§ 2-121 — Survivor's annuity - conditions for payment

(a) A survivor's annuity shall be payable to a surviving spouse or eligible child (1) upon the death in service of a participant with at least 2 years of service credit, or (2) upon the death of an annuitant in receipt of a retirement annuity, or (3) upon the death of a participant who terminated service with at least 4 years of service credit. The change in this subsection (a) made by this amendatory Act of 1995 applies to survivors of participants who die on or after December 1, 1994, without regard to whether or not the participant was in service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995. (b) To be eligible for the survivor's annuity, the spouse and the participant or annuitant must have been married for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the date of death, but need not have been married on the day of the participant's last termination of service, regardless of whether such termination occurred prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985. (c) The annuity shall be payable beginning on the date of a participant's death, or the first of the month following an annuitant's death, if the spouse is then age 50 or over, or beginning at age 50 if the spouse is then under age 50. If an eligible child or children of the participant or annuitant (or a child or children of the eligible spouse meeting the criteria of item (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (d) of this Section) also survive, and the child or children are under the care of the eligible spouse, the annuity shall begin as of the date of a participant's death, or the first of the month following an annuitant's death, without regard to the spouse's age. The change to this subsection made by this amendatory Act of 1998 (relating to children of an eligible spouse) applies to the eligible spouse of a participant or annuitant who dies on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act, without regard to whether the participant or annuitant is in service on or after that effective date. (c-5) Upon the death in service of a participant during the 90th General Assembly, the survivor's annuity shall be payable prior to age 50, notwithstanding subsection (c) of this Section, provided that the deceased participant had at least 6 years of service. This subsection (c-5) applies to the eligible spouse of a deceased participant without regard to whether the deceased participant was in service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, and retroactive benefits may be paid for periods of eligibility after February 28, 2009. (d) For the purposes of this Section and Section 2-121.1, "eligible child" means a child of the deceased participant or annuitant who is at least one of the following: (1) unmarried and under the age of 18; (2) unmarried, a full-time student, and under the age of 22; (3) dependent by reason of physical or mental disability. The inclusion of unmarried students under age 22 in the calculation of survivor's annuities by this amendatory Act of 1991 shall apply to all eligible students beginning January 1, 1992, without regard to whether the deceased participant or annuitant was in service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991. (e) Remarriage of a surviving spouse prior to attainment of age 55 shall disqualify the surviving spouse from the receipt of a survivor's annuity, if the remarriage occurs before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly. The changes made to this subsection by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly (pertaining to remarriage prior to age 55) apply without regard to whether the deceased participant or annuitant was in service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 95-279, eff. 1-1-08; 96-775, eff. 8-28-09.)