Ask a Lawyer - Archive

My Dad died in July of 2005; he had a pension plan from his company. When he passed that same day his Pension check came in. I called the company and they told me he had no beneficiary so I had to send back that check. My Mom had died many years earlier and I'm the sole survivor from my dad. I was just told by a friend that since my mom had passed many years before I should have received my dad's pension. Is this true?

Pensions normally last for only the lifetime of the pensioner. There is an exception for a spouse when the pensioner has elected a lower pension benefit for himself so that the spouse will receive pension benefits on the pensioner's death. In addition, a pensioner can elect a lower benefit during his life and designate a survivor as beneficiary of the pension.

In the absence of a designation of a survivor, the pension ends on the death of the pensioner.