§1322. Death of former or retired employee hired on or before December 31, 2010; pension payable to survivors

A. This Section shall apply to any employee whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or before December 31, 2010. The surviving spouse of a deceased former employee shall receive a pension in an amount equal to the monthly retirement pay that would have been payable to the decedent, provided all of the following conditions exist:

(1) The decedent had terminated employment covered by this system prior to attaining the requisite age for retirement eligibility.

(2) The decedent has credit for at least ten years of service in this system and has contributions credited to his account.

(3) The surviving spouse was:

(a) Married to the decedent for at least two years prior to the decedent's death; and

(b) For a decedent whose date of death occurred on or before December 31, 2010, was living with the decedent at the time of death.

B. The surviving spouse of a deceased retired employee shall receive a pension in an amount equal to the monthly retirement pay that was being paid to the decedent on the date of death, provided the surviving spouse was married to the decedent for at least two years prior to the decedent's death.

C.(1)(a) If there is no surviving spouse eligible to receive benefits pursuant to Subsection A or B of this Section, the minor children of the decedent shall be entitled to benefits equal to the greater of:

(i) The benefit that the surviving spouse would have received pursuant to Subsection A or B of this Section; or

(ii) The benefits payable as provided in R.S. 11:1317.

(b) As each minor child attains age eighteen, or age twenty-three if a student, he shall receive no further benefits payable pursuant to this Subsection.

(2) If there is no surviving spouse eligible to receive benefits pursuant to Subsection A or B of this Section and there are no eligible minor children, then the parents of the decedent shall be entitled to benefits as provided in R.S. 11:1319.

D. Remarriage of the surviving spouse acts as a forfeiture of any rights to receive any further benefits hereunder, except as provided in R.S. 11:1321(B).

E.(1) The provisions of Subparagraph (A)(3)(a) and Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section shall not apply where the decedent's cause of death was terminal cancer which was initially diagnosed after the marriage between the decedent and the surviving spouse, where such diagnosis occurred before April 1, 2003, and where there is sufficient documentation to verify the initial date of such diagnosis.

(2) The provisions of this Subsection shall be applied retroactively to January 1, 1999. The surviving spouse of any member who died of terminal cancer on or after January 1, 1999, and who was not eligible for receipt of survivor benefits because of the application of the provisions of Subparagraph (A)(3)(a) and Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section shall be eligible for and shall be paid such benefits, provided sufficient documentation is furnished to the system to verify the initial date of the member's cancer diagnosis.

Acts 1978, No. 532, §8. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 272, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 40:1436 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1999, No. 46, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 412, §1, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 235, §1, eff. June 1, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 211, §1, eff. June 5, 2003; Acts 2010, No. 992, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2018, No. 213, §1, eff. May 15, 2018.