Sec. 16A. BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION FOR DROP. (a) Except for the marriage requirement described by Section 16(a) of this article, the provisions of Section 16 of this article pertaining to rights of survivors do not apply to an amount held in a member's DROP account. A member who participates in DROP may designate a beneficiary in the form and manner prescribed by or on behalf of the board to receive the balance of the member's DROP account in the event of the member's death, as permitted by Section 401(a)(9) of the code and the board's policies. A member who is married is considered to have designated the member's spouse as the member's beneficiary unless the spouse consents, in a notarized writing delivered to the board, to the designation of another person as beneficiary. If no designated beneficiary survives the member, the board shall pay the balance of the member's DROP account to the member's beneficiaries in the following order:

(1) to the member's spouse;

(2) if the member does not have a spouse, to each natural or adopted child of the member, or to the guardian of the child if the child is a minor or has a disability, in equal shares;

(3) if the member does not have a spouse or any children, to each surviving parent of the member in equal shares; or

(4) if the member has no beneficiaries described by Subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection, to the estate of the member.

(b) If a member names a spouse as a beneficiary and is subsequently divorced from that spouse, the divorce voids the designation of the divorced spouse as the member's beneficiary. A designation of a divorced spouse will cause the board to pay any balance remaining in the member's DROP account in the order prescribed by Subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The surviving spouse may designate a beneficiary on a form prescribed by the pension system to receive the balance of the DROP account owed but not received before the surviving spouse's death.

(d) Payment of the balance of the member's DROP account made in accordance with this section on behalf of a minor or other person under a legal disability fully discharges the pension system's obligation to that person.