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(a) Definitions. As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this paragraph:
Duty Related Death shall mean the death of a member caused by illness or injury, either of which arose out of the performance of the member’s duties as an employee of the City of Los Angeles.
Non-Duty Related Death shall mean a member’s death which occurred due to illness or injury not arising out of the member’s performance of the member’s duties as an employee of the City of Los Angeles.
Eligible Surviving Spouse shall mean the person who was married to the member at the time of the member’s death and who is entitled to be paid, against the claims or demands of any and all other persons thereto, the full amount of such member’s accumulated contributions.
Eligible Surviving Domestic Partner shall mean the person who was the domestic partner of the member at the time of the member’s death and who is entitled to be paid, against the claims or demands of any and all other persons thereto, the full amount of such member’s accumulated contributions.
Eligible Survivor shall refer to a person who is either an Eligible Surviving Spouse or Eligible Surviving Domestic Partner, as defined in this subsection.
(b) Duty Related Death of a Member Who Does Not Have Five (5) Years of Continuous Service. If a member, who at the time of a Duty Related Death was not eligible for a disability retirement allowance pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.1008, leaves an eligible survivor, the latter may elect to receive a monthly allowance equal to the disability retirement allowance benefit the member would have received, as provided in Section 4.1008, had the member completed five (5) years of continuous service and had the member been eligible for a disability retirement and had retired under a disability retirement on the day preceding the date of death and elected to receive the benefit as computed under the provisions of Section 4.1015(a)(1). In the event the member had completed less than twelve (12) months of service, the salary for the missing months shall be at the rate for the first month of service to arrive at the compensation earnable.
(c) Death of a Member Who Has Five (5) or More Years of Continuous Service. If, at the time of a Duty Related Death or Non-Duty Related Death, a member would have been eligible to receive a disability retirement allowance pursuant to Section 4.1008 and leaves an eligible survivor, the latter may elect to receive a monthly allowance equal to the amount the deceased member would have been entitled to if the member had been so retired on the day preceding the member’s death and elected to provide a continuing benefit under the provisions of Section 4.1015(a)(1).
(d) Calculation of Disability Survivorship Allowance. The one hundred percent (100%) disability survivorship allowance provided in Subsections (b) and (c) herein shall consist of an annuity based upon the eligible survivor’s age and the member’s total accumulated contributions, calculated in accordance with approved actuarial methods, supplemented by a pension to equal the remainder of the allowance so computed.
(e) Consequences of Election to Receive a Disability Survivorship Allowance. An eligible survivor who elects to receive the one hundred percent (100%) disability survivorship allowance hereinabove provided in Subsections (b) and (c), by making this election shall waive their rights under Section 4.1010 to payment of a limited pension and to payment of all the member’s accumulated contributions and shall receive the benefits provided in this section in lieu thereof. Said eligible survivor shall also receive the benefits provided under the Family Death Benefit Plan, established in Section 4.1090, if said eligible survivor would otherwise have been entitled thereto.
(f) Election to Wait and Receive a Continuance of the Member’s Service Retirement Allowance (Member Not Eligible for Retirement). If a member had completed five (5) or more years of continuous service with the City, but was not eligible to retire on a service retirement allowance on the date of the member’s death, the eligible survivor shall have the option of electing to wait until such time as the member would have been entitled to receive a service retirement allowance pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.1006, and shall then receive a retirement allowance equal to that which the member would have received had the member retired under the provisions of Section 4.1015(a)(1) on the day first eligible to receive such benefit. An eligible survivor who elects to wait and to receive the allowance provided herein shall have no rights under the provisions of Sections 4.1010(a); the benefits payable under this provision are provided in lieu of the payment of the member’s accumulated contributions and the limited pension provided in Section 4.1010(a). However, if an eligible survivor would otherwise have been entitled to the benefits provided under the Family Death Benefit Plan, an eligible survivor who exercises the option provided in this subsection shall receive the benefits provided in Section 4.1090, but only until such time as the optional benefit provided in this subsection shall become payable, at which time the eligible survivor’s entitlement to benefits under Section 4.1090 shall cease.
(g) Election to Receive a Continuance of the Member’s Service Retirement Allowance (Member Eligible for Retirement). If a member was eligible to retire on a service retirement allowance on the date of the member’s death, Section 4.1010(a)(3) provides an optional retirement benefit for persons who otherwise qualify for said benefit.
