Editorial note: This page is educational and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. CalPERS Survivor Continuance rules, percentages, and eligibility are set by California statute and by each employer’s CalPERS contract. Confirm the specific benefit that applies to your employer with CalPERS and consult a California licensed CPA or attorney before signing your retirement election.
Last updated: August 13, 2026 · By Gold California Editorial
Quick answer: The CalPERS Survivor Continuance is a monthly benefit paid to an eligible surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, unmarried minor child, disabled adult child, or dependent parent after the retiree’s death. It is automatic when your employer has contracted for it, is paid entirely from employer contributions, and equals either 25 percent or 50 percent of your Unmodified Allowance depending on Social Security coverage. It is separate from Options 1 through 4 and does not reduce your monthly allowance while you are alive, per CalPERS Publication 1 (February 2025 edition) and Government Code sections 21624, 21629, and 21630.
Short on time? The essentials
- The Survivor Continuance is an automatic, employer-funded monthly benefit under Article 5, Chapter 14 of the Public Employees’ Retirement Law (California Government Code sections 21620 through 21635.5). It is not an option election.
- State members, California State University members, and University of California members employed under CalPERS have the Survivor Continuance built into the plan. School members have it under Government Code Section 21629 or Section 21630.
- Public agency (local) members do not receive the Survivor Continuance automatically. Their contracting agency must elect Section 21624 by contract amendment, per Government Code Section 21626.
- The percentage is 50 percent of the Unmodified Allowance for service credit not covered by Social Security, and 25 percent of the Unmodified Allowance for service credit covered by Social Security, per CalPERS Publication 43 (March 2025 edition).
- Eligibility runs in this order: spouse or registered domestic partner (married or registered at least one year before service retirement, or on the retirement date for disability retirement), then unmarried natural or adopted children under age 18 (or disabled before age 18), then economically dependent parents.
- When you also elect a reduced payment option, CalPERS first subtracts the Survivor Continuance from the Unmodified Allowance, then applies the actuarial reduction to the remaining amount (the option portion), per Publication 1 (February 2025 edition).
- For deaths on or after January 1, 2000, the Survivor Continuance to a surviving spouse does not stop upon remarriage, per Government Code Section 21635.
- Beneficiary is chosen by you on the retirement application. A survivor cannot be chosen; a survivor is defined by law, per Publication 1 (February 2025 edition).
This page explains the CalPERS Survivor Continuance benefit for California public pension members. It covers what the benefit is and who qualifies. It sets out the 25 percent and 50 percent percentages tied to Social Security coverage. It also explains how the benefit stacks with the retirement payment options (Options 1 through 4) and the rules that differ by employer contract.
Every figure and statutory reference on this page is cited to CalPERS Publication 1 (February 2025 edition), CalPERS Publication 43 (March 2025 edition), or to the California Government Code sections listed in the Sources section at the bottom.
What the CalPERS Survivor Continuance is
The Survivor Continuance is a monthly benefit CalPERS pays to an eligible survivor after the retired member’s death. It is defined in Article 5 of Chapter 14 of the Public Employees’ Retirement Law, at California Government Code sections 21620 through 21635.5.
Publication 1, Planning Your Service Retirement (February 2025 edition), lists three types of postretirement death benefits: a lump-sum death benefit, the Survivor Continuance, and the retirement payment option. The Survivor Continuance is the middle category. It is a monthly amount, paid for life, funded entirely by employer contributions.
The Survivor Continuance is separate from any payment option you choose on the Service Retirement Election Application (Publication 43, March 2025 edition). The option controls how much of your allowance continues to a beneficiary you designate. The Survivor Continuance is a distinct, statutory benefit that runs to a survivor defined by law.
Why it is automatic, not an election
The Survivor Continuance is not one of the payment options. You do not select it, and you cannot decline it. If your employer’s CalPERS contract provides the benefit and you have an eligible survivor at retirement, the Survivor Continuance runs automatically after your death.
Publication 43 (March 2025 edition) frames Section 6 of the retirement application as informational only. That section tells CalPERS which employer(s) provided the benefit and asks for proof of marriage or domestic partnership. It does not offer a choice to accept or reject the benefit.
Publication 1 (February 2025 edition) states plainly that you cannot choose your survivor because a survivor is defined by law. Your ability to name a beneficiary applies to Options 1 through 4 and to the lump-sum death benefit, not to the Survivor Continuance.
Which employers provide it
State miscellaneous, state industrial, patrol, state peace officer/firefighter, and state safety members are covered by statute. The Survivor Continuance for these classifications is set directly by Government Code sections 21624, 21629, and 21630, without a need for a separate employer election.
