In the event a firefighter member dies as a result of a personal injury or disease arising solely out of and in the course of his or her employment by the City, or a disability retirant dies within a period of three years from and after the date of his or her disability retirement and prior to his or her voluntary retirement age as the result of the same injury or disease for which he or she was retired, and in either case the death, injury or disease resulting in death be found by the Board of Trustees to have been the result of his or her actual performance of duty in the employ of the City, the applicable benefits provided in this section shall be paid; provided, that the pensions provided in subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section shall be subject to the condition that workers’ compensation is paid on account of the same member or retirant; and provided further, that the pensions shall be subject to subsection (f) of this section and § 35-33.
(a) In the case of a deceased member, his or her accumulated contributions standing to his or her credit in the employees’ savings fund shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of § 35-34.
(b) A pension of 40% of the deceased person’s final compensation shall be paid to his or her widow and shall terminate upon her remarriage or death.
(c) If, in addition to a widow, the deceased person leaves an unmarried child or children under the age of 18 years or age 21 years if a full-time student as determined by the Board of Trustees, each such child shall receive a pension of an equal share of one-fourth of his or her final compensation. Upon the child’s adoption, marriage, death or attainment of age 18 years, or age 21 years if a full-time student as determined by the Board of Trustees, whichever occurs first, his or her pension shall terminate and there shall be a redistribution by the Board of Trustees to his or her remaining eligible children under age 18 years, or 21 years, as the case may be, if any.
(d) If the deceased person does not leave a widow, or if his or her widow remarries before the youngest surviving unmarried child shall have attained age 18 years or age 21 years if a full-time student as determined by the Board of Trustees, his or her unmarried child or children under age 18 years, or 21 years, as the case may be, shall each receive a pension of one-fourth of his or her final compensation; provided, that if there be more than two such surviving children, each such child shall receive a pension of an equal share of one-half of his or her final compensation. Upon the child’s adoption, marriage, death or attainment of age 18 years, or 21 years if a full-time student as determined by the Board of Trustees, whichever occurs first, his or her pension shall terminate and there shall be a redistribution by the Board of Trustees to his or her remaining eligible children under age 18 years, or 21 years, as the case may be, if any. In no case shall the child’s pension exceed one-fourth of the deceased person’s final compensation.
(e) If there be neither widow nor children eligible to receive a pension provided in this section surviving the deceased person there shall be paid to his or her dependent mother and dependent father, as the Board of Trustees after investigation shall find to have been actually dependent upon him or her for financial support due to physical or mental disability, a pension of one-sixth of his or her final compensation. Upon the remarriage or death of any such parent his or her pension shall terminate.
(f) The total of the pensions provided in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section payable to the survivors of the deceased person shall not exceed $7,000.00 a year. As used in this section, the term
WIDOW means the spouse of the person at the time his or her employment with the City last terminated.
(Ord. 2314, passed 3-13-1972; Ord. 2558, passed 6-14-1976)