Tyler Summitt also was designated by his mother to be a non-spouse beneficiary of her state pension. When she retired, Pat Summitt opted to collect a monthly benefit of $14,460, or $173,520 annually in 2012. That benefit, with an annual cost-of-living adjustment, is now collected by Tyler Summitt for the rest of his life. Pat Summitt could have opted instead to collect $21,141 per month, or $253,632 annually, without choosing a beneficiary, and the payments would have ended upon her death