School members (including California school district employees who are members of CalPERS, not CalSTRS) receive the Survivor Continuance under Government Code Section 21629 or Section 21630, depending on Social Security coverage. School safety members are included in Section 21629 and Section 21630 for retirements effective on or after July 1, 1983.
Public agency (local) members are treated differently. Government Code Section 21626 provides that a contracting agency’s employees do not receive the Survivor Continuance until the agency elects to be subject to Section 21624 by contract amendment. The election may be exercised separately for firefighters, police officers, other local safety, and local miscellaneous groups.
Who qualifies as an eligible survivor
Publication 43 (March 2025 edition) lists the eligibility hierarchy. CalPERS pays the Survivor Continuance to the first category that has a qualifying survivor at your death, in this order:
- A spouse who was married to you at least one year before your service retirement date and continuously until your death. For disability or industrial disability retirement, you only need to have been married on your retirement date and continuously until your death.
- If no eligible spouse, a domestic partner in a legally state-recognized partnership entered into at least one year before your service retirement date and continuously until your death.
- If no eligible spouse or domestic partner, your unmarried natural or adopted children under age 18. The benefit continues until they marry, die, or turn 18.
- An unmarried child who became disabled before age 18 and whose disability continues without interruption, for as long as the disability continues.
- An economically dependent parent, if none of the above categories has a qualifying survivor.
Because the survivor is defined by law, an ex-spouse whose marriage ended before the retirement date is not an eligible survivor, even if a court order requires the retiree to designate the ex-spouse as an option beneficiary. Confirm your specific situation with CalPERS and a California family law attorney if a domestic relations order is involved.
The 25 percent and 50 percent percentages
The Survivor Continuance percentage depends on whether the underlying CalPERS service credit was also covered by Social Security. Publication 43 (March 2025 edition) sets the rule this way:
- 50 percent of the Unmodified Allowance for service credit not covered by Social Security.
- 25 percent of the Unmodified Allowance for service credit covered by Social Security.
Government Code Section 21624 sets the same 25 and 50 percent split for patrol, state peace officer/firefighter, and state safety members. Section 21629 sets the 50 percent rate for state miscellaneous, school, and school safety members with no Social Security coverage. Section 21630 sets the split for the same member classes when some service was covered by Social Security.
If you had multiple CalPERS employers, CalPERS calculates the Survivor Continuance separately for each employer that contracts for it and adds the results, per Publication 1 (February 2025 edition). A retiree with one employer at 25 percent and one at 50 percent receives the sum of the two employer-specific continuances.
How it stacks with your option election
The Survivor Continuance does not reduce your monthly allowance while you are alive. It sits on top of your allowance, funded by the employer, and pays out only after your death.
When you also elect a reduced payment option (Option 1, 2, 2W, 3, 3W, or 4), CalPERS first subtracts the Survivor Continuance amount from the Unmodified Allowance, then applies the actuarial reduction to the remaining amount. That remaining amount, after the reduction, is called the option portion. Publication 1 (February 2025 edition) shows the calculation on page 10 of the printed document.
The practical effect is that the Survivor Continuance and the option continuance stack after your death. Your survivor receives the Survivor Continuance for life. Your named option beneficiary (if different from your survivor and if you elected a reduced option) receives the option portion continuance under the terms of that option.
Remarriage and the Section 21635 rule
Government Code Section 21635 states that a Survivor Continuance to a surviving spouse does not stop upon remarriage. The rule applies to remarriages on or after January 1, 2000 for state members. It also applies from January 1, 1985 for certain local members whose contracting agency had elected the section. Section 21635 also provides for restoration of allowances that had been discontinued upon a pre-2000 remarriage.
The section clarifies that the surviving spouse cannot add the new spouse or stepchildren as family members under continued CalPERS health coverage, per Section 22822. The pension continuance itself does not stop, but the health enrollment rules limit who can be added under the surviving spouse’s coverage.
The section refers to Government Code Section 22822 for the health enrollment interaction. Confirm the specifics of your health coverage with CalPERS separately, because the CalPERS health rules are distinct from the pension continuance rules.
Local (public agency) contracts vary
Government Code Section 21626 controls whether a local (public agency) member receives the Survivor Continuance. The section provides that the benefit does not apply to a local miscellaneous or local safety member, other than the narrow pre-1973 group described in the statute. The contracting agency must first elect to be subject to Section 21624 by amendment to its CalPERS contract.
The election can be made group by group. A city could elect the Survivor Continuance for its local safety police members but not for local miscellaneous members, or vice versa. Section 21626 lists the four groups that may be treated separately: local firefighters, local police officers, other local safety, and local miscellaneous.
