§ 207-F — Ordinary death benefits of members of fire department systems of cities

§ 207-f. Ordinary death benefits of members of fire department systems\nof cities. 1. As used in this section:\n (a) "Member" means a contributor to the pension system of any city\nmaintaining a fire department pension fund based upon the accumulation\nof deductions from the compensation or the contributions of the members\nthereof and payments made by such cities to pension reserves for such\nmembers.\n (b) "Death" means ordinary death not caused in or induced by injuries\nsuffered in the line of duty, or as a direct result of service in the\nfire department.\n (c) "Pension" shall mean payments for life derived from appropriations\nfor and payments into such pension system by such city.\n (d) "Minimum period of service" shall mean a fixed number of years of\nservice specified in a plan provided by such fire department pension\nsystem and elected by such member, as a necessary pre-requisite for a\npension or retirement allowance upon retirement from service.\n (e) "Minimum age" means the age specified in a plan provided by such\nfire department pension system and elected by such member, as a\nnecessary pre-requisite for a pension or retirement allowance upon\nretirement from service.\n 2. Any member who shall have attained the minimum age or period of\nservice retirement elected by him upon his own written application to\nand filed with the pension board setting forth at what time he desires\nto be retired shall be retired as of the date specified in said\napplication, provided that at the time so specified for his retirement,\nhis term or tenure of office or employment shall not have terminated or\nhave been forfeited.\n 3. Notwithstanding other provisions of any rules or regulations\nadopted by the pension board, or any provisions of law to the contrary,\na member eligible for retirement by reason of service may file with such\npension board a written application for retirement in the form required\nfor such application, electing an option or options where such options\nare provided under existing pension laws, but requesting that such\nretirement under said option or options shall become effective on the\nday immediately preceding his death. The application shall be held by\nsuch pension board until the member shall file a later application for\nretirement, or until his death, whichever of such events shall first\noccur; and in the event of such member's death while such application\nshall continue to be so held by such pension board, his said retirement\nshall become effective with the same benefits to the designated\nbeneficiary as if such member had retired and had become entitled to\nretirement allowance on the day immediately preceding his death.\n In the event that a member, who would be eligible for retirement by\nreason of service, dies while in service before filing with such pension\nboard an application for retirement in the form required for such\napplication, or who, having filed an application for retirement in the\nform required, dies on or after the effective date of his retirement but\nbefore becoming entitled to retirement allowance, he shall nevertheless\nbe deemed to have been retired and to have become entitled to a\nretirement allowance effective on the day immediately preceding his\ndeath; and if he had not indicated his election of an option under which\nhe desired to be retired, he shall be considered as having elected to\nretire under the option designated as Option 1 if such option is\nprovided for in the present pension law.\n 4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to members of the\nNew York state and local police and fire retirement system.\n