Arkansas Police and Fire Retirement Survivor Benefits

Arkansas maintains two separate retirement systems for public safety officers, and the rules governing survivor benefits in each are distinct enough that confusing them can mean months of lost payments or a forfeited claim. The Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI) covers municipal police officers and firefighters. The Arkansas State Police Retirement System (ASPRS) covers state troopers and other Arkansas State Police personnel. Both provide meaningful survivor benefits — but only to families who understand the system and take action when required.

LOPFI Survivor Benefits: The B75 Benefit Option

The Local Police and Fire Retirement System is the primary pension vehicle for municipal law enforcement officers and firefighters across Arkansas. When a LOPFI member retires, they select a benefit payment option that determines what, if anything, survives them.

The B75 benefit option is the survivor-protective election. When a member selects B75 and designates a surviving beneficiary, that beneficiary is guaranteed 75% of the member's reduced lifetime annuity for as long as the beneficiary lives.

The cost of the B75 guarantee is a modest reduction in the member's own monthly benefit during their lifetime. The reduction factor — ranging from approximately 89% to 94% of the standard benefit amount — is calculated actuarially based on the age difference between the member and the designated beneficiary. A larger age gap between member and beneficiary produces a greater lifetime reduction. A smaller age gap produces a smaller reduction.

If the member chose a life-only benefit at retirement instead of B75, no ongoing monthly annuity continues after their death. Only a lump-sum death benefit (based on vesting status) would be payable.

What to do first: Locate the retirement election documents from when your spouse or parent retired. The payment option selected at retirement is permanent — it cannot be changed after retirement, and it cannot be changed retroactively after death.

If the member died before retiring — meaning they were still an active LOPFI member — contact LOPFI directly to determine the applicable survivor benefit under the active-member provisions, which operate differently from the B75 retiree option.

Beneficiary Designations in LOPFI

LOPFI manages beneficiary designations through the online Member Portal. The designated beneficiary controls who receives ongoing survivor payments under B75 and who receives any lump-sum death benefits. If the beneficiary designation was never updated after a marriage, divorce, or death, the benefit may be directed to the wrong person — or to nobody.

There is no ability to change a beneficiary designation after the member's death. Whatever is on file at the time of death controls entirely.

The LOPFI Annual Life Verification Requirement

This requirement catches many surviving families off guard — sometimes catastrophically.

Every year on July 1, LOPFI dispatches a Life Verification form to active benefit recipients. This is a standard administrative measure designed to confirm that the beneficiary is alive and still entitled to receive payments. The recipient must have the form notarized and return it to LOPFI before the deadline stated on the form.

If the Life Verification form is not returned on time, LOPFI immediately suspends all benefit payments. There is no grace period. The payments stop.

In most cases, suspended benefits are reinstated retroactively once the form is received and processed. But during the suspension — which can last weeks — the surviving spouse receives nothing. For a family depending on the LOPFI payment as a primary income source, this is a financial crisis.

The practical fix is simple: do not wait for the form to arrive. Set a recurring calendar reminder for June 15 each year. If you have not received the Life Verification form by late June, contact LOPFI directly to request a replacement before the July 1 deadline.

LOPFI Line-of-Duty Death Benefits

When a LOPFI member dies in the line of duty, survivors may be entitled to benefits beyond the standard pension survivor annuity.

For officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty as a result of a criminal act, the Arkansas State Claims Commission adjudicates a $150,000 lump-sum death benefit for the surviving spouse or qualifying children. This is a separate payment from the LOPFI pension and must be claimed through the State Claims Commission directly — LOPFI does not initiate or forward this claim on your behalf.

Municipal employers may additionally pay a $50,000 lump sum plus the full cash value of all accrued sick and vacation leave. Contact the employing municipality's HR or finance department to confirm what applies.

Both the State Claims Commission benefit and the municipal benefit can be claimed simultaneously with the ongoing LOPFI survivor annuity.

ASPRS Survivor Benefits: State Trooper Pensions

The Arkansas State Police Retirement System governs pensions for Arkansas State Police troopers and commissioned officers. The survivor benefit structure is more straightforward than LOPFI's, but the specific formulas differ.

If the deceased was a retired ASPRS member with a surviving spouse but no dependent children: the surviving spouse receives an annuity equal to 50% of the retirant's pension.

If the deceased was a retired ASPRS member survived by both a spouse and dependent children: the total survivor annuity is 75% of the retirant's pension, divided among the surviving spouse and children.

If the deceased was an active ASPRS member — a trooper who died before retirement — the benefit calculation is based on the member's accrued service record. Contact ASPRS directly to report the death and receive an eligibility determination.

The ASPRS $25,000 Death Benefit

Separate from the pension survivor annuity, the Arkansas State Police Commission provides a $25,000 death benefit when a commissioned State Police officer loses their life in the course of employment. This is distinct from the ASPRS pension and must be claimed through the State Police Commission, not through ASPRS.

For officers killed in the line of duty as the result of a criminal act, the $150,000 State Claims Commission benefit described above may also apply — these benefits can stack, so filing claims through both channels is appropriate when the facts support it.

Coordinating LOPFI and ASPRS with Other Systems

Arkansas maintains true reciprocity among its four public retirement systems: APERS, ATRS, LOPFI, and ASPRS. If the deceased had service credit in more than one system — for example, a trooper who previously served as a municipal officer — that service can be aggregated to meet vesting requirements.

Reciprocity does not mean the systems automatically share information. Each survivor claim must be filed with the primary holding system — the one that holds the largest share of the member's credited service. If service was split fairly evenly between systems, contact each one directly to determine where the primary claim should go.

Filing with LOPFI does not notify ASPRS, and neither notifies APERS or ATRS. Every system requires its own separate claim.

Educational Benefits for Public Safety Survivors

Surviving children of law enforcement officers, firefighters, correctional officers, or forestry personnel killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty may qualify for the LEO Dependents Scholarship Program. This program covers tuition, fees, and room and board at any Arkansas public college or university for up to eight semesters.

Surviving spouses and children of military personnel killed in action, or of 100% disabled veterans, may qualify for the Arkansas Heroes Scholarship, which covers full in-state tuition and room and board at Arkansas public universities.

These educational benefits are administered through the Arkansas Division of Higher Education and must be applied for separately from pension survivor claims.

Key Contacts

The Arkansas Survivor Benefits Navigator covers LOPFI and ASPRS alongside APERS, ATRS, workers' compensation, health insurance continuation, and property tax exemptions — with the specific forms, deadlines, and eligibility thresholds for each program in one place.

See more Arkansas guides →