§ 24-6-217 - Benefits -- Survivor's pension upon death of member.
24-6-217. Benefits -- Survivor's pension upon death of member.
(a) (1) In the case of a member who dies on or after January 1, 1956, and leaves a spouse who has the care of the member's dependent child or children, the surviving spouse shall receive a pension equal to the greater of one thousand eight hundred dollars ($1,800) per annum or seventy-five percent (75%) of the pension to which the member would have been entitled had he or she retired the day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that the member might not have been eligible to retire.
(2) When the surviving spouse no longer has the care of the dependent child, the pension shall be reduced to the greater of one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) per annum or fifty percent (50%) of the pension to which the member would have been entitled had he or she retired the day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that the member might not have been eligible to retire.
(3) Upon the surviving spouse's remarriage or death, the pension provided for in this subsection shall terminate.
(b) (1) In the case of a member who dies on or after January 1, 1956, and leaves a spouse who does not have in his or her care the member's dependent child or children, the surviving spouse shall receive a pension equal to the greater of one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) per annum or fifty percent (50%) of the pension to which the member would have been entitled had he or she retired the day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that the member might not have been eligible to retire.
(2) Upon the surviving spouse's remarriage or death, the pension provided for in this subsection shall terminate.
(c) (1) In the event a member dies and does not leave a spouse, or in the event the surviving spouse remarries or dies and there is surviving the member a dependent child or children, each such child shall receive a pension of an equal share of the greater of one thousand eight hundred dollars ($1,800) per annum or seventy-five percent (75%) of the pension to which the member would have been entitled had he or she retired the day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that he or she might not have been eligible to retire.
(2) In no case shall the annual pension payable to any such child exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the final average annual salary of the deceased member.
(d) (1) In the event a member who has five (5) or more years of credited service dies and leaves neither a spouse nor children eligible for pensions provided for in subsections (a)-(c) of this section, and there is surviving the member his or her parents, whom the board finds to be dependent upon the member for at least fifty percent (50%) of their support due to lack of financial means, each dependent parent shall receive a pension of an equal share of fifty percent (50%) of the pension to which the member would have been entitled had he or she retired the day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that the member might not have been eligible to retire.
(2) Upon the remarriage or death of the parent, his or her pension shall terminate.
(e) (1) (A) A child shall be a dependent child until his or her death, his or her marriage, or his or her attainment of age eighteen (18), whichever occurs first.
(B) (i) However, the age eighteen (18) maximum shall be extended as long as the child is continuously enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited secondary school or accredited postsecondary institution of higher education, but in no event beyond his or her attainment of age twenty-three (23).
(ii) The eighteen-year maximum shall also be extended for any child who has been deemed physically or mentally incompetent by a court with jurisdiction over the individual or by the board, for as long as the incompetency exists.
(2) Once a child ceases to be dependent, his or her annuity shall terminate and there shall be a redetermination of the amount payable to any remaining dependent children.
(3) The board is authorized to establish through rules and regulations a means of verification of enrollment in a secondary school or postsecondary institution of higher education by a surviving dependent child under this section for purposes of pension benefits.
(f) (1) If a surviving spouse who is receiving survivor's benefits under this section remarries, and the benefits are discontinued, and the surviving spouse again becomes unmarried, benefits provided in this section for the spouse shall be resumed.
(2) Benefits shall be resumed for any surviving spouse who had remarried but is unmarried on that date, but no such benefits will be paid the surviving spouse for any period prior to July 1, 1991.
(g) (1) If the member is killed while in the official line of duty and the surviving spouse is eligible for a deferred benefit under this section, the surviving spouse may elect to receive a reduced benefit beginning immediately.
(2) The reduction of the benefit otherwise defined in this section shall be:
(A) Five-tenths of one percent (0.5%) per month for each of the first sixty (60) months that the benefit begins before it would have otherwise begun; plus
(B) Twenty-five hundredths of one percent (0.25%) per month for each month more than sixty (60) months that the benefit begins before it would have otherwise begun.
(3) However, the total reduction under this subsection shall not be more than fifty percent (50%).
(4) Those who otherwise would have been eligible for this benefit on or after July 1, 2002, may also elect this reduced benefit prospectively.