(1) (a) If a
member dies while in active service as the direct and proximate result of a personal
injury sustained while performing official duties or as a result of an occupational
disease arising out of and in the course of the member's employment, and if such
member qualifies for line-of-duty status under section 101 (h) of the federal
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and leaves a surviving spouse or
dependent children, or both, one of the survivor benefits described in either
paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection (1) shall be paid if the member:
(I) Is not eligible for a normal retirement pension under an old hire pension
established pursuant to article 30.5 of this title that provides for postretirement
survivor benefits to a spouse and dependent children in the event the member dies
in active service while eligible for normal retirement; and
(II) (A) Is not eligible for the normal retirement pension from a plan that is
part of the defined benefit system pursuant to section 31-31-204; or
(B) Has not reached age fifty-five with twenty-five years of accumulated
service as a member and is a participant under the statewide money purchase plan
pursuant to part 5 of this article or under a local money purchase plan.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection (1), one
of the following survivor benefits shall be paid if the requirements of paragraph (a)
of this subsection (1) are satisfied:
(I) When there is a surviving spouse and no dependent children, the monthly
benefit shall be forty percent of the monthly base salary paid to such member
immediately preceding death.
(II) When there is a surviving spouse and one dependent child, the monthly
benefit shall be forty percent of the monthly base salary paid to such member
immediately preceding death.
(III) When there is a surviving spouse and two or more dependent children,
the monthly benefit shall be fifty percent of the monthly base salary paid to such
member immediately preceding death.
(IV) When there is no surviving spouse and three or more dependent children,
the monthly benefit shall be fifty percent of the monthly base salary paid to each
member immediately preceding death.
(V) When there is no surviving spouse and two dependent children, the
monthly benefit shall be forty percent of the monthly base salary paid to such
member immediately preceding death.
(VI) When there is no surviving spouse and one dependent child, the monthly
benefit shall be forty percent of the monthly base salary paid to such member
immediately preceding death.
(c) For survivors who become eligible for survivor benefits on or after
October 15, 2002, one of the following survivor benefits shall be paid if the
requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) are satisfied:
(I) The monthly benefit when there is a surviving spouse, either with or
without children, shall be seventy percent of the monthly base salary being paid to
such member immediately preceding death.
(II) The monthly benefit when there is no surviving spouse but a surviving
child or children shall be:
(A) Seventy percent of the monthly base salary being paid to such member
immediately prior to death if the child or children were living in the member's home
at the time of the member's death; or
(B) Forty percent of the monthly base salary being paid to such member
immediately prior to death for one child and fifteen percent for each additional
child; except that the total benefit received shall not be greater than seventy
percent of the monthly base salary if the child or children were not living in the
member's home at the time of the member's death.
(1.5) (a) On or after October 1, 2001, if a member dies while in active service
as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained while performing
official duties or as a result of an occupational disease arising out of and in the
course of the member's employment, and if such member qualifies for line-of-duty
status under section 101 (h) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, and leaves a surviving spouse or dependent children, or both, one of the
survivor benefits described in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1.5) shall be paid if
the member:
(I) Is eligible for a normal retirement pension under an old hire pension
established pursuant to article 30.5 of this title that provides for postretirement
survivor benefits to a spouse and dependent children in the event the member dies
in active service while eligible for normal retirement;
(II) Is eligible for the normal retirement pension from a plan that is part of the
defined benefit system pursuant to section 31-31-204; or
(III) Has reached age fifty-five with twenty-five years of accumulated service
as a member and is a participant under the statewide money purchase plan
pursuant to part 5 of this article or under a local money purchase plan.
(b) One of the following survivor benefits shall be paid if the requirements of
paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5) are satisfied and if the survivor benefit
currently received pursuant to subparagraph (I), (II), or (III) of paragraph (a) of this
subsection (1.5) is less than seventy percent of the monthly base salary being paid
to the member immediately preceding death:
(I) The monthly benefit to be paid in addition to the monthly retirement
benefit otherwise payable when there is a surviving spouse, either with or without
children, shall be the difference between seventy percent of the monthly base
salary paid to such member immediately preceding death and the amount payable
pursuant to benefits received under the plan identified in subparagraph (I), (II), or
(III) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5).
