.

• That the deceased was a participant of the Retirement System of Government Employees and its Instrumentalities and/or of the Judiciary Retirement System, and died while receiving a retirement or disability annuity.Verified against the official source
• Being the surviving spouse, or a minor child, or a physically and/or mentally incapacitated child.Verified against the official source
• For the surviving spouse in the fifty percent scenario: having turned sixty (60) and having been married for no less than ten (10) years to the retiree at the time of death.Verified against the official source

• The Administrator’s written determination on your benefits application: it is the document from which the thirty reconsideration days run.
• If the beneficiary is a child between 18 and 25: evidence they are pursuing studies at an institution recognized by the Council on Education of Puerto Rico or by the Department of Education, as applicable.

1. 1

   Step 1: The first question: was he covered by Title II?

   Everything else follows from this, so settle it first. Article 2 says the persons named shall receive **in equal shares sixty percent (60%)** of the annuity the retired participant was receiving at the time of death. Article 5 says that if the retiree at the time of death was covered by Title II of the federal Social Security Act, those persons, **instead of** what Article 2 provides, shall receive divided in equal shares **fifty percent (50%)** of the annuity. And it adds a closing rule: this Article shall not apply to participants in systems not coordinated with the federal Social Security Act, to whom Article 2’s sixty percent shall continue to apply. One thing must be said honestly: Article 1’s second paragraph says that if the retired participant was covered by Title II at death, the persons mentioned **shall not be entitled to the pension this Act grants**, and Article 5 then routes them to the fifty percent. We publish both texts as they stand; which applies to a specific file is a determination of the Administrator, not something we resolve here.

2. 2

   Step 2: How it is divided: in equal shares

   Both scenarios use the same division formula. The percentage — sixty or fifty — is calculated on the annuity the retired participant was receiving at the time of death, and divided **in equal shares** among those entitled. There is no larger portion for the spouse and no scale by children’s age: the law says equal shares and does not distinguish.

3. 3

   Step 3: How long children collect: 18, 25 or indefinitely

   Article 4 sets three brackets. For minors, payments shall be made until they turn eighteen (18). Unless they are persons permanently incapacitated for work by reason of their mental condition or physical impairments, in which case the text sets no age cap. Or until the age of twenty-five (25) if pursuing studies; and the law specifies where: those studies must be pursued at an institution recognized by the Council on Education of Puerto Rico or by the Department of Education, as applicable.

4. 4

   Step 4: When a beneficiary leaves, their share accretes to the rest

   This is the detail that keeps a family from losing money without knowing. That same Article 4 provides that when a beneficiary’s pension is suspended — by their death, by their turning 18, or twenty-five (25) if pursuing studies, or because they are no longer permanently incapacitated — **that beneficiary’s pension shall accrete to the remaining beneficiaries and be distributed among them in equal shares**. That is, the total percentage does not drop when one leaves: it is redistributed among those who remain.

5. 5

   Step 5: If the beneficiary is a minor or mentally incapacitated

   Article 3 settles who receives the money: for minor or mentally incapacitated children, the corresponding pension may be delivered to their father or mother, as applicable, or to any other person the Court of First Instance designates, always attending to the wellbeing of those minors or mentally incapacitated persons. The closing phrase is not decorative: it is the criterion the law gives the court for deciding.

6. 6

   Step 6: If you disagree: 30, 30 and 30

   Article 6 traces three rungs and all three have the same term. First: any of the persons mentioned in this law who disagrees with the determination the Retirement System Administrator makes regarding their benefits application may request reconsideration **within thirty (30) days of being notified** of the Administrator’s decision. Second: if they do not request reconsideration, or if it is adverse, the claimant may appeal to the **Board of Trustees of the Retirement System within the thirty (30) days following** the date the initial decision became final, or of being notified of the final decision on reconsideration. Third: if the appeal to the Board of Trustees is adverse, the claimant may go to the **Court of First Instance** seeking review of the Board’s decision, **within thirty (30) days** of being notified of it. Note the date of each notice: it is the only point these terms are counted from.

7. 7

   Step 7: If you are entitled to another pension for the same thing

   Article 8 settles the concurrence of benefits with a simple rule: where one of the persons mentioned in this Act is entitled, under any law in force, to another pension for the same concept or by reason of the death of a retired participant, **the greater pension shall be paid**. They are not added; the greater is paid. And Article 7 says where the money comes from: the amounts necessary to comply with this law shall be charged to the Fund of the Retirement System of Government Employees of Puerto Rico and/or to the Fund of the Judiciary Retirement System.

Before the Administrator of the Retirement System of Government Employees of Puerto Rico and its Instrumentalities and/or of the Judiciary Retirement System, depending on which was the retiree’s system. The law names them as the one who makes the determination on the benefits application, and who notifies that decision. If the determination is adverse, Article 6 traces the route: reconsideration before the Administrator, appeal to the Board of Trustees of the Retirement System, and review before the Court of First Instance, with thirty days at each rung. What we do not publish: the address, phone number, form or procedure to file the initial application, because Act 105-1969 does not name them. Nor do we publish whether these systems’ administration changed name or structure after 1969: the compilation we read is Rev. 15 April 2024 and keeps the names we cite, and we will not assert reorganizations we did not verify.

• Assuming the percentage is always the same: it is 60% or 50% depending on whether the retiree was covered by Title II of federal Social Security.
• Believing the spouse receives a larger portion: the law says equal shares and does not distinguish.
• Not knowing that in the 50% scenario the spouse collects upon turning 60 and needs 10 years of marriage at the time of death.
• Not claiming for a 19-year-old child who is studying: the law reaches 25 if pursuing studies at a recognized institution.
• Not asking that a departing beneficiary’s share be redistributed: that pension accretes to the rest in equal shares.
• Letting the thirty days for reconsideration, or for the Board of Trustees appeal, or for judicial review, pass.
• Adding this pension to another for the same concept: the law says the greater one is paid.
• Thinking it applies to someone who died in active service: the law speaks of the participant who dies while receiving the annuity.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Hacienda de Puerto Rico

  Hacienda

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov