43:13-40. Payments to certain dependents

The widow, dependent husband, children under the age of sixteen years or dependent parents, as the case may be, of a municipal employee or officer who shall have:

a. Paid into the fund the full amount of his annual assessments or contributions and who dies as a result of injuries or illness received or incurred in the performance of his duties; or

b. Served in the employ of a village in any county of the first class in the aggregate for twenty-five years, and who has paid into the fund the full amount of his annual assessments or contributions and who dies from causes other than injuries or illness received or incurred in the performance of his duties; or

c. Been retired and pensioned under this article and continued to pay into the fund the full amount of his annual assessments or contributions based on his retirement pay after his retirement and until his death, and who dies--

Shall receive a pension in an amount equal to one-half of the salary received by such employee or officer at the time of his death, and in those cases where an employee or officer shall have been retired and pensioned previous thereto, in an amount equal to one-half of the salary he received at the time of his retirement. The pension so paid shall not exceed the sum of one thousand dollars annually. No pension shall be paid to a widow or dependent husband if she or he was married to her or his deceased spouse after the date of her or his retirement or after she or he shall have reached fifty-five years of age. The pension shall be paid to the widow or dependent husband during her or his natural life and so long as she or he remains unmarried.

If there is no widow or dependent husband surviving such employee or officer, or no widow or husband qualified to take under this article, or if the widow or husband subsequently dies or remarries and such employee or officer shall have left her or him surviving children under the age of sixteen years, such children shall receive payments as follows: If there is one child, he shall be paid the sum of twenty-five dollars monthly until he reaches sixteen years of age; if two children, each shall be paid twenty-five dollars monthly until he reaches sixteen years of age; if three or more children, such pension equal in amount to one-half of the salary received by the employee at the time of his death or retirement, but not exceeding in the aggregate one thousand dollars annually, shall be paid to the children who have not reached sixteen years of age in equal shares, but no one of such children shall receive more than twenty-five dollars monthly.

If there is no widow, dependent husband and children under sixteen years of age at the time of such employee's or officer's death, the pension shall be paid to any dependent parent or parents of such deceased employee or officer.