§ 135-64. Benefits on death after retirement.
§ 135‑64. Benefits ondeath after retirement.
(a) In the event of thedeath of a former member while in receipt of a retirement allowance pursuant tohis retirement under the provisions of G.S. 135‑57, or after a formermember's sixty‑fifth birthday while in receipt of a retirement allowancepursuant to his retirement under the provisions of G.S. 135‑59, thereshall be paid to the former member's surviving spouse, if any, an annualretirement allowance, payable monthly, which shall commence on the first day ofthe calendar month next following the date of death of the former member andshall be continued on the first day of each month thereafter until theremarriage or death of the spouse. The amount of any such allowance shall beequal to one half of the allowance that was payable to the former member forthe month immediately prior to his month of death, or which would have been sopayable had an optional mode of payment not been elected under the provisionsof G.S. 135‑61, reduced by two percent (2%) thereof for each full year,if any, by which the age of the former member at date of death exceeds that ofhis spouse.
(b) In the event of thedeath of a former member prior to his sixty‑fifth birthday while inreceipt of a retirement allowance pursuant to his retirement under theprovisions of G.S. 135‑59, there shall be paid to the former member'ssurviving spouse, if any, an annual retirement allowance, payable monthly,which shall commence on the first day of the calendar month next following thedate of death of the former member and shall be continued on the first day ofeach month thereafter until the remarriage or death of the spouse. The amountof any such allowance shall be equal to one half of the allowance to which theformer member would have been entitled under the provisions of G.S. 135‑58if he had remained in service from his disability retirement date to his dateof death with no change in his final compensation or status and had thenretired, reduced by two percent (2%) thereof for each full year, if any, bywhich the age of the former member at date of death exceeds that of his spouse.
(c) In the event of thedeath of a former member while in receipt of a retirement allowance under theprovisions of G.S. 135‑58, 135‑60, or 135‑61, if such formermember is not survived by a spouse to whom a retirement allowance is payableunder the provisions of subsection (a) or subsection (b) above, nor survived bya beneficiary to whom a monthly survivorship benefit is payable under one ofthe optional modes of payment under G.S. 135‑61, there shall be paid tosuch person as the member shall have nominated by electronic submission in aform approved by the Board of Trustees or by written designation dulyacknowledged and filed with the Board of Trustees, if such person is living atthe time of the member's death, otherwise to the member's legalrepresentatives, a death benefit equal to the excess, if any, of theaccumulated contributions of the member at his date of retirement over thetotal of the retirement allowances paid to him prior to his death.
(d) In the event that aretirement allowance becomes payable to the spouse of a former member under theprovisions of subsection (a) or subsection (b) above, or to the designatedsurvivor of a former member under one of the optional modes of payment underG.S. 135‑61, and such retirement allowance to the spouse shall terminateon the remarriage or death of the spouse, or on the death of the designatedsurvivor, before the total of the retirement allowances paid to the formermember and his spouse or designated survivor combined equals the amount of themember's accumulated contributions at his date of retirement, the excess ofsuch accumulated contributions over the total of the retirement allowances paidto the former member and his spouse or designated survivor combined shall bepaid in a lump sum to such person as the member shall have nominated byelectronic submission in a form approved by the Board of Trustees or by writtendesignation duly acknowledged and filed with the Board of Trustees, if suchperson is living at the time such payment falls due, otherwise to the formermember's legal representatives.
(e) In the event of thedeath of a retired former judge while in receipt of a retirement allowanceunder the provisions of G.S. 135‑58(d), there shall be paid to the formerjudge's surviving spouse, if any, an annual retirement allowance payablemonthly, which shall commence on the first day of the calendar month nextfollowing the date of death of the former judge and shall be continued on thefirst day of each month thereafter until the remarriage or death of the spouse.The amount of any such allowance shall be equal to one half of the allowancethat was payable to the former judge for the month immediately prior to hismonth of death, reduced by two percent (2%) thereof for each full year, if any,by which the age of the former judge at date of death exceeds that of hisspouse.
(f) There shall bepaid to the surviving unremarried spouse of any former judge who died prior toJanuary 1, 1974, while in receipt of a retirement allowance under theprovisions of a previous system, a retirement allowance which shall commence onJanuary 1, 1974, and shall be continued on the first day of each monththereafter until the remarriage or death of the spouse. The amount of any suchretirement allowance shall be equal to one half of the allowance that wouldhave been payable to the former judge for the month of December 1973, if theprevious system had been in effect at his date of retirement and if he hadsurvived to January 1, 1974, reduced by two percent (2%) thereof for each fullyear, if any, by which the age of the former judge at date of death exceededthat of his spouse.
