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Daughter asks CalSTRS trustees to honor late teacher’s beneficiary designation
Summary
During public comment, Eva Beck, daughter of a deceased CalSTRS member and educator, asked the board to exercise compassion and recognize her as the designated beneficiary despite a missed paperwork deadline; board members listened but took no action at the meeting.
During the meeting’s public comment period, Eva Beck asked the CalSTRS trustees to honor her late father’s stated beneficiary designation and recognize her as his CalSTRS option beneficiary despite a missed filing deadline.
Beck identified herself as the daughter of Robert Richard Beck, a longtime teacher and principal who taught in LAUSD and continued serving in the district even after moving to Ojai. She said her father completed a beneficiary designation more than six months before his death but family circumstances and caregiving responsibilities delayed her submission of paperwork to CalSTRS until December 2024; her father died on Jan. 1, 2025. Under CalSTRS rules referenced in the discussion, the timing meant the beneficiary option was not available to survivors in this case.
Beck said the designation was clear to family members, her father’s attorneys and pastors, and that she had power of attorney and other supporting documentation. She described caregiving duties for family members and asked the board for “compassion and grace” given extraordinary personal circumstances that prevented timely filing. Beck said a supervisor in the Survivors Benefits Department suggested she request a chance to speak to the board.
The board did not take action during the meeting. Chair Bradford and staff acknowledged the comment; no decision or vote occurred on the request at the session.
