I have a situation i havent seen before where a beneficiary got a death benefit payment from a Teamsters Local union pension fund. i am wondering if it is taxable for federal and NJ purposes. Normally for NJ it it is not but i think that is applicable to death benefits for the employee. not sure of beneficiary. The 1099r of course doesnt include any amount in box 2a but has the amount in box 1 and the both boxes are checked in box 2b. i thought Death benefits bought under a pension or an annuity work much the same as life insurance and not taxable unless they exceed the value of the contract. and i wouldnt know the value of the contract. What i do know is the amount of contribution paid by the member and the pension payments paid to him by the union. i am assuming that this is a one time payment. Thanks for your help