(h) Election Under This Section Waives All Rights to Benefits Provided in Section 4.1010. The election by an eligible survivor to receive an allowance under the provisions of this section constitutes and includes a complete waiver of all rights the eligible survivor may have under Section 4.1010, including the right to payment of all the member’s accumulated contributions, both regular contributions and survivor contributions, as well as a waiver of the payment of the limited pension.
(i) Board Authority. The Board of Administration, with respect to the determination of whether death of a member was attributable to Duty Related causes or Non-Duty Related causes, shall have the power to make such determination based upon such evidence as may be presented to it.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.
All current and former members of the Retirement System who are not entitled to credit for service rendered prior to July 1, 1965, shall, at the time of retirement, whether for service or disability, be eligible for the benefit provided in this section, provided they have an eligible survivor as defined in this section. Should any current, former or retired members be entitled to credit for service rendered prior to July 1, 1965, the rights of their survivors shall not be governed by this section, except as otherwise provided in Section 4.1013.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following words and phrases are defined as follows:
Eligible Survivor shall include the following:
(1) The spouse of a retired member to whom such member is married at time of retirement and has been so married for at least one (1) year prior thereto, and further provided that said spouse is either the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner of the retired member at the time of the member’s death.
(2) The domestic partner of a retired member provided that at the time of the member’s retirement their domestic partnership had been established for at least one (1) year, and further provided that said domestic partner is either the surviving domestic partner or surviving spouse of the retired member at the time of the member’s death.
Member shall only include a member who is not entitled to credit for service rendered prior to July 1, 1965, unless a member with pre-July 1, 1965 service, or such member’s eligible survivor, shall exercise the election provided in Sec. 4.1013(b) and pay the required survivor contributions.
Joint and Survivor Cash Refund Annuity shall mean an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of the member’s total accumulated contributions providing for equal monthly payments during the lifetime of such member and the eligible survivor, with payment of any unused contributions, as defined in Section 4.1010(c)(2), upon the death of the last survivor as provided in that provision, calculated in accordance with approved actuarial methods as of the date of retirement.
(b) Survivor Contributions. Every member shall contribute by salary deduction at the rate of contribution established elsewhere in this Article on account of the benefit provided by this section. Said contributions shall be known and designated as survivor contributions and are in addition to the member’s normal contributions.
(c) Retirement with Eligible Survivor. Upon the retirement of a member having an eligible survivor, other than one selecting one of the options available under Section 4.1015, the annuity portion of such member’s retirement allowance shall be calculated as a joint and survivor cash refund annuity, and the amount of pension payable during the member’s lifetime shall be the excess of the member’s unmodified retirement allowance over such joint and survivor cash refund annuity.
Upon the death of a member survived by an eligible survivor, there shall be continued to such survivor a retirement allowance which shall consist of:
(1) The joint and survivor cash refund annuity paid during the member’s lifetime; and
(2) A pension amount payable during the lifetime of the eligible survivor, which shall be the excess of one-half (1/2) of the unmodified allowance over said joint and survivor cash refund annuity.
(d) Retirement with No Eligible Survivor. Upon the retirement of a member having no eligible survivor at the time of retirement, the annuity portion of such member’s retirement allowance shall be calculated on the basis of the member’s normal accumulated contributions as opposed to the sum of the normal contributions and the survivor contributions taken pursuant to the provisions of this section. The excess of such member’s total accumulated contributions over the normal accumulated contributions at time of retirement shall be paid to such member, or at the member’s option, considered as additional contributions made to provide a larger annuity benefit.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.
(a) Members Who Retired or Terminated Membership Prior to July 1, 1965.
(1) Member Retired Prior to July 1, 1965. A member who retired prior to July 1, 1965, pursuant to the provisions of former Charter Sections 508 or 510, and who has a spouse to whom the member was married for at least one (1) year at the time of retirement (an eligible survivor for purposes of this subsection), may elect in writing to provide for a continuance of the member’s retirement allowance to said eligible survivor, which election shall be filed with the Board of Administration. In the event a retired member who is eligible to make the election herein provided should die prior to having made such election, the member’s eligible survivor shall have the right to so elect in the member’s stead and shall thereafter receive the continuance to survivor benefit as hereinafter provided.