Because contract amendments vary by agency, a local member cannot infer their Survivor Continuance from a neighbor working for a different city or special district. Ask your current or former CalPERS-covered employer, and confirm with CalPERS, whether the Survivor Continuance is included in your employer’s contract.
Survivor Continuance by member class
The table below summarizes the Survivor Continuance percentages and statutory basis by member classification. It is exhaustive for the postretirement Survivor Continuance under Article 5 (sections 21620 through 21635.5). Because public agency contracts vary, the local-member rows list the statutory framework, not the specific percentage that applies to your employer.
| Member classification | Survivor Continuance percentage | Automatic or contract election? | Statutory basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrol, state peace officer/firefighter, state safety | 50 percent of Unmodified Allowance for service not covered by Social Security; 25 percent for service covered by Social Security | Automatic for retirements effective on or after April 1, 1973 | Government Code Section 21624 |
| State miscellaneous (no Social Security-covered service) | 50 percent of Unmodified Allowance | Automatic for retirements effective on or after July 1, 1974 | Government Code Section 21629 |
| State miscellaneous (some Social Security-covered service) | 25 percent for Social Security-covered service; 50 percent for other service (with a 50 percent carve-out for members whose service was subject to Section 21076 or 21077 and who became a member before November 1, 1988) | Automatic for retirements effective on or after July 1, 1975 | Government Code Section 21630 |
| School member and school safety (no Social Security-covered service) | 50 percent of Unmodified Allowance | Automatic for retirements effective on or after July 1, 1983 | Government Code Section 21629 |
| School member and school safety (some Social Security-covered service) | 25 percent for Social Security-covered service; 50 percent for other service | Automatic for retirements effective on or after July 1, 1983 | Government Code Section 21630 |
| Local (public agency) miscellaneous | Follows Section 21624 percentages (25 or 50 percent) when the contracting agency has elected the section | Not automatic; contracting agency must elect by contract amendment. Election may be exercised separately for local miscellaneous vs local safety groups. | Government Code Sections 21624 and 21626 |
| Local (public agency) safety (firefighters, police, other) | Follows Section 21624 percentages (25 or 50 percent) when the contracting agency has elected the section for that specific group | Not automatic; contracting agency must elect by contract amendment for each group separately. | Government Code Sections 21624 and 21626 |
| Election under Section 21460 or 21478 (Preretirement Optional Settlement) | The statutory Survivor Continuance under Sections 21624, 21626, 21627, 21628, 21629, or 21630 is payable only to the member’s eligible surviving spouse and for that spouse’s lifetime, and does not cease on remarriage. | Modifies eligibility (limits to surviving spouse only) | Government Code Section 21625 |
Source: California Government Code sections 21620, 21624, 21625, 21626, 21629, 21630, and 21635; CalPERS Publication 43, Service Retirement Election Application (March 2025 edition, 2025.3.1); CalPERS Publication 1, Planning Your Service Retirement (February 2025 edition, 2025.2.1). Checked August 2026 at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/GOV and calpers.ca.gov/documents/planning-service-retirement.
Worked example: a $4,000 Unmodified Allowance
Assume a hypothetical California CalPERS state miscellaneous retiree with a $4,000 monthly Unmodified Allowance, whose service was covered by Social Security. Under Government Code Section 21630 the Survivor Continuance is 25 percent of the Unmodified Allowance, or $1,000 per month. This benefit is separate from any option election.
If the same retiree elects the Unmodified Allowance and dies with an eligible surviving spouse, the spouse receives $1,000 per month for life. The retiree received $4,000 per month during their lifetime because the Survivor Continuance is funded by the employer, not by an option reduction.
If instead the retiree elects Option 2 (100 percent continuance to a named beneficiary), CalPERS first subtracts the $1,000 Survivor Continuance from the $4,000 Unmodified Allowance. That leaves $3,000. CalPERS then applies the Option 2 actuarial factor to that $3,000 to produce the option portion. Publication 1 (February 2025 edition) shows the same calculation on page 10. Actual dollar figures depend on ages and are calculated by CalPERS on a retirement estimate.
How to check your Survivor Continuance
The steps below outline the process a California CalPERS member uses to confirm the Survivor Continuance that applies at retirement. Discuss the specifics with CalPERS and, where a marital settlement is involved, with a California family law attorney.
- Confirm your employer classification. Ask CalPERS whether you are a state miscellaneous, state industrial, patrol, state peace officer/firefighter, state safety, school, school safety, local miscellaneous, or local safety member for the specific job in question. The classification drives which Government Code section applies (21624, 21629, or 21630) and whether the benefit is automatic or contract-elected.
