§88-84 Ordinary death benefit. (a) Upon receipt by the system of proper proof of a member's death occurring in service or while on authorized leave without pay, there shall be paid to the member's designated beneficiary an ordinary death benefit consisting of:

(1) The member's accumulated contributions and, if no pension is payable under section 88-85, an amount equal to fifty per cent of the compensation earned by the member during the year immediately preceding the member's death if the member had at least one year but not more than ten full years of credited service, which amount shall increase by five per cent for each full year of service in excess of ten years, to a maximum of one hundred per cent of the compensation; provided that if the member had at least one year of credited service, the amount, together with the member's accumulated contributions shall not be less than one hundred per cent of the compensation;

(2) If the member had ten or more years of credited service at the time of death in service, and the death occurred after June 30, 1988, the member's designated beneficiary may elect to receive in lieu of any other payment provided in this section, the 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. Benefits payable under this paragraph shall be calculated under option 3 of section 88-83 and computed on the basis of section 88-74, unreduced for age; or

(3) If the member was eligible for service retirement at the time of death in service, the member's designated beneficiary may elect to receive in lieu of any other payment provided in this section, the 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. Benefits payable under this paragraph shall be calculated under option 2 of section 88-83 and computed on the basis of section 88-74.

(b) If the member's designation of beneficiary is void as specified in section 88-93, or if the member did not designate a beneficiary, there shall be payable:

(1) To the surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, a benefit as specified under subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3);

(2) To the deceased member's children under age eighteen, if there is no surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, an equally divided benefit as specified under subsection (a)(1); or

(3) To the deceased member's estate, if there is no surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and no children under the age of eighteen, a benefit as specified under subsection (a)(1).

(c) For the purposes of this section, 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.

(d) The application for ordinary death benefits shall be filed no later than three years from the date of the member's death. [L 1925, c 55, §6(8); RL 1935, pt of §7925; RL 1945, §708, subs 8; am L 1949, c 200, §1; am L 1951, c 127, §1; RL 1955, §6-51; am L 1963, c 127, §12; am L 1967, c 247, §1; HRS §88-77; am L 1969, c 110, pt of §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1987, c 299, §2; am L 1988, c 41, §3 and c 242, §1; am L 1993, c 67, §1; am L 1994, c 108, §3; am L 1997, c 212, §4 and c 383, §28; am L 2002, c 128, §8; am L 2006, c 169, §14; am L 2007, c 215, §14]

Attorney General Opinions

Because of operation of renunciation of succession pursuant to Uniform Probate Code, beneficiary, deceased parent, was deemed to have predeceased member; thus, only remaining beneficiary was remaining parent, and employees’ retirement system may pay member's benefits to sole remaining beneficiary. Att. Gen. Op. 97-3.