Sec. 5-168. Death benefit-beneficiaries.
Sec. 5-168. Death benefit-beneficiaries. (a) Upon the death of a member before
his retirement date, the beneficiary named by the member shall receive a death benefit
equal to the member's retirement contributions, without interest.
(b) Upon the death of a member after his retirement date, provided such retirement
date is prior to August 1, 1986, the beneficiary named by the member shall receive a
death benefit equal to the excess of the member's retirement contributions plus interest
over the sum of: (1) The income payments made to the member from the State Employees
Retirement Fund on or before June 30, 1971, and (2) thirty per cent of the income
payments made to the member after June 30, 1971, but on or before June 30, 1973,
from the State Employees Retirement Fund and (3) twenty-five per cent of the income
payments made to the member after June 30, 1973, from the State Employees Retirement
Fund. Upon the death of a member after his retirement date, provided such retirement
date is on or after August 1, 1986, the beneficiary shall receive a death benefit equal to
the member's retirement contributions plus interest reduced by the federal tax exclusion
ratio times the income payments made to the member from the State Employees Retirement Fund.
(c) A member may name a beneficiary to receive any death benefit which may
become due on or after his death. If he names more than one person as beneficiary, all
such persons living on the due date of a death benefit payment shall be considered
cobeneficiaries and shall receive equal shares of the payment unless the member provides otherwise. Any named beneficiary may be changed by the member from time to
time. No consent of any beneficiary is required for any change of beneficiary.
(d) A member may name or change his beneficiary by written request filed with
the Retirement Commission. Such request shall be effective on the date it is signed by
the member, whether or not the member is living when such request is received by the
Retirement Commission, but without prejudice to the state because of any payments
made by the state before receipt of such request by the Retirement Commission.
(e) A death benefit payment shall be made to the estate of a member if, on the date
the death benefit payment is due, no beneficiary has been duly named by the member
or no named beneficiary is alive; provided, if the death benefit is less than one thousand
dollars, the Comptroller may, upon the advice of the Retirement Commission, pay such
death benefit as provided in section 45a-273.
(f) Retroactive Social Security taxes deducted from contributions previously made
by a member because of the retroactive effective date of the Social Security Agreement
shall be excluded in determining the amount of any payment under this section.
(g) For the purposes of this section, if such death occurs on or after October 1, 1982,
the value of the member's retirement contribution shall include interest credited from
January 1, 1982, or the first July first following the date of actual contribution, whichever
is later, to the July first coincident with or preceding the date of death of the member
or the date the employee left state service, whichever is earlier. Such interest shall be
credited at the rate of five per cent per year. In addition, for the partial year during which
the employee dies, interest shall be credited at the rate of five-twelfths of one per cent
multiplied by the number of months completed during that year, such interest rate to be
applied to the value of contributions including any prior interest credits as of the first
day of that year.
(1949 Rev., S. 387; 1957, P.A. 349; 595, S. 6, 7; 1958 Rev., S. 5-98, 5-109; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 17; 1963, P.A. 382;
1971, P.A. 666, S. 4; P.A. 83-533, S. 15, 54; P.A. 87-484, S. 3, 10; P.A. 88-364, S. 112, 123.)
History: 1961 act "restated" state employees retirement act "in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form"; 1963 act
amended subsection (b) to provide for payment of death benefits if the member's contributions exceed the "income payments
made ... from the state employees retirement fund" instead of if they exceed the "total retirement income payments made
to the member"; 1971 act replaced previous provisions for calculating death benefit in Subsec. (b) with provisions of
Subdivs. (1) to (3), inclusive; P.A. 83-533 added Subsec. (g) concerning computation of credited interest on deceased
member's retirement contributions; P.A. 87-484 amended Subsec. (b) by adding death benefit provision re member who
dies on or after August 1, 1986, and amended Subsec. (g) to change date for crediting of interest from January first to July
first; P.A. 88-364 changed calculation of death benefit received by beneficiary upon death of member after retirement
date, provided such retirement date is on or after August 1, 1986, from "benefit equal to the excess of the member's
retirement contributions plus interest over the sum of the deductible amounts, for federal tax purposes, of the income
payments made to the member" to "benefit equal to the member's retirement contributions plus interest reduced by the
federal tax exclusion ratio times the income payments made to the member from the state employees retirement fund".