My attorney says that if a worker dies before starting to collect his/her vested pension, the spouse will not be able to collect survivor benefits. Consequently he recommends that if the worker is ill or injured and not expected to survive, the spouse, via power of attorney, should initiate the worker's pension, so that he/she will later be able to collect the spousal benefits.
That sounds odd to me. Online info, though hazy about this situation, suggests ERISA instead requires the spouse of a deceased worker be allowed to initiate a pension's payout (in the form of spousal benefit) after that worker has died. I have not seen this issue discussed here before. Does anyone have experience with it?
That sounds odd to me. Online info, though hazy about this situation, suggests ERISA instead requires the spouse of a deceased worker be allowed to initiate a pension's payout (in the form of spousal benefit) after that worker has died. I have not seen this issue discussed here before. Does anyone have experience with it?