Updated October 22, 2026. Quick answer: The 2026 LOPFI Member Handbook offers four monthly benefit payment options: A60 and A120 (a 60 or 120 payment guarantee) and B50 and B75 (a lifetime benefit of 50% or 75% to the beneficiary). Except for A60, each reduces the member’s own benefit, and the choice can be changed only in the cases the handbook lists.
What this covers
The handbook has a section headed “MONTHLY BENEFIT PAYMENT OPTIONS (BPO)”. This page quotes it and the later section on changing an option. For the wider choices, see Arkansas LOPFI retirement decisions and public pension retirement decisions.
The rule that applies to all four
“Except for Option A60, electing one of the other benefit payment options will reduce the Member’s life benefit.” “The reduction provides the necessary funds to pay a benefit to the Member’s beneficiary.” “When Members apply for retirement they will be provided with the benefit payment options and the amounts available to them.”
What each option pays
Each row is the handbook’s own wording.
| Option | What the handbook says |
|---|---|
| Option A60 | “A monthly benefit payable to the Member for life.” “In the event the Member should die before 60 monthly payments have been made, the designated beneficiary will begin receiving the same monthly payment amount for the remainder of the 60-month period.” |
| Option A120 | “A reduced monthly benefit payable to the Member for life.” “In the event the Member should die before 120 monthly payments have been made, the designated beneficiary will begin receiving the same monthly payment amount for the remainder of the 120-month period.” “The reduced benefit is ninety-eight percent (98%) of the A60 benefit.” |
| Option B50 | “In the event the Member should die before the designated beneficiary dies, the designated beneficiary will begin receiving a monthly benefit payable for the remainder of the beneficiary’s lifetime, in an amount equal to 50% of the monthly life benefit the Member received.” “The reduced benefit to the retiree shall be ninety-four percent (94%) if the retiree’s age and the beneficiary’s age are the same on the first payment due date.” |
| Option B75 | “In the event the Member should die before the designated beneficiary dies, the designated beneficiary will begin receiving a monthly benefit payable for the remainder of the beneficiary’s lifetime, in an amount equal to 75% of the monthly life benefit the Member received.” “The reduced benefit to the retiree shall be eighty-nine percent (89%) if the retiree’s age and the beneficiary’s age are the same on the first payment due date.” |
The age adjustment on B50 and B75
For B50 the handbook says “The benefit shall be decreased by one-half of one percent (0.5%), for each year that the beneficiary’s age is less than the retiree’s age or shall be increased by one-half of one percent (0.5%), up to a maximum of ninety-eight percent (98%), for each year that the beneficiary’s age is more than the retiree’s age.” For B75: “The benefit shall be decreased by three-fourths of one percent (0.75%) for each year that the beneficiary’s age is less than the retiree’s age or shall be increased by three-fourths of one percent (0.75%), up to a maximum of ninety-four percent (94%), for each year that the beneficiary’s age is more than the retiree’s age.”
These figures are computed here from the printed rates, one year at a time. They are not printed by LOPFI, and the handbook does not name the amount the percentage is applied to, so use the figures only as a guide to how the age gap moves the reduction.
| Age gap | Option B50 retiree percentage | Option B75 retiree percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary 6 years younger | computed: 94% minus 6 x 0.5% = 91% | computed: 89% minus 6 x 0.75% = 84.5% |
| Beneficiary 10 years younger | computed: 94% minus 10 x 0.5% = 89% | computed: 89% minus 10 x 0.75% = 81.5% |
| Beneficiary 4 years older | computed: 94% + 4 x 0.5% = 96% | computed: 89% + 4 x 0.75% = 92% |
| Beneficiary 10 years older | computed: 94% + 10 x 0.5% = 99%, held at the 98% maximum | computed: 89% + 10 x 0.75% = 96.5%, held at the 94% maximum |
Who can be the B50 or B75 beneficiary
“Also, for Options B50 and B75 the Member’s beneficiary must be the Member’s spouse for no less than one (1) year immediately preceding the first payment due date, or another person receiving more than one-half (1/2) support from the Member for no less than one (1) year immediately preceding the first payment due date, or a dependent child who has been deemed physically or mentally incompetent.” “It is important for Members to keep their beneficiary designation current with LOPFI.”
Changing the option after retirement
“If you entered retirement or DROP under Option A60 or A120, once you have been married for one (1) year and no later than eighteen (18) months thereafter, you can elect to change your BPO.” “If you are a retired Member or active DROP participant and elected Option B50 or B75 you can elect to change your BPO to Option A60 if there is a change in your marital status due to death or divorce.” For the divorce side of a pension, see divorce and your money.
What the handbook does not say
It does not print the dollar benefit under each option, because LOPFI provides those amounts at application. For the general trade between a single life benefit and a survivor benefit, see single life versus joint and survivor pensions and survivor benefits with a government pension.
Edition
This page reads the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI), Your guide to LOPFI benefits: 2026 Member Handbook (PDF created August 21, 2026), the file LOPFI served on 2026-10-22. It is a summary of plan provisions, so Arkansas law, the LOPFI board rules and your own LOPFI Member Portal account control over it, and LOPFI is the place to confirm your own eligibility.
Common mistakes
- Assuming every option pays the full benefit. The handbook says “Except for Option A60, electing one of the other benefit payment options will reduce the Member’s life benefit.”
- Naming a beneficiary who cannot receive B50 or B75. The handbook limits them to a spouse of at least one year, another person the member has supported for a year, or “a dependent child who has been deemed physically or mentally incompetent”.
- Expecting to switch later whenever life changes. The handbook allows the changes it lists, such as a marriage within the stated window or a death or divorce.
Related: Arkansas LOPFI retirement decisions, public pension retirement decisions, and single life versus joint and survivor pensions.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Talk to an advisor about your pension decision
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore advisor help with pension choices
Price the destination before you decide. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI), Your guide to LOPFI benefits: 2026 Member Handbook (PDF created August 21, 2026): www.lopfi-prb.com
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Topic no. 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions: www.irs.gov
Read from the pension system handbooks linked above on October 22, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a pension system or a qualified professional is the right place to confirm anything consequential.