Upon the death of a retired member who elected to provide for a continuance to the member’s eligible survivor, as provided in the preceding paragraph, there shall be continued to such survivor, provided the survivor is the deceased retiree’s surviving spouse or domestic partner, an allowance which shall consist of:
(i) An annuity equal to the amount of the annuity which was payable to the retired member during the member’s lifetime by virtue of the member’s normal contributions; and
(ii) A pension amount payable during the lifetime of such survivor which shall be the difference between one-half (1/2) of the member’s base amount excluding from said base amount any portion payable by virtue of additional contributions paid towards a larger annuity, and the amount of said annuity.
(iii) A cost of living equal to one-half (1/2) the cost of living amount payable to the deceased member at the time of the member’s death, after excluding therefrom any portion of said cost of living amount payable by virtue of additional contributions paid towards a larger annuity. All adjustments to the cost of living amount pursuant to this provision shall be subject to future adjustments as provided in Section 4.1022.
(2) Former Member Who Terminated Prior to July 1, 1965. Any former member who terminated prior to July 1, 1965, and who elected the benefit of a “vested right” pension but has not made application for such pension, may make the election described above in Subsection(a)(1) at the time such former member files their application for service retirement if the member has either a spouse to whom the member has been married for at least one (1) year prior to the date of the member’s retirement or a domestic partner in a partnership that has been established for at least one (1) year prior to the date of the member’s retirement (an eligible survivor for purposes of this subsection). Upon the death of such retired member who elected to provide for a continuance to the member’s eligible survivor as provided herein, there shall be continued to such survivor, provided the survivor is the deceased retiree’s surviving spouse or domestic partner, an allowance which shall be based upon the components set forth in Subsection(a)(1)(i), (ii) and (iii).
(3) Payment of Contributions upon Death. Upon the death of both the retired member and the retired member’s eligible survivor where an election has been made as provided in this Subsection (a), any unused contributions and accrued retirement allowance shall be paid as provided in Section 4.1010(c)(2).
(b) Members with Service Prior to July 1, 1965. Members shall not receive credit under the provisions of Section 4.1012 for service rendered prior to July 1, 1965, unless said member shall both:
(1) Elect, in writing, and file with the Board of Administration an application to participate in the continuance to survivor benefit established in Section 4.1012; and
(2) Pay survivor contributions in an amount equal to all the contributions which the member would have made had the member elected said benefit on July 1, 1965, together with all regular interest which, had the member so made the same, would have been credited thereon prior to the date of such payment. The mode of paying such back contributions in a lump sum or on an installment basis shall be as decided by the Board of Administration and set forth in their rules.
The surviving spouse or domestic partner of a deceased retired member is hereby given the right to make an election to participate in the continuance to survivor benefit provided in Section 4.1012 if such deceased retired member did not during the deceased retired member’s lifetime make the election to participate in said benefit; provided, however, that such survivor must qualify as an eligible survivor as said term is defined in Section 4.1012.
The eligible survivor’s election shall be in writing on such forms as the Board may prescribe, and must be accompanied by the amount of survivor contributions which the deceased retired member would have contributed by salary deduction during the entire period of membership in the Retirement System during or for which the deceased retired member would have been eligible to participate in the benefit provided in Section 4.1012.
The benefit herein provided shall entitle a survivor eligible to make an election to receive an allowance calculated as of the time immediately following the deceased retired member’s death, but such allowance shall become payable only as of the first day of the month following the exercise of the election and receipt by the Retirement System of the required survivor contributions. There is to be no retroactive entitlement to benefits under the provisions of this section.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.
A member or former member who does not have an eligible survivor, as defined in Section 4.1012, may make an irrevocable election at the time of retirement, in writing, to provide for a continuance of the member’s or former member’s retirement allowance to one designated beneficiary. The retiree shall take an actuarial reduction of the retiree’s retirement allowance to pay for the continuance to a designated beneficiary. The retiree shall specify any whole percentage not to exceed 100% as the portion of the retirement allowance to be paid as an allowance to the beneficiary, subject to any limits imposed by federal law. The allowance payable to the beneficiary shall commence the day following the retiree’s date of death and shall terminate upon the death of the beneficiary.
The beneficiary’s continuance shall be subject to all cost-of-living and discretionary increases.
