79-9,106. Employees retirement system; member; death; effect; survivorship annuity; amount; direct transfer to retirement plan; death while performing qualified military service; additional death benefit.

(1) Upon the death of a member who has not yet retired and who has twenty years or more of creditable service, the member's primary beneficiary, as designated by the member in writing on forms provided by the system, shall receive a survivorship annuity in accordance with subdivision (1) of section 79-9,101 if the primary beneficiary is (a) the member's spouse or (b) one other designated beneficiary whose attained age in the calendar year of the member's death is no more than ten years less than the attained age of the member in such calendar year. The amount of such actuarially equivalent annuity shall be calculated using the attained ages of the member and the beneficiary and be based on the annuity earned to the date of the member's death without reduction due to any early commencement of benefits. Within sixty days from the date of the member's death, if the member has not previously filed with the administrator of the retirement system a form requiring that only the survivorship annuity be paid, the beneficiary may request to receive in a lump sum an amount equal to the member's accumulated contributions. If prior to the member's death, the member files with the administrator of the retirement system a form requiring that the beneficiary receive a lump-sum settlement in lieu of the survivorship annuity, the beneficiary shall receive, in lieu of the survivorship annuity, a lump-sum settlement in an amount equal to the member's accumulated contributions notwithstanding any other provision of this section.

(2) Upon the death of a member who has not yet retired and who has less than twenty years of creditable service or upon the death of a member who has not yet retired and who has twenty years or more of creditable service but whose beneficiary does not meet the criteria in subsection (1) of this section, a lump sum in an amount equal to the member's accumulated contributions shall be paid pursuant to section 79-9,119.

(3) A lump-sum death benefit paid pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) of this section, other than the member's estate, that is an eligible distribution may be distributed in the form of a direct transfer to a retirement plan eligible to receive such transfer under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

(4) For any member whose death occurs on or after January 1, 2007, while performing qualified military service as defined in section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code, the member's beneficiary shall be entitled to any additional death benefit that would have been provided, other than the accrual of any benefit relating to the period of qualified military service. The additional death benefit shall be determined as if the member had returned to employment with the school district and such employment had terminated on the date of the member's death.

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