(II) The monthly benefit to be paid in addition to the monthly retirement
benefit otherwise payable when there is no surviving spouse but there is a surviving
child or children shall be:
(A) If the child or children were living in the member's home at the time of
the member's death, the difference between seventy percent of the monthly base
salary being paid to such member immediately preceding death and the amount
payable pursuant to benefits received under the plan identified in subparagraph (I),
(II), or (III) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5); or
(B) If the child or children were not living in the member's home at the time
of the member's death, the sum of forty percent of the monthly base salary being
paid to such member immediately prior to death for the first child plus fifteen
percent for each additional child, the total of which shall not be greater than
seventy percent of the monthly base salary less the amount payable pursuant to
benefits received under the plan identified in subparagraph (I), (II), or (III) of
paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5).
(2) The board shall promulgate rules that specify standards and establish
procedures for determining whether a member's death is the direct and proximate
result of a personal injury sustained while performing official duties or an
occupational disease arising out of and in the course of a member's employment
and, in the case of a line-of-duty death, whether any of the exceptions specified in
section 101 (h)(2) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are
applicable. The procedures established by the board may include the appointment
of hearing officers to conduct hearings and make findings and recommendations to
the board on any issue. The board may adopt rules to establish a process for the
administrative approval of a death benefit application, including standards of
review of applications, without board review. The board shall take any final action
that constitutes a denial of a disability application or a reduction of a benefit.
(3) (a) The board shall promulgate rules that specify the method of reviewing
existing survivor benefit awards to:
(I) Determine whether a member's death was the direct and proximate result
of a personal injury sustained while performing official duties or as a result of an
occupational disease arising out of and in the course of the member's employment;
(II) Determine, in the case of line-of-duty deaths occurring after December
31, 1996, whether any of the exceptions specified in section 101 (h)(2) of the federal
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are applicable;
(III) Establish procedures for making such determinations, including the
appointment of hearing officers to conduct hearings.
(b) The determinations made by the board pursuant to this subsection (3)
shall be made on the basis of the medical evidence that was previously submitted in
connection with the application for survivor benefits and other relevant
nontestimonial evidence.
(c) Any decision made by the board to change an existing survivor benefit
award to an on-duty survivor benefit under this subsection (3) shall operate on a
prospective basis from the date of the board's decision.
(4) Any benefit provided in accordance with this section to the surviving
spouse or dependent child of a member who dies while in active service shall
terminate upon the death of the surviving spouse or upon the death or termination
of dependency of the dependent child, as defined in section 31-31-801 (2), as
applicable.
(5) (a) When there is a surviving spouse and one dependent child residing in a
separate household from the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall receive
two-thirds of the benefit and the child shall receive the balance of the benefit
pursuant to subsection (1) or (1.5) of this section.
(b) When there is a surviving spouse and two or more dependent children
residing in a separate household from the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse
shall receive fifty percent of the benefit and the children shall receive the balance
of the benefit pursuant to subsection (1) or (1.5) of this section.
(c) Upon the termination of the benefit payable to the child or children
pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection (5), the surviving spouse shall
receive the entire benefit pursuant to subsection (1) or (1.5) of this section.
(6) In the event that a survivor benefit is payable for the benefit of more than
one dependent child of the member pursuant to subsection (1) or (1.5) of this section
and the dependent children reside in separate households from each other, the
children's benefit shall be divided equally among the children.
(7) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2002, p. 183, � 12, effective October 1, 2002.)
(8) If a member dies while in active service as the direct and proximate result
of a personal injury sustained while performing official duties or as a result of an
occupational disease arising out of and in the course of the member's employment
and otherwise qualifies for benefits under subsection (1.5) of this section, but falls
within one or more of the exceptions specified in section 101 (h)(2) of the federal
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and leaves a surviving spouse or
dependent children, or both, said survivors shall:
(a) Receive benefits as allowed under section 31-31-807; or
(b) Receive benefits as allowed under the member's normal retirement plan.