Life Events – Deferred Membership

Life doesn’t stop after you leave public service—and some changes may affect your SCERS account even while you’re in deferred status. This page outlines the most common life events that may require action or updates to your records as a deferred member.

Moving or Changing Your Contact Information

To ensure you continue receiving important updates and correspondence from SCERS, keep your address, phone number, and email current.

How to update:

Update your contact information on MySCERS or submit a Member’s Affidavit (Form 6019) with your new information.

Getting Married, Divorced, or Updating Your Personal Status

If you marry, divorce, or enter or dissolve a registered domestic partnership, you may want to update your beneficiary. In the event of a divorce, you should submit marital dissolution documents to SCERS as soon as possible to ensure any community property issues are resolved timely. 

How to update:

Submit a new Member’s Affidavit (Form 6019) to reflect changes in your personal status or to name a new beneficiary.

SCERS uses the term “personal status” to be inclusive of both marital and registered domestic partner changes.

Updating Your Beneficiary After a Death

If your named beneficiary passes away, submit a new designation to ensure your account is current. This helps prevent delays if benefits become payable in the future.

Preparing for Retirement

When you’re ready to retire, you’ll need to complete and return the required forms (see Applying for Retirement from Deferred Status). It’s a good idea to review your benefit estimate in the MySCERS portal and reach out to SCERS at least 60 days in advance of your planned retirement date. 

Reporting a Death

If a deferred member passes away before retirement, a survivor should contact SCERS as soon as possible. Any benefits due to a beneficiary or estate will be administered according to SCERS rules.

How to notify SCERS:

Use the Report a Death feature under Member Resources → Tools & Calculators or contact SCERS directly.

Deferred Member Death Benefits

If, at the time of death, a member is a Deferred Member of SCERS and is not an Active Member in a Reciprocal System, the designated beneficiary will receive a lump sum distribution equal to the member’s contributions as of the date of death, regardless of marital status or the existence of minor children. No additional death benefits are offered to the surviving spouse/registered domestic partner or eligible minor children of a Deferred Member.

Consistent with the member contribution withdrawal process for Active Members, the Beneficiary will have the option of receiving the lump sum distribution from SCERS as a taxable direct payment or a tax-deferred eligible rollover distribution.

If the member is an Active Member in a Reciprocal System at the time of death, SCERS will coordinate benefits with the Reciprocal System.