Children Survivor Benefits Are Available to Federal Employees Who Retire Under Early Retirement or Discontinued Service Retirement

A child of a federal employee or retiree is eligible to receive a monthly survivor annuity benefit that is payable upon the death of the child’s parent if certain requirements are met.

These requirements are the deceased parent was either: (1) A CSRS or FERS annuitant or (2) A CSRS- or FERS-covered employee who had completed at least 18 months of creditable civilian service as of the date the employee died and who died while subject to CSRS or FERS payroll deductions. This column discusses the child monthly survivor annuity benefit including qualifications for a child monthly survivor annuity and when it starts, the amount of the child monthly survivor annuity benefit, and when the child monthly survivor annuity ceases.

It is important to note that over the last three months during 2025, many federal employees have lost their jobs and may qualify for early retirement (a VERA, VSIP, or a discontinued service retirement). Many of these employees have young children. It is possible that many of these retiring employees may not be aware of the children survivor monthly annuity benefit that their children could be eligible for..

Qualifications for a child monthly survivor annuity

To qualify for a monthly survivor annuity, the child of a deceased employee or a deceased annuitant must: (1) Have been dependent on the employee at the time of death; (2) Be unmarried; (3) Be under age 18, or age 18-22 and a full-time student); or (4) Over age 18 and incapable of self-support due to a disability incurred before age 18.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) considers a child under age 18 to have been dependent upon the deceased employee or annuitant if the child is: (1) A legitimate child; (2) An adopted child; (3) A stepchild; or (4) A child born out of wedlock if certain conditions are met.

A child between 18 and 22 is eligible for the monthly survivor annuity or continuation of the monthly survivor annuity benefit beyond age 18 because of the child’s status as a student. The child must: (1) Remain unmarried; and (2) Regularly pursue a full-time course of study at a recognized educational or training institution that certifies that the child is pursuing a full-time day or evening course of resident study or training. Note that OPM Form RI 25-41 (Initial Certification of Full-Time School Attendance) must be submitted to OPM by the surviving parent or legal guardian when a child who is age 18 graduates from high school and continues their education on a full-time basis.

A recognized educational institution is a school that is accredited, has a faculty and requires study or training to be done through the school. Included are: (1) High schools; (2) Trade schools; (3) Technical or vocational institutions; (4) Business schools; (4) Junior colleges; and (6) Colleges, universities, or comparably recognized education institutions.

Attendance at any of the following is not qualifying for children’s benefits beyond age 18: (1) Correspondence schools; (2) Elementary or junior high schools; (3) Government service academies including the US Military, Naval, Air Force or Coast Guard Academies; or (4) Any training program in which the trainee enters an apprenticeship program and is paid. A full-time course of study consists of attendance of at least 36 weeks per academic year and sufficient study to complete the educational or training objective is required in order to be considered a full-time student.

For a child who is age 18 or older and incapable of self-support due to mental or physical disability, the child may be entitled to a monthly survivor annuity benefit if the following conditions are met: (1) The child (adopted or step-child) is a dependent; (2) OPM determines that the child is incapable of self-support because of a physical or mental disability incurred before he or she reached age 18.

Amount of the children monthly survivor annuity benefit

The children’s survivor benefit is a specific dollar amount that is established by the formula in United States Code 8341(c)(2) and increases annually by the amount of the annual CSRS COLA, assuming there is one. The current rates for 2025 are:

• Single Orphan Rate. When the child(ren) have a living parent who was married to the deceased employee or annuitant, either at death or any time prior to death, the benefit payable to that child is: (1) $675 for one or two children; or (2) $2,019 divided by the number of eligible children if three or more.
• Double Orphan Rate. When the child has no living parent who was married to the employee/annuitant, the benefit payable to that child is: (1) $808 for one or two children; or (2) $2,424 divided by the number of children, if three or more.

OPM pays the child’s monthly survivor annuity to: (1) The parent or other person who has care and custody of the child if there is no court-appointed guardian; (2) The guardian, if one has been appointed by the court; or (3) The child who is over age 18 upon request by the child or other payee on the claim.

Coordination with children Social Security survivor benefits

If the deceased employee or annuitant was fully insured for Social Security purposes, as are most FERS-covered employees and annuitants, then the deceased employee’s/annuitant’s children under age 18 are eligible for children Social Security survivor benefits. If those benefits are more than the OPM monthly benefit, the child will then receive the Social Security monthly benefit. However, children Social Security death benefits terminate when a child becomes age 18 or 19 f the child is still in high school. OPM monthly payments continue until the child is age 22, if the child is a full-time student between 18 and 22.

Duration of children monthly survivor annuity benefit

A child’s monthly survivor annuity begins on the day following an employee’s/annuitant’s death, or in the case of a posthumous child, on the day following the child’s birth.

A child’s monthly survivor annuity to a child under age 18 ends on the last day of the month preceding the month in which the child: (1) Marries; (2) Dies; or (3) Becomes age 18.

For a child age 18 and older and attending college or university, the child monthly survivor annuity ends on the last day of the month preceding the month in which the child: (1) Marries; (2) Dies; (3) Ceases to be a student; (4) Transfers to a non-recognized school; (5) Begins attending school less than full-time; (6) Fails to submit proof upon request that he or she is attending school full-time; (7) Enters military service; or (8) Becomes age 22.

Parent/guardian responsibility.

Upon the death of an employee/annuitant, the surviving parent, legal guardian or person with care and custody of the child should:

1. Complete the Application for Death Benefits – CSRS/CSRS Offset: Form SF 2800 (Application for Death Benefits) and FERS: Form SF 3104 (Application for Death Benefits)
2. Attach any other forms as required. For example, guardianship papers, medical documents for a disabled child(ren) over age 18, proof that the child is a natural child, school certification, or a birth certificate if the child was adopted, born out of wedlock or a stepchild of the deceased.
3. Include a copy of the Social Security Administration award or denial letter.

In the case of a deceased employee, all records should be sent to the deceased employee’s agency. In the case of a deceased annuitant, all records should be sent to OPM’s Record Operations Center. The address is shown on Form SF 2800 and Form SF 3104.