- Ask about employer contract status for local jobs. If any of your service was with a public agency, ask the employer and CalPERS whether the agency has elected Section 21624 for your group. Section 21626 allows the election to be made separately for local miscellaneous, local firefighters, local police, and other local safety members.
- Confirm Social Security coverage on your service. The 25 percent versus 50 percent split depends on whether the underlying service was covered by Social Security. Your Annual Member Statement identifies service by employer and by Social Security modifier. Cross-check with CalPERS if the statement is unclear.
- Verify your marriage or domestic partnership date. Publication 43 (March 2025 edition) requires that a spouse or registered domestic partner have been married or registered at least one year before your service retirement date for service retirement eligibility. Disability retirement uses a different rule (married on the retirement date).
- Request a personalized retirement estimate. Log in to myCalPERS and generate an estimate that shows the Unmodified Allowance, the Survivor Continuance amount, and the option portion for each payment option side by side. Confirm the estimate reflects the correct number of employers and the correct Social Security coverage.
- Submit the required proof documents. Publication 43 (March 2025 edition) requires a photocopy of a marriage certificate or state-recognized certificate of domestic partnership when you have a Survivor Continuance benefit. Send photocopies, not originals.
- Keep your beneficiary designation and dependent records current. A disabled adult child may be eligible for the Survivor Continuance if none of the earlier categories qualify. Keep documentation of the child’s disability and its onset date before age 18 with your CalPERS records.
None of these steps replaces professional advice. A California licensed CPA or fiduciary planner can model the Survivor Continuance and the option election together, in the context of your household’s tax and cash-flow picture, before you sign the Service Retirement Election Application.
When this benefit does not apply
The Survivor Continuance applies only to certain retirements and certain family situations. It does not apply in the following cases described in the statute and in Publication 1 (February 2025 edition):
- Your employer’s contract does not provide it. For local (public agency) members, if the contracting agency has not elected Section 21624 for your group, no Survivor Continuance is payable. Confirm with the employer and with CalPERS.
- You have no eligible survivor at retirement. If, on your retirement date, you have no eligible surviving spouse, no eligible domestic partner, no eligible children, and no dependent parent, no Survivor Continuance is payable, per the closing sentence of Section 21624 and the parallel language in Sections 21629 and 21630.
- You elected an optional settlement but had no eligible survivor at retirement. The three sections above provide that if the member had no eligible surviving spouse, eligible children, or dependent parents at the effective date of retirement and elected an optional settlement, no Survivor Continuance is paid.
- Your surviving spouse remarried before January 1, 2000 (for most state members). Section 21635 restored the benefit going forward on January 1, 2000, but it is not paid for the period between the pre-2000 remarriage and the effective date of resumption. Different rules apply to local members whose employers elected the pre-2000 rule.
- Your survivor is a beneficiary you named, but not a survivor as defined by law. Publication 1 (February 2025 edition) states that you can name a beneficiary but not a survivor. A named option beneficiary who is not the statutory survivor still receives the option portion but not the Survivor Continuance.
None of these situations replaces professional advice. Consult CalPERS, a California licensed attorney, or a fiduciary planner for facts specific to your case.
CalPERS Survivor Continuance, answered
Is the CalPERS Survivor Continuance the same as one of the retirement options?
No. The Survivor Continuance is separate from Options 1, 2, 2W, 3, 3W, and 4 under Government Code sections 21456 through 21459. It is not an election. Publication 1 (February 2025 edition) treats the Survivor Continuance and the payment option as two distinct postretirement death benefits. Both may apply after your death if the eligibility conditions are met.
Does the Survivor Continuance reduce my monthly allowance while I am alive?
No. The Survivor Continuance is funded entirely by employer contributions. It does not come out of your monthly allowance. Publication 1 (February 2025 edition) shows the mechanic: for members who elect a reduced option, CalPERS subtracts the Survivor Continuance from the Unmodified Allowance before applying the option reduction, but the retiree receives the Unmodified Allowance while alive.
Do I need to elect the Survivor Continuance on my retirement application?
No. Section 6 of the Service Retirement Election Application (Publication 43, March 2025 edition) is informational only. It identifies your covered employer(s) and requests proof of marriage or domestic partnership. You do not select or decline the Survivor Continuance; it is automatic if your employer contracts for it and you have an eligible survivor at retirement.
Can my registered domestic partner receive the Survivor Continuance?
Yes, if the partnership is a state-recognized domestic partnership entered into at least one year before your service retirement date and continues uninterrupted until your death, per Publication 43 (March 2025 edition). For disability or industrial disability retirement, the partnership must have been in effect on your retirement date and continuously to your death.
