The Public Safety Officers Benefit Program has partnered with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to create a PSOB beneficiary form. This form can be used to designate a beneficiary of PSOB benefits in the event there is no surviving spouse or eligible children. Before, there was no way to designate adult children or another beneficiary should this be the case.

PSOB pays a federal death benefit to eligible survivors of public safety officers who fall in the line of duty and meet the criteria for PSOB. With the creation of the beneficiary form, benefits are paid to survivors according to the following criteria:

• If there is a spouse and no child* or children, all to the spouse.
• If there is a spouse and child or children, one-half to the spouse and one-half to the child or children in equal shares.
• If no spouse, and children only, all to the child or children in equal shares.
• If no spouse or children, then to the individual designated by the officer as beneficiary on file with the officer's agency, or if no designation, to the individual designated as the beneficiary on the most recently executed life insurance policy on file with the officer's agency.
• If none of the above, to the officer's parents in equal shares.

*"Child" is defined as any natural, illegitimate, adopted, or posthumous child or stepchild of a deceased public safety officer who, at the time of the officer's death, is either 18 years old or under, or between 19 and 22 and a full-time student, or who is incapable of self-support due to a physical or mental disability.

The beneficiary form is available at www.nvfc.org/lodd and should be kept on file at the first responder’s department.