§1151.1. Survivor benefits; members hired on or after July 1, 2010

A.(1) Survivor benefits shall be due and payable by the system effective the first day of the next month following the death of a member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or after July 1, 2010, but shall not be paid until a properly completed and acceptable application is received by the system and all proper certifications have been received by the system.

(2) No survivor or nonretiree beneficiary shall receive more than one survivor benefit at any one time. Whenever two or more survivor benefits are payable, the survivors shall receive the larger benefit as long as it is payable. Thereafter, the survivor shall receive the other benefit, if the survivor is still eligible.

B.(1) A surviving spouse with a minor child or a child with a physical disability, or a child with a mental disability, or children shall be paid per month, for so long as one or more children remain eligible for benefits under Subsection C of this Section, fifty percent of the benefit to which the member would have been entitled if he had retired on the date of his death using the member's applicable accrual rate regardless of years of service or age, or six hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater, provided the deceased member was an active member at the time of death and had five or more years of service credit, at least two years of which were earned immediately prior to death or provided the deceased member had twenty or more years of service credit regardless of when earned or whether the deceased member was in active service at the time of death.

(2) Benefits shall cease upon remarriage and shall resume upon a subsequent divorce or death of a new spouse; however, if the member was eligible to retire on the date of his death, benefits shall not cease upon remarriage.

(3) When all surviving children cease to be eligible for benefits under Subsection C of this Section, the surviving spouse shall cease to receive benefits provided by this Subsection and thereafter, if eligible, shall receive benefits in accordance with the provisions of Subsection D of this Section.

C.(1) In addition to the amount payable in accordance with Subsection B of this Section, for the benefit of the surviving minor child, or children, there shall be paid for each child, subject to a maximum of two children, per month fifty percent of the benefit to which a spouse would be entitled under Subsection B of this Section. Benefits shall be payable to the children even if no spouse eligible for survivor benefits is present, provided the member had at least five years of service credit. Benefits for a child shall cease when the child is no longer a minor child as defined by this Chapter.

(2)(a) In addition to the amount payable in accordance with Subsection B of this Section, any surviving child of a deceased member, whether under or over the age of eighteen years, shall be entitled to the same benefits, payable in the same manner, as are provided by this Section for minor children, if the child has a total physical disability or mental disability, and had such disability at the time of the death of the member and is dependent upon the surviving spouse or other legal guardian.

(b) The surviving spouse or legal guardian shall provide adequate proof of physical or mental disability of such surviving child or children and shall notify the board of any subsequent changes in the child's condition which cause the child to no longer be dependent upon the surviving spouse or legal guardian and any changes in the assistance being received from other state agencies. The board may require a certified statement of the child's eligibility status at the end of each calendar year.

D.(1) A surviving spouse without a minor child or a child with a physical disability, or a child with a mental disability, or children shall be paid per month, for the remainder of his life, the benefit payable in accordance with R.S. 11:1150(B)(2) based on years of service that the member had earned to the date of his death using the applicable accrual rate; or six hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater, provided the surviving spouse had been married to the deceased member for at least one year prior to death, and provided the deceased member was an active member at the time of death and had ten or more years of service credit, at least two years of which were earned immediately prior to death or provided the deceased member had twenty or more years of service credit regardless of when earned or whether the deceased member was in active service at the time of death.

(2) Benefits shall cease upon remarriage and shall resume upon a subsequent divorce or death of the new spouse; however, if the member was eligible to retire on the date of his death, benefits shall not cease upon remarriage.

E. The accumulated contributions of a deceased member shall be paid in a lump sum refund to the natural person or persons that he designated as his beneficiary, or to his succession if there is no designated beneficiary, but only if no benefits under Subsection A, B, C, D, F, or G of this Section are payable. Payment of accumulated contributions shall be made only upon receipt of the deceased member's death certificate. The payment to the named beneficiary or the estate cancels all liability of the system to the deceased member, his named beneficiary, or his estate.

F. In the event of death of a member leaving a surviving spouse and dependent children, the total of the benefits payable under Subsections B and C of this Section shall not be less each month than what would have been payable under Subsection D of this Section for as long as both spouse and children are eligible to receive benefits under Subsections B and C of this Section.

G. If a member dies, even after retirement, eligible minor children shall receive the benefits under Subsection C of this Section.

H. The benefits payable under Subsection C of this Section shall be paid to the person having legal custody of the property of the child, unless a trust created under Louisiana law has been created by the deceased member for the benefit of the child, the terms of the instrument creating the trust so provide and the system has been provided with a certified copy of the trust document, then the survivor benefit shall be paid to the trust for addition to the trust property. In the event that the trust is contested by any party, the system shall withhold all survivor benefit payments or deposit them in the registry of the court if a concursus proceeding is filed, until there is a final binding legal agreement or judgment regarding the proper payment of the survivor benefits. If the trust terminates under the terms of the trust prior to the death of the child, then benefits shall be payable as otherwise provided under this Subsection. The trustee of the trust shall immediately notify the system in writing of the death of the child.

I. Each survivor benefit recipient shall be required to establish proof annually or at such other times as the board of trustees may deem necessary that they are still legally entitled to the survivor benefits provided in this Section. The board of trustees shall have the right to suspend or cancel any survivor benefit wherein the recipient fails to provide proper certification of eligibility.

J. In the case of a death of a member occurring on or after January 1, 2007, while performing qualified military service, as defined in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code, eligibility for survivor benefits under this Section shall be determined as if the member had resumed employment and then terminated employment on account of death. The retirement system will credit the member's qualified military service as service for vesting purposes and for eligibility computation purposes as though the member, if eligible to, had met the definition of employee under the retirement system and had resumed employment under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (Chapter 43 of Title 38, United States Code) immediately prior to the member's death. The time spent by the member in unqualified military service shall not count for benefit accrual purposes (creditable service) but will count only for eligibility purposes under this Section.

Acts 2010, No. 992, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2011, No. 354, §1, eff. July 1, 2011; Acts 2011, No. 368, §1, eff. July 1, 2011; Acts 2014, No. 680, §1, eff. June 30, 2014; Acts 2014, No. 811, §4, eff. June 23, 2014.

NOTE: Acts 2014, No. 811 changed terminology referring to persons with disabilities throughout the La. Revised Statutes and codes of law, and included a listing of terms that were deleted and their respective successor terms (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §36). The Act provides that it is not the intent of the legislature that changes in terminology effected therein alter or affect in any way the substance, interpretation, or application of any law or administrative rule; further provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to expand or diminish any right of or benefit for any person provided by any law or administrative rule (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §35(C) and (D)).