Teacher's Retirement
Kentucky Teacher's
Retirement System
http://www.ktrs.state.ky.us/
479 Versailles Rd.
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone (502) 573-3266
Fax (502) 573-6695
Toll free: (800) 618-1687
Railroad Retirement
Railroad Retirement
Board Office
http://www.rrb.gov/field.html
Theatre Bldg., Ste 301
629 S. 4th Ave.
P.O.
Box 3705
Louisville, KY 40201-3705
Phone (502) 582-5208
Social Security Benefits
The following
checklist is designed to help you file for your Social Security benefits correctly so that prompt payments may be made.
Eligibility
The deceased worker must have credit
for work covered by Social Security, ranging from 1½ to 10 years depending on his or her age at death.
Who
May Receive Monthly Benefits
- A widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for an
entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
- A divorced widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled)
if the marriage lasted 10 years, or if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
- Unmarried
children up to 18 (19 if they are attending a primary or secondary school full time).
- Children who were disabled
before reaching 22, as long as they remained disabled.
- Dependent parent or parents 62 or older.
Lump-Sum Death Payment
A one-time payment of $255 is
paid in addition to the monthly cash benefits described above. The lump-sum death payment (LSDP) is paid in the following
priority order:
- A surviving spouse who lived in the same household as the deceased person at the time of
death.
- A surviving spouse eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.
- A
child or children eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.
Applying
for Benefits You
must apply in order to receive benefits. You may apply at any Social Security office or, if you wish, you may apply by telephone.
Just dial the toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 and the operator will schedule an appointment for you or arrange for the local
Social Security office to take your claim by telephone.
Social Security Teleservice -- Doing Business by Telephone
You may call Social Security toll free, 365 days a year,
24 hours a day. The number to use is 1-800-772-1213. To speak with a representative, call between the hours of 7 a.m. and
7 p.m. on regular business day. At other times and on weekends and holidays, you may leave a message and they will call you
back, in most cases, the next business day.
You may use the toll-free number to make an appointment either in a Social Security office or telephone to apply
for benefits, transact other Social Security business, or just ask questions.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/
Tracking Down Insurance Policies
When someone dies, family members often remember previous discussions of life insurance, but can't
find the policy or any record of it. Now, there's a way to track down a lost or misplaced life insurance policy, FOR FREE.
Write to: Policy Search Dept. of the American Council of Life Insurance, 1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004
(1-202-624-2000). Include as many details as you know. The deceased persons birth date, place of residence, and maiden name
(if appropriate), etc. The council will send this information to 150 insurance companies to check if they issued a policy
to such a person.
Contact the Veterans Service
Officer for G.I. Insurance, 1-800-669-8477. Notify other insurance companies or local agents on policies held on the deceased.
Check coverage of home, at place of employment, auto medical coverage, union, health and accident, life insurance, credit
accounts such as Wards and Sears which might have death coverage, bank accounts, credit unions, etc.
Office of Federal Group Life Insurance:
E 4th 24th St.
New York, NY 10001
ask for Form FE6 Claim for Death Benefits
Veterans Benefits
Reimbursement
of Burial Expenses
- VA will pay a burial allowance up to $1,500 if the veteran's death is service
connected. VA also will pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service-disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest
the home of a deceased that has available gravesites. In such cases, the person who bore the veteran's burial expenses
may claim reimbursement from VA. VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense allowance for veterans who, at time of death,
were entitled to receive pension or compensation or would have been entitled to compensation but for receipt of military retirement
pay. Eligibility also is established when death occurs in a VA facility or a nursing home with which VA contracted. Additional
costs of transportation of the remains may be reimbursed. There is no time limit for filing reimbursement claims of service-connected
deaths. In other deaths, claims must be filed within two years after permanent burial or cremation.
- VA will
pay a $150 plot allowance when the veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. Government jurisdiction if
the veteran is discharged from active duty because of disability incurred or aggravated in line of duty, if the veteran
was in receipt of compensation or pension or would have been in receipt of compensation but for receipt of military retired
pay, or if the veteran died while hospitalized by VA. The plot allowance is not payable solely on wartime service.
- If
the veteran is buried without charge for the cost of a plot or interment in a state-owned cemetery reserved solely for veteran
burials, the $150 plot allowance may be paid to the state. Burial expenses paid by the deceased's employer or a state
agency will not be reimbursed.
Burial Flags
- VA provides an American Flag
to drape the casket of a veteran and to a person entitled to retired military pay. After the funeral service, the flag may
be given to the next of kin or a close associate. VA also will issue a flag on behalf of a service member who was missing
in action and later presumed dead. Flags are issued at VA regional offices, national cemeteries, and post offices.
