Applying for Basic Employee De
ath Benefit
If you are a federal or postal employee part of your discussion for putting in place end of life provisions should include what your survivors need to know about applying for the basic employee death benefit.
- Also Read: New TSP Withdrawal Rules and What They Mean for Your Federal Retirement Plans
- Also Read: TSP Investment Moves That Could Help Federal Employees Retire on Their Own Terms
- Also Read: Early Retirement Myths Federal Employees Need to Stop Believing
If the deceased was retired at the time of death and you are the surviving spouse, you would be required to complete SF 3104A – Survivor Supplement which is an attachment to the SF 3104. Here again, the instructions are found on the form.
If the deceased was still an active employee upon his/her death and you are a surviving spouse or the former spouse, you and the deceased’s agency of employment are required to complete SF 3104B – Documentation and Elections in Support of Application for Death Benefits when Deceased was an Employee at the Time of Death. The 3104B can be acquired via the deceased federal employee’s former agency of employment. Instructions for executing the 3104B are found on the form.
Once applicable application materials have been completed it should be submitted to the employee’s employing agency of record if the deceased was still an active employee at the time of death. If the deceased was a former employee or a retiree, the completed application should be sent to the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Employees Retirement System at P. O. Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017-0045.
Some of the small things we need to know can become an obstacle at a time when our emotions can least afford to be challenged.  Start putting the business of the end of your life in place now so that your heartache and sorrow will only be because you are saying goodbye to a loved one.
P.S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
The federal or postal employee may also have been covered by FEGLI.
Surviving spouse of postal employees may need to visit LiteBlue for information and forms
