Why does it take so long to process a death benefit payment?
TRS must take several administrative steps before calculating and disbursing benefits. For example, we must stop the member’s monthly retirement benefits and may need to recover any payments due. When a non-retired member is deceased, TRS must first obtain the member’s complete service and salary history from all previous employers in order to calculate the benefit; unfortunately, this step can take several weeks. We must also adjust TRS account balances to reflect any loans and excess distributions taken. In addition, disbursement of benefits is delayed if we do not receive all required documentation and forms, as well as notarized proof of the online claim submission.