Burial in National Cemeteries VA Cemeteries
- Burial
benefits in a VA national cemetery include the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, and perpetual care. Many national
cemeteries have columbaria for the inurnment of cremated remains or special gravesites for the burial of cremated remains.
Headstones and markers and their placement are provided at the government's expense.
- Veterans and armed
forces members who die on active duty are eligible for burial in one of VA's 114 national cemeteries. An eligible veteran
must have been discharged or separated from active duty under honorable or general conditions and have completed the required
period of service. Persons entitled to retired pay as a result of 20 years creditable service with a reserve component are
eligible. A U.S. citizen who served in the armed forces of a government allied with the United States in a war also may be
eligible.
- Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans and of armed forces members also may be buried
in a national cemetery. A surviving spouse of an eligible veteran who married a nonveteran, and whose remarriage was terminated
by death or divorce, is eligible for burial in a national cemetery.
- Gravesites in national cemeteries cannot
be reserved. Funeral directors or others making burial arrangements must apply at the time of death. Reservations made under
previous programs are honored. The National Cemetery System normally does not conduct burials on weekends. A weekend caller,
however, will be directed to one of three strategically located VA cemetery offices that remain open during weekends to schedule
burials at the cemetery of the caller's choice during the following week.
Headstones and Markers  | VA provides headstones and markers for the unmarked graves of veterans anywhere in the world and for
eligible dependents of veterans buried in national, state veteran and military cemeteries. |
| Flat bronze, flat granite, flat marble, upright granite and upright marble types are available to mark
the grave in a style consistent with the place of burial. Niche markers also are available to make columbaria used for inurnment
of cremated remains. |
| Headstones and markers are inscribed with the name of the deceased, the years of birth and death, and
branch of service. Optional items that also may be inscribed at VA expense are: military grade, rank or rate; war service
such as World War II; months and days of birth and death; an emblem reflecting one's beliefs; valor awards; and the Purple
Heart. Additional items may be inscribed at private expense. |
| When burial is in a national, state or military cemetery, the headstone marker is ordered through the
cemetery, inscription, shipping and placement can be obtained from the cemetery. |
| When burial occurs in a cemetery other than a national, military post or state veterans cemetery, the
headstone marker must be applied for from VA. It is shipped at government expense. VA, however, does not pay the cost of placing
the headstone or marker on the grave. To apply, you must complete VA form 40-1330 and forward it to Director, Office of Memorial
Programs (403A), National Cemetery System, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC 20420. Forms and assistance are
available at VA, or you may call the Director, Office of Memorial Programs at 1-800-697-6947. |
| VA cannot issue a headstone or marker for a spouse or child buried in a private cemetery. Twenty year
reservists without active duty service are eligible for a headstone or marker, if they are entitled to military retired pay
at the time of death. |
Headstones or Markers for Memorial Plots
| To memorialize an eligible veteran whose remains are not available for burial, VA will provide a plot
and headstone or marker in a national cemetery. The headstone or marker is the same as that used to identify a grave except
that the mandatory phrase "In Memory of" precedes the authorized inscription. The headstone or marker is available
to memorialize eligible veterans or deceased active-duty members whose remains were not recovered or identified, were buried
at sea, donated to science, or cremated and scattered. The memorial marker may be provided for placement in a cemetery other
than a national cemetery. In such a case, VA supplies the marker and pays the cost of shipping, but does not pay for the plot
or the placement of the marker. Only a relative recognized as the next of kin may apply for the benefit. |
Presidential Memorial Certificates
| The Presidential Memorial Certificate is a parchment certificate with a calligraphic inscription expressing
the nation's recognition of the veteran's service. The veteran's name is inscribed and the certificate bears the
signature of the President. |
| Certificates are issued in the name of honorably discharged, deceased veterans. Eligible recipients include
next of kin, other relatives and friends. The award of a certificate to one eligible recipient does not preclude certificates
to other eligible recipients. The veteran may have died at any time in the past. The local VA regional office generally originates
the application for a Presidential Memorial Certificate. The next of kin also may request a certificate. Requests should be
accompanied by a copy of a document such as a discharge to establish honorable service. VA regional offices can assist in
applying for certificates. |
Offices Available for Assistance
Department
of Veterans Affairs
1-800-827-1000
Augusta, Georgia
Aiken County Department
of Veterans Service
828 Richland Ave., West
Aiken, SC 29801
803-642-1545 (voice)
803-642-1592
(fax)
Headstone and Gravemarker Program
1-800-697-6947
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (eastern
time)
Government Life Insurance Information
VA Insurance Center
1-800-669-8477
8
a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (eastern time)
The Veterans Affairs web site is at http://www.va.gov/