A beneficiary under this section shall not be entitled to any disability retirement allowance, any basic death benefit, any special death benefit, any monthly allowance for survivors of a member or retired person, any insurance benefit or subsidy, or retired member lump-sum death benefit.
The Board shall adopt rules to administer this continuance and shall formulate the benefits in such a way that no additional actuarial liability is incurred either by the System or by the City.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.
(a) Optional Retirement Allowance Election. At any time before the first payment of a service or disability retirement allowance, a member or former member who is retiring may elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of such retirement allowance as:
(1) One Hundred Percent (100%) Continuance. An optional retirement allowance payable throughout the balance of the retiree’s life, with the provision that upon the retiree’s death one hundred percent (100%) of such optional retirement allowance shall be continued through the life of and paid to: (i) the retired member’s surviving spouse or domestic partner; or (ii) the retired member’s minor children, in the event there be no surviving spouse or domestic partner; or (iii) the retired member’s dependent parents, in the event there be no surviving spouse or domestic partner or minor children; provided that, in the case of a minor child, the same shall terminate with the monthly payment next preceding the date on which said child attains the age of eighteen (18) years; or
(2) Lesser Percent (%) Continuance. Any other optional allowance which the retiree may elect to receive and which shall be authorized by the Board, payable throughout the balance of the retiree’s life, with the provision that, upon the retiree’s death, a specified percentage of such optional allowance selected by the retiree shall be continued through the life of and paid to: (i) the retiree’s surviving spouse or domestic partner; or (ii) the retiree’s minor children, in the event there be no surviving spouse; or (iii) the retiree’s dependent parents, in the event there be no surviving spouse or minor children; provided that, in the case of a minor child, the same shall terminate with the monthly payment next preceding the date on which said child attains the age of eighteen (18) years.
In order for the person who is the retiree’s spouse or domestic partner at the time of retirement to be eligible to receive the continuance provided in this section, this person must be the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner of the retiree at the time of the retiree’s death.
(b) Calculation of Optional Retirement Allowances. The amount of any optional retirement allowance granted pursuant to this section shall be so calculated that the liability of the system at the date of retirement under the optional retirement allowance shall be equal to the liability of the system at the same date under the retirement allowance provided in Sections 4.1007 or 4.1008, including in each case the liability for continuance to an eligible survivor provided in Section 4.1012, if applicable. Any retiree selecting one of the options available under this section who has an eligible survivor as defined in Section 4.1012 shall have the annuity portion of such retiree’s retirement allowance calculated on the basis of the member’s total accumulated contributions, including both normal and survivor contributions. For the purpose of this section, the liability of the system is defined as the present value, in accordance with tables adopted by the Board, of the retirement allowance or optional retirement allowance calculated by approved actuarial methods, giving due weight to the average probabilities of survivorship of all parties involved in the allowance, or optional allowance, to the limitation of payments to age eighteen (18) in the case of a minor child, and to the requirement for refund of unused contributions after the death of the retiree or beneficiary as provided for in Section 4.1010(c)(2).
(c) Options for Members Who Retired Prior to July 1, 1965, with an Optional Allowance. Any retired member of the Retirement System who retired prior to July 1, 1965, and who selected one of the optional retirement allowances authorized in the predecessor to this section, upon written application filed with the Board of Administrators shall be entitled to receive the allowance the member would have been eligible to receive under the then applicable service retirement or disability retirement provisions had the member not elected an optional retirement allowance at that time. Any adjustment made pursuant to this provision shall be effected by modifying the pension portion of the allowance. For benefits that are increased, the ratio between the base amount and the cost of living amount shall be maintained by increasing the cost of living proportionately. All adjustment to the cost of living amount made pursuant to this section shall be subject to future adjustments as provided in Section 4.1022.
Any surviving spouse receiving a continuance of a retired member’s allowance based upon the member having made an election as provided in the predecessor to this section, which election was made when the member was not eligible to participate in the continuance to eligible survivor benefit currently provided in Section 4.1012, may elect to receive in lieu of such allowance the continuance to eligible survivor benefits provided by Section 4.1013(a)(1).
Any election or written application made pursuant to this subsection shall be irrevocable and not subject to the provisions of waiver of benefits as provided in Section 4.1024.
(d) Federal Law Limitations May Not Be Exceeded. No optional allowance shall be granted under the provisions of this section that exceed any limitations imposed by federal law.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.
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