49-23-503 - Death of active member in line of duty -- Payment of benefits.
49-23-503. Death of active member in line of duty -- Payment of benefits.
If an active member of this system dies, benefits are payable as follows:
(1) If the death is classified by the office as a line-of-duty death, benefits are payable asfollows:
(a) If the member has accrued less than 20 years of public safety service or firefighterservice credit, the spouse at the time of death shall receive a lump sum of $1,000 and anallowance equal to 30% of the member's final average monthly salary.
(b) If the member has accrued 20 or more years of public safety service or firefighterservice credit, the member shall be considered to have retired with an Option One allowancecalculated without an actuarial reduction under Section 49-23-304 and the spouse at the time ofdeath shall receive the allowance that would have been payable to the member.
(2) (a) A volunteer firefighter is eligible for a line-of-duty death benefit under thissection if the death results from external force, violence, or disease directly resulting fromfirefighter service.
(b) The lowest monthly compensation of firefighters of a city of the first class in thisstate at the time of death shall be considered to be the final average monthly salary of a volunteerfirefighter for purposes of computing these benefits.
(c) Each volunteer fire department shall maintain a current roll of all volunteerfirefighters which meet the requirements of Subsection 49-23-102(10) to determine the eligibilityfor this benefit.
(3) (a) If the death is classified as a line-of-duty death by the office, death benefits arepayable under this section and the spouse at the time of death is not eligible for benefits underSection 49-23-502.
(b) If the death is not classified as a line-of-duty death by the office, benefits are payablein accordance with Section 49-23-502.
Enacted by Chapter 266, 2010 General Session