§ 3-338. CONTINUATION OF RETIREMENT ALLOWANCES AFTER DEATH.

(a) Upon the death of a member, due to other than service-connected cause, after qualification for service retirement at or over age fifty, with credit for at least ten years of service and on account of whose death the benefit provided for in Section 3-330(a), (1) and (2) is otherwise payable, or after retirement, regardless of cause, two-thirds of the retirement allowance to which the member would have been entitled if the member had retired for service at the time of death, or two-thirds of the member's retirement allowance as it was at death, as the case may be, and both before modification under an option, shall be continued, throughout life, to the surviving spouse or to the surviving domestic partner.

(b) Upon the death of a member, due to other than service-connected cause, prior to the member's attainment of age fifty, with credit for at least ten years of service and on account of whose death the benefit provided for in Section 3-330(a), (1) and (2) is otherwise payable, two-thirds of the retirement allowance to which the member would have been entitled had the member continued in the service and retired at age fifty, before modification under an option, earned by the member's service as of the date of death, shall be continued, throughout life to the surviving spouse or to the surviving domestic partner.

(c) If there be no surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner entitled to an allowance under this section, or if the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner so entitled dies before every child of such deceased member attains the age of eighteen years, then the allowance which such surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner would have received had the spouse or domestic partner lived shall be paid to the member's child or children under said age, collectively, to continue until every such child dies or attains said age, provided that no child shall receive any allowance after marrying or establishing a domestic partnership and no non-disabled child shall receive any allowance after attaining the age of eighteen years. Should the member leave no surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner and no children under the age of eighteen years but leave a child or children who, pursuant to terms and conditions adopted by the Retirement Board, is or are determined by the Board to have been disabled prior to age eighteen and whose disability continues past age eighteen, the child or children while so disabled shall collectively receive a monthly allowance equal to that which a surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner would have received. Should the member leave no surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner so entitled, no children under the age of eighteen years, and no disabled children whose disability continued past the age of eighteen years, but leave a parent or parents dependent upon the member for support, the parents so dependent shall collectively receive a monthly allowance equal to that which such surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner otherwise would have received during such dependency. If payment of the allowance payable under this section because of death before retirement be stopped because of death of the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner or attainment of the age of eighteen years or establishment of a domestic partnership by, or the death or marriage of, a child, or the death or marriage or establishment of a domestic partnership or cessation of disability in a child whose disability continued past the age of eighteen years, or the death or cessation of dependency of a parent, before the sum of the monthly payments made shall equal the sum of the amounts, which except for this section, would have been payable under Section 3-330(a), (1) and (2), then an amount equal to the difference between said sums shall be paid in one amount, to the surviving children of the deceased member, share and share alike.

(d) The allowance provided in subsection (b) of this section shall be in lieu of the death benefit otherwise payable as provided in Section 3-330(a), (1) and (2), but, notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a person qualifying for the allowance or such person's guardian may elect, before the first payment on account of it, to receive such death benefit in lieu of the allowance.

(e) With respect to members whose death occurs on or before the effective date of Ordinance No. 2000-4, an allowance shall be paid under this section to a surviving spouse, in the case of death before retirement, only if the spouse was married to the member prior to the date of the sustaining of the injury or the onset of the illness which resulted in death, or, in the case of death after retirement, only if the spouse was married to the member at least one year prior to retirement. With respect to members whose death occurs after the effective date of Ordinance No. 2000-4, an allowance shall be paid under this section (1) to a surviving spouse, in the case of death before retirement, only if the spouse was married to the member prior to the date of death, or, in the case of death after retirement, only if the spouse was married to the member as of the date of retirement or (2) or to a surviving domestic partner, in the case of death before retirement, only if the domestic partner had established a domestic partnership with the member prior to the date of death, or, in the case of death after retirement, only if the domestic partner had established a domestic partnership with the member as of the date of retirement. (Added Ord. 5313, 1958, based on former Sec. 2-732; Am. Ord. 5667, 1959; Am. Ord. 6894, 1966; Am. Ord. 76-45, § 2, eff. 6-27-76; Am. Ord. 84-47, § 2, eff. 5-11-84; Am. Ord. 2000-4, § 3, eff. 2-10-00; Am. Ord. 2001-16, § 2, eff. 3-26-01; Am. Ord. 2001-72, § 5, eff. 11-10-01; Am. Ord. 2006-15, § 5, eff. 3-10-06).