CHAPTER 14. Death Benefits

Chapter 14 added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 379, Sec. 2.

§§ 21490–21635.5 · 92 sections

1. ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 21490–21510 · 22 sections

   • § 21490 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a member may at any time, including, but not limited to, at any time after reaching retirement age, designate a…
   • § 21491 A person who is entitled to receive a monthly allowance as a survivor of a deceased person may designate a beneficiary to receive the pro rata allowance…
   • § 21492 The designation of a beneficiary under the optional settlements in Sections 21456, 21457, 21459, 21475, 21475.5, 21476, 21476.5, and 21477, and in Section…
   • § 21493 (a) If a person had no beneficiary designation in effect on the date of death, any benefit payable shall be paid to the survivors of the person in the…
   • § 21494 If, upon the death of a person there is a valid beneficiary designation on file with the board naming the decedent’s estate as beneficiary, and the estate will…
   • § 21495 (a) Payment of any benefit shall not be made to those persons covered by Section 21493 if there are eligible recipients who are living members of a higher…
   • § 21496 The board’s good faith determination of entitlement to payment pursuant to Section 21493, 21494, or 21506 shall be based upon such evidence as a death…
   • § 21497 If the total value of the benefit to be paid pursuant to Section 21493, 21494, or 21506 is less than an amount determined by the board, the benefit may be paid…
   • § 21498 The board may fix such time as it deems reasonable during which claims for benefits pursuant to Sections 21493, 21494, and 21506 may be made. Anyone who is…
   • § 21499 (a) Notwithstanding Section 21498, when either an initial payment of a preretirement or postretirement death allowance or a preretirement or postretirement…
   • § 21499.1 Any overpayment, issued after the date of death to a member, retired member, or beneficiary, made to or on behalf of any member, retired member, or…
   • § 21500 (a) Whenever a person entitled to payment of a member’s accumulated contributions or any other benefit fails to claim the payment or cannot be located or a…
   • § 21501 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a parent having custody of surviving children eligible to receive an allowance or a lump-sum payment payable under…
   • § 21502 If any person entitled to a benefit from this system is a minor who has no guardian of the estate, the board, if within the limits as to amount of payment and…
   • § 21503 The board may select an optional settlement under Article 6 (commencing with Section 21450) or Article 7 (commencing with Section 21470) of Chapter 13, as…
   • § 21504 If a member dies on or after the effective date of retirement and prior to the mailing of a retirement allowance warrant and if the member has elected the…
   • § 21505 If a member who has been retired for service because he or she has attained the mandatory age of retirement applicable to members of his or her category dies…
   • § 21506 Any monthly allowance payable to a person, that had accrued and remained unpaid at the time of his or her death, or any uncashed warrant issued prior to the…
   • § 21507 Any lump-sum benefit, or any uncashed lump-sum death benefit warrant, payable by this system to a beneficiary shall be paid to the estate of the beneficiary if…
   • § 21508 If any benefit is payable by this system to the estate of a deceased person, and the estate would not be probated if no amount were due from this system, but…
   • § 21509 The provisions of Part 5 (commencing with Section 220) of Division 2 of the Probate Code, when applicable, govern the distribution of money payable under this…
   • § 21510 Any payment of benefits by warrant issued after the date of death of the benefit recipient shall be refunded to the retirement system.
2. ARTICLE 2. Preretirement Death Benefits §§ 21530–21554 · 28 sections