(g) Upon the death of aretired member on or after July 1, 1988, but before January 1, 1999, thereshall be paid a death benefit to the surviving spouse of a deceased retiredmember or to the deceased retired member's legal representative if not survivedby a spouse; provided the retired member has elected, when first eligible, tomake, and has continuously made, in advance of his death required contributionsas determined by the Board of Trustees on a fully contributory basis, throughretirement allowance deductions or other methods adopted by the Board ofTrustees, to a group death benefit trust fund administered by the Board ofTrustees separate and apart from the Retirement System's Annuity Savings Fundand Pension Accumulation Fund. This death benefit shall be a lump‑sumpayment in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) upon the completion of24 months of contributions required under this subsection. Should death occurbefore the completion of 24 months of contributions required under thissubsection, the deceased retired member's surviving spouse or legalrepresentative if not survived by a spouse shall be paid the sum of the retiredmember's contributions required by this subsection plus interest to bedetermined by the Board of Trustees.
(h) Upon the death of aretired member on or after January 1, 1999, but before July 1, 2004, thereshall be paid a death benefit to the surviving spouse of a deceased retiredmember or to the deceased retired member's legal representative if not survivedby a spouse; provided the retired member has elected, when first eligible, tomake, and has continuously made, in advance of his death required contributionsas determined by the Board of Trustees on a fully contributory basis, throughretirement allowance deductions or other methods adopted by the Board of Trustees,to a group death benefit trust fund administered by the Board of Trusteesseparate and apart from the Retirement System's Annuity Savings Fund andPension Accumulation Fund. This death benefit shall be a lump‑sum paymentin the amount of six thousand dollars ($6,000) upon the completion of 24 monthsof contributions required under this subsection. Should death occur before thecompletion of 24 months of contributions required under this subsection, thedeceased retired member's surviving spouse or legal representative if notsurvived by a spouse shall be paid the sum of the retired member'scontributions required by this subsection plus interest to be determined by theBoard of Trustees.
(i) Upon the death ofa retired member on or after July 1, 2004, but before July 1, 2007, there shallbe paid a death benefit to the surviving spouse of a deceased retired member orto the deceased retired member's legal representative if not survived by aspouse; provided the retired member has elected, when first eligible, to make,and has continuously made, in advance of his death required contributions asdetermined by the Board of Trustees on a fully contributory basis, throughretirement allowance deductions or other methods adopted by the Board ofTrustees, to a group death benefit trust fund administered by the Board ofTrustees separate and apart from the Retirement System's Annuity Savings Fundand Pension Accumulation Fund. This death benefit shall be a lump‑sumpayment in the amount of nine thousand dollars ($9,000) upon the completion of24 months of contributions required under this subsection. Should death occurbefore the completion of 24 months of contributions required under thissubsection, the deceased retired member's surviving spouse or legal representativeif not survived by a spouse shall be paid the sum of the retired member'scontributions required by this subsection plus interest to be determined by theBoard of Trustees.
Upon the death of a retiredmember on or after July 1, 2007, there shall be paid a death benefit to thesurviving spouse of a deceased retired member or to the deceased retiredmember's legal representative if not survived by a spouse; provided the retiredmember has elected, when first eligible, to make, and has continuously made, inadvance of his death required contributions as determined by the Board ofTrustees on a fully contributory basis, through retirement allowance deductionsor other methods adopted by the Board of Trustees, to a group death benefittrust fund administered by the Board of Trustees separate and apart from theRetirement System's Annuity Savings Fund and Pension Accumulation Fund. Thisdeath benefit shall be a lump‑sum payment in the amount of ten thousanddollars ($10,000) upon the completion of 24 months of contributions requiredunder this subsection. Should death occur before the completion of 24 months ofcontributions required under this subsection, the deceased retired member'ssurviving spouse or legal representative if not survived by a spouse shall bepaid the sum of the retired member's contributions required by this subsectionplus interest to be determined by the Board of Trustees. (1973, c. 640, s. 1; 1987,c. 824, s. 4; 1995, c. 509, s. 76; 1998‑212, s. 28.27(b), (c); 2004‑147,ss. 5, 6; 2005‑91, ss. 5, 6; 2007‑496, s. 4; 2009‑66, ss.11(c), (d).)