(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article requiring attainment of the minimum age for voluntary service retirement applicable to him or her in his or her last employment preceding death, upon the death of a local firefighter member while in the employ of an agency subject to this section on or after January 1, 2001, who is credited with 20 years or more of state service, the surviving spouse, or eligible children, if there is no eligible spouse, may receive a monthly allowance in lieu of the basic death benefit. The board shall notify the eligible survivor, as defined in Section 21546, of this alternate death benefit. The board shall calculate the monthly allowance that shall be payable as follows:

(1) To the member’s surviving spouse, an amount equal to the amount the member would have received if he or she had retired for service at the minimum retirement age on the date of death and had elected the optional settlement in Section 21456 and Section 21459. The retirement allowance shall be calculated using all service earned by the member in this system.

(2) If the member made a specific beneficiary designation under Section 21490, the monthly allowance shall be based only on that portion of the amount the member would have received described in paragraph (1) that would have been derived from the nonmember spouse’s community property interest in the member’s contributions and service credit.

(3) If there is no surviving spouse or the spouse dies before all of the children of the deceased member attain the age of 18 years, to the surviving children, under the age of 18 years, collectively, an amount equal to one-half of, and derived from the same source as, the unmodified allowance the member would have received if he or she had retired for service at the minimum retirement age on the date of death. No child shall receive any allowance after marrying or attaining the age of 18 years. As used in this paragraph, “surviving children” includes a posthumously born child or children of the member. The retirement allowance shall be calculated using all service earned by the member in this system.

(4) The cost of the allowance paid pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid from the assets of the employer at the member’s date of death. All member contributions made by the member to this system shall be transferred to the plan assets of the employer liable for the funding of this benefit.

(b) (1) Upon the death of a local firefighter member while in the employ of an agency subject to this section on or after January 1, 2001, who is credited with 20 years or more of state service and who has attained the minimum age for voluntary service retirement applicable to him or her in his or her last employment preceding death, the surviving spouse may elect to receive a monthly allowance that is equal to the amount that member would have received if the member had been retired from service on the date of death and had elected the optional settlement in Section 21456 and Section 21459 in lieu of the basic death benefit. The retirement allowance shall be calculated using all service earned by the member in this system.

(2) If the member made a specific beneficiary designation under Section 21490, the monthly allowance shall be based only on that portion of the amount the member would have received described in paragraph (1) that would have been derived from the nonmember spouse’s community property interest in the member’s contributions and service credit.

(3) If there is no surviving spouse or the spouse dies before all of the children of the deceased member attain the age of 18 years, the allowance shall continue to the surviving children, under the age of 18 years, collectively, in an amount equal to one-half of, and derived from the same source as, the unmodified allowance the member would have received if he or she had been retired from service on the date of death. No child shall receive any allowance after marrying or attaining the age of 18 years. As used in this paragraph, “surviving children” includes a posthumously born child or children of the member. The retirement allowance will be calculated using all service earned by the member in this system.

(4) The cost of the increase in service allowance paid pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid from the assets of the employer at the member’s date of death.

(c)  This section shall not apply to any contracting agency, nor to the employees of any contracting agency, unless and until the agency elects to be subject to this section by amendment to its contract made in the manner prescribed for approval of contracts, except that an election among the employees is not required.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 199, Sec. 29. (AB 2404) Effective January 1, 2017.)