   • § 21530 (a) This system is liable for either the basic or special death benefit upon the death of a member in any of the following circumstances: (1) Before the…
   • § 21531 The basic death benefit and the limited death benefit shall be paid as provided in this article to the beneficiary designated by the member under Section 21490…
   • § 21532 The basic death benefit is payable in all cases where the retirement system is liable under Section 21530 for either the basic or a special death benefit and…
   • § 21533 Notwithstanding Section 20636, if a member who is an academic employee of the California State University dies while on a leave with pay, or within 12 months…
   • § 21533.5 (a) To the extent required by Section 401(a) of Title 26 of the United States Code, if a member dies while performing qualified military services, the…
   • § 21534 Liability imposed on this system with respect to the death of a member who is an academic employee of the California State University while on, or within 12…
   • § 21535 Notwithstanding Section 20178, for member deaths occurring on or after January 1, 1994, if the actuarial interest rate exceeds 6 percent, the accumulated…
   • § 21536 In the determination of the portion of the basic death benefit provided in subdivision (b) of Section 21532, for local members who were members of a local…
   • § 21537 (a) The special death benefit is payable if the deceased was a patrol, state peace officer/firefighter, state safety, state industrial, or local safety member,…
   • § 21537.5 (a) The special death benefit is payable if the deceased was a state miscellaneous member in State Bargaining Unit 12 employed by the Department of…
   • § 21538 The special death benefit is also payable if the deceased was a state member appointed by the Governor, the Director of Corrections, or the Board of Prison…
   • § 21539 The special death benefit payable with respect to a member who at death prior to March 7, 1973, was a warden, forestry, harbor police, or law enforcement…
   • § 21540 The special death benefit is also payable if the deceased was the Secretary of the Youth and Adult Corrections Agency, or was a state member appointed by the…
   • § 21540.5 (a) The special death benefit is also payable if the deceased was a state, school, or local miscellaneous member, a local safety member described in Section…
   • § 21541 (a) The special death benefit consists of the following: (1) An amount equal to and derived from the same source as the basic death benefit exclusive of the…
   • § 21541.5 Any child whose benefits under Section 21541 were terminated upon his or her adoption, pursuant to that section as it read prior to January 1, 2001, shall have…
   • § 21542 The special death benefit shall begin to accrue on the day next following the date of the member’s death, and shall be paid in monthly installments to the…
   • § 21543 If payment of the special death benefit is stopped because of death of the surviving spouse or death, marriage, or attainment of the age of 22 years by a child…
   • § 21544 Upon notice of a death as a result of which the special death benefit may be payable, and when there is a survivor who would qualify under subdivision (b) of…
   • § 21546 (a) Upon the death of a member who has attained the minimum age for voluntary service retirement applicable to the member in his or her last employment…
   • § 21547 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article requiring attainment of the minimum age for voluntary service retirement to the member in his or her…
   • § 21547.5 For any survivor receiving a monthly allowance pursuant to Section 21547 prior to January 1, 2000, that allowance shall be adjusted as of January 1, 2000, to…
   • § 21547.7 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article requiring attainment of the minimum age for voluntary service retirement applicable to him or her in…
   • § 21548 (a) The surviving spouse of a member who has attained the minimum age for voluntary service retirement applicable to the member in his or her last employment…
   • § 21551 Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the benefits payable to a surviving spouse pursuant to Sections 21541, 21546, 21547, 21548, and Article 3…
   • § 21552 Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, on and after the effective date of this section, the remarriage of any surviving spouse of any deceased local…
   • § 21553 (a) The monthly allowance pursuant to Section 21541 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 21570), paid to the surviving spouse of any deceased local safety…
   • § 21554 (a) The monthly allowance pursuant to Section 21541 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 21570), paid to the surviving spouse of any deceased patrol, state…
3. ARTICLE 3. Preretirement 1959 Survivor Allowance §§ 21570–21583 · 16 sections

   • § 21570 No person shall receive more than one allowance under this article and that allowance shall be the largest of the monthly allowances to which he or she would…
   • § 21571 (a) If the death benefit provided by Section 21532 is payable on account of a member’s death that occurs under circumstances other than those described in…
   • § 21572 (a) In lieu of benefits provided in Section 21571, if the death benefit provided by Section 21532 is payable on account of a state member’s death that occurs…
   • § 21573 (a) In lieu of benefits provided in Section 21571 or Section 21572, if the death benefit provided by Section 21532 is payable on account of a state member’s…
   • § 21574 (a) In lieu of benefits provided in Section 21571, 21572, or 21573, if the death benefit provided by Section 21532 is payable on account of a local member’s…
   • § 21574.5 (a) In lieu of benefits provided in Section 21571, 21572, 21573, or 21574, if the death benefit provided by Section 21532 is payable on account of a local…
   • § 21574.7 (a) In lieu of benefits provided in Section 21571, 21572, or 21573, if the death benefit provided by Section 21532 is payable on account of a state member’s…
   • § 21575 When the survivor is entitled to receive a monthly allowance as a special death benefit provided by Article 1 (commencing with Section 21490), Article 2…
   • § 21576 This article applies from and after January 1, 1960, or the date of a member’s subsequent election, to state members and local miscellaneous members who are…
   • § 21577 This article shall not apply to any contracting agency nor to the employees of any contracting agency until the agency elects to be subject to this article by…
   • § 21578 This article shall apply to employees of a contracting agency whose services are included in the federal system when employees of another contracting agency…
   • § 21579 Notwithstanding Sections 21576 and 21577, this article shall apply to a state member or a local member whose employer is subject to this article and whose…
   • § 21580 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Sections 21571, 21572, 21573, and 21574, this article shall apply to a surviving spouse of a local member who has…
   • § 21581 (a) The rate of contribution of a member subject to this article shall include, in addition to his or her normal rate, two dollars ($2) per month or fraction…
   • § 21582 Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, if so agreed to in a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section…
   • § 21583 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local member may elect, within 90 days after the effective date of the amended contract, to have the 1959…
4. ARTICLE 4. Preretirement Group Term Life Insurance §§ 21600–21605 · 6 sections

