Basic Plan SPD >> Death Benefit for Pensioners

If you are a pensioner collecting a pension from the Building Service 32BJ Pension Fund, you are entitled to a death benefit of $1,000. However, if you are eligible to receive life insurance coverage from this Plan, this $1,000 death benefit is not payable.

Your beneficiary for the death benefit will be the person or persons you name in writing on a claim form that is kept on file in the Retirement Services Department. Your beneficiary can be anyone you choose, and you can change your beneficiary at any time by completing and submitting a new form to Member Services.

If you do not name a beneficiary, or if your beneficiary dies before you and you have not named a new beneficiary, your pensioner’s death benefit will be payable in the following order:

(1) your wife or husband, if living

(2) your living children, equally

(3) your living parents, equally, and

(4) if none of the above, to your estate

The Plan does not pay this benefit to anyone who is involved in any way in the purposeful death of the participant. In a case where this rule applies, if there is no named beneficiary who can receive the benefits, they will be paid in the order listed above.