What happens if my surviving spouse remarries after I die?
Under Government Code Section 21635, for state members and remarriages on or after January 1, 2000, the Survivor Continuance does not stop upon remarriage. Certain local members had this rule apply from January 1, 1985 if their contracting agency had elected it. Health enrollment interactions are separate under Section 22822.
If both my spouse and I worked for CalPERS employers, can we both receive a Survivor Continuance?
Yes, based on each of your own CalPERS careers. Each member’s Survivor Continuance is calculated on that member’s own Unmodified Allowance and employer contract(s), per Publication 1 (February 2025 edition). If you had multiple CalPERS employers yourself, CalPERS calculates the Survivor Continuance for each employer that contracts for it and adds the results.
What if I have no spouse, no children, and no dependent parent at retirement?
Then no Survivor Continuance is payable under the statute. Sections 21624, 21629, and 21630 all state that if, on the effective date of retirement, the member has no surviving spouse, eligible children, or dependent parents and elected an optional settlement, no allowance under the Survivor Continuance section is paid. Confirm your specific situation with CalPERS.
How do I know the exact percentage that applies to my case?
Ask CalPERS. The percentage is 50 percent for service credit not covered by Social Security and 25 percent for service credit covered by Social Security, per Publication 43 (March 2025 edition). If you had multiple CalPERS employers or a mix of Social Security-covered and non-covered service, CalPERS computes the specific dollar amount on your retirement estimate. Request that estimate before you sign the Service Retirement Election Application.
Sources
- CalPERS, Planning Your Service Retirement (Publication 1, February 2025 edition, 2025.2.1). Three types of postretirement death benefits (lump-sum, Survivor Continuance, retirement payment option); Survivor Continuance is 25 percent or 50 percent of Unmodified Allowance; survivor is defined by law; multi-employer calculation; option portion calculation showing the Survivor Continuance subtraction. Checked August 2026.
- CalPERS, Service Retirement Election Application (Publication 43, March 2025 edition, 2025.3.1). Section 6 (Survivor Continuance Information); eligibility hierarchy (spouse, then domestic partner, then unmarried children under 18 or disabled before 18, then economically dependent parent); 25 percent versus 50 percent split by Social Security coverage; marriage or partnership evidence requirement. Checked August 2026.
- California Government Code Section 21620 (Lump-sum retired death benefit). The base $500 postretirement lump-sum death benefit, increased to $2,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2023 by SB 1168 (Stats. 2022, Ch. 193). Checked August 2026.
- California Government Code Section 21624 (Survivor Continuance for patrol, state peace officer/firefighter, state safety). Automatic 25 percent (Social Security-covered) or 50 percent (other) monthly continuance to a surviving spouse for life, then to unmarried children, then to dependent parents. Effective for retirements on or after April 1, 1973. Checked August 2026.
- California Government Code Section 21625 (Election under Section 21460 or 21478). When a member elects the Preretirement Optional Settlement 2W, the Sections 21624, 21626, 21627, 21628, 21629, and 21630 benefits are payable only to the eligible surviving spouse for life and do not cease on remarriage. Checked August 2026.
- California Government Code Section 21626 (Local member contract election). Local miscellaneous and local safety members are not covered by Section 21624 until the contracting agency elects the section by contract amendment. Election may be exercised separately for local firefighters, local police, other local safety, and local miscellaneous. Checked August 2026.
- California Government Code Section 21629 (State miscellaneous, school, school safety, no Social Security). Automatic 50 percent monthly continuance to a surviving spouse for life for members whose service was not covered by Social Security. Effective July 1, 1974 (state miscellaneous) and July 1, 1983 (school members). Checked August 2026.
- California Government Code Section 21630 (State miscellaneous, school, school safety, some Social Security). Automatic 25 percent (Social Security-covered) or 50 percent (other) monthly continuance to a surviving spouse for life. Effective July 1, 1975 (state miscellaneous with Social Security) and July 1, 1983 (school members). Checked August 2026.
- California Government Code Section 21635 (Remarriage of surviving spouse). Survivor Continuance to a surviving spouse does not cease upon remarriage occurring on or after January 1, 2000 (or on or after January 1, 1985 for certain local members). Discontinued pre-2000 allowances are restored effective January 1, 2000 or the first of the month after CalPERS receives a written application. Checked August 2026.
- CalPERS, Service and Disability Retirement (member landing page). Retirement estimate access, application timing, and the linked Publication 43 and Publication 1 downloads. Checked August 2026.