   • § 21600 (a) The purpose of this article is to provide group term life insurance benefits for members of this system who are employees of the state or the university.…
   • § 21601 A separate account shall be established in the retirement fund to be known as the Insurance Benefits Account. Moneys in the account shall be expended for the…
   • § 21602 (a) The board shall transfer annually on July 1 during any period of insurance from accumulated state contributions on account of current service to the…
   • § 21603 An insured member, for purposes of this part, is a member of this system who is a state or university employee and whose death occurs under conditions…
   • § 21604 The insurance benefit shall be paid upon death of an insured member of this system to the beneficiary entitled to receive the basic or special death benefit if…
   • § 21605 The insurance benefit shall be the sum of the following amounts: (a) Five thousand dollars ($5,000). (b) An amount equal to 50 percent of the annual…
5. ARTICLE 5. Postretirement Death Benefits §§ 21620–21635.5 · 20 sections

   • § 21620 (a) Upon the death of any person, after retirement and while receiving a retirement allowance from this system, there shall be paid to the person’s beneficiary…
   • § 21621 If the beneficiary of a member retired under this system is entitled to receive a comparable lump-sum death benefit from any other retirement system supported,…
   • § 21622 (a) In lieu of benefits provided by Section 21620, upon the death of any person, after retirement and while receiving a retirement allowance from this system,…
   • § 21623 (a) In lieu of benefits provided by Section 21620 or 21622, upon the death of any retired state or school member, after retirement and while receiving a…
   • § 21623.5 (a) In lieu of benefits provided by Sections 21620 and 21622 upon the death of any local member, after retirement and while receiving a retirement allowance…
   • § 21623.6 (a) In lieu of benefits provided by Sections 21620, 21622, and 21623, upon the death of any school member, after retirement and while receiving a retirement…
   • § 21624 Upon the death of a patrol, state peace officer/firefighter, or state safety member whose retirement for service or disability is effective on or after April…
   • § 21625 Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, upon the member’s election to be subject to Section 21460 or 21478, the benefits provided by Section 21624,…
   • § 21626 “Member” for purposes of Section 21624 also includes those local miscellaneous members and local safety members who on March 31, 1973 were subject to former…
   • § 21626.5 (a) For purposes of Section 21624, 21626, 21627, 21629, or 21630, a surviving domestic partner shall be treated in the same manner as a surviving spouse if…
   • § 21627 (a) An eligible survivor of a state safety member who retired prior to April 1, 1973, and died prior to September 28, 1987, shall receive a monthly survivor’s…
   • § 21628 The allowance provided by Section 21624 shall be paid with respect to a local miscellaneous or local safety member whose retirement was effective prior to his…
   • § 21629 Upon the death, after the effective date of retirement, of a state miscellaneous member none of whose service rendered in state employment has been included in…
   • § 21630 Upon death after the effective date of retirement of a state miscellaneous member some of whose service rendered in state employment has been included in the…
   • § 21631 (a) The monthly allowance provided by Sections 21629 and 21630 shall be paid on account of retired school members who did not at retirement elect the optional…
   • § 21632 (a) The monthly allowances provided by Sections 21629 and 21630 shall be paid on account of retired state miscellaneous members who did not at retirement elect…
   • § 21633 The monthly allowance provided by Section 21624 shall be paid on account of patrol and state safety members retired for nonindustrial disability with effective…
   • § 21634 Any provision of this article or Article 4 (commencing with Section 21350) of Chapter 13 imposing as a condition for payment of an allowance to a surviving…
   • § 21635 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, survivor continuance allowances payable to surviving spouses upon death after retirement of a member do not…
   • § 21635.5 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, on and after the effective date of this section, the remarriage of the surviving spouse of a deceased…