§88-286
Death benefit. (a) The surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and dependent child or children of a member at the time of the member's death shall be eligible for a death benefit if the member suffers either an ordinary death while in service or on authorized leave without pay after accumulating ten years of credited service or an accidental death.(b) In the case of ordinary death, the death benefit shall be as follows:
(1) For the surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, an allowance equal to one-half of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age, payable until remarriage, marriage, or entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship, as if the member had retired on the first day of a month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed; and for each dependent child an allowance equal to ten per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age, payable until the dependent child attains age eighteen; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the dependent children shall not exceed twenty per cent of the member's accrued retirement allowance unreduced for age; or
(2) For the surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, if the member was eligible for retirement at the time of death in service, and death occurred after June 30, 1990, an allowance that would have been payable as if the member had retired on the first day of a month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed and had elected to receive a retirement allowance under option B of section 88-283; and
(3) If there is no surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, each dependent child shall receive an allowance equal to twenty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age, payable on the first day of a month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed, until the dependent child attains age eighteen; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the dependent children shall not exceed forty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age.
For the purpose of determining eligibility for the ordinary death benefit, a year round school employee shall be considered in service during the July and August preceding a transfer to a traditional school schedule if the employee was in service for the entire prior school year and has a contract for the upcoming traditional school year.
(c) In the case of accidental death, the death benefit shall be effective on the first day of a month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed, as follows:
(1) For the surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, an allowance equal to thirty per cent of the member's average final compensation, payable until remarriage, marriage, or upon entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship;
(2) If there is a surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, each dependent child under eighteen shall receive an allowance equal to the greater of:
(A) Ten per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the dependent children shall not exceed twenty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; or
(B) Three per cent of the member's average final compensation; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the dependent children shall not exceed six per cent of the member's average final compensation.
The death benefit under this paragraph shall be payable to each dependent child until the dependent child attains age eighteen; and
(3) If there is no surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, each dependent child under age eighteen shall receive an allowance equal to the greater of:
(A) Twenty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the dependent children shall not exceed forty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; or
(B) Six per cent of the member's average final compensation; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the dependent children shall not exceed twelve per cent of the member's average final compensation.
The death benefit under this paragraph shall be payable to each dependent child until the dependent child attains age eighteen. [L 1984, c 108, pt of §8; am L 1993, c 22, §1 as superseded by c 67, §3; am L 1994, c 108, §4; am L 1997, c 212, §7 and c 383, §33; am L 2001, c 101, §6; am L 2002, c 128, §12]