All benefits payable upon the death of a Public Safety Officer Member, Public Safety Officer Former Member, or Public Safety Officer Retired Member, as defined in Section 4.1001(a), shall be determined by this Section 4.1010.2, and the provisions of Sections 4.1010, 4.1010.1, 4.1011, 4.1012, 4.1013, 4.1014 and 4.1015, shall not apply. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, no survivor allowance shall be paid under this Section 4.1010.2 to the extent it exceeds any limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. The Board shall have the authority to adopt rules to implement this limitation.
(a) Definitions. As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this subsection:
Accumulated Contributions. The total of the amounts paid into the Retirement Fund by the Public Safety Officer Member and any interest credited to the Member’s account.
Assignment Pay. Assignment Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of assignment to perform special duties or hazardous duties, in a higher class, position, grade, code or other title than the lowest thereof within the Public Safety Officer Member’s permanent rank, shall be provided by ordinance or Memorandum of Understanding.
Dependent Child. Dependent Child means a person who is a child of a deceased Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member, who, while under the age of 21 years, had become disabled, either prior to or after the date of death of such Member, from earning a livelihood for any cause or reason whatsoever. Such person shall be a Dependent Child only until they shall cease to be disabled from earning a livelihood. Should disability cease before the age of 22 years, the limitations set forth in Subsection (g) of this section shall be applicable.
Dependent Parent. Dependent Parent means a person who is a parent of a deceased Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member and to or for whom such deceased Member, during at least one (1) year immediately preceding their death, contributed one-half or more of such Dependent Parent’s necessary living expenses and who is unable to pay such expenses without the receipt of an allowance. Such person shall be a Dependent Parent only until they shall be able to pay their necessary living expenses.
Eligible Surviving Domestic Partner. Eligible Surviving Domestic Partner means a person whose Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Public Safety Officer Member was on file with the Board, as provided in Section 4.1009 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code, or whose domestic partnership with the Public Safety Officer Member was registered with the State of California, as authorized in Family Code Section 298.5, or who had established a legal union with the Public Safety Officer Member which was validly formed in another jurisdiction that is substantially equivalent to a domestic partnership, as provided in Family Code Section 299.2:
(1) for at least one (1) year prior to the date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s nonservice-connected death;
(2) on the date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s service-connected death;
(3) for at least one (1) year prior to the effective date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s retirement upon a nonservice- connected disability retirement;
(4) on the effective date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s service-connected disability retirement; or
(5) on the date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s nonservice-connected death while on military leave.
In addition, on the date of the Member’s death, this person must be the Domestic Partner of such Member.
Eligible Surviving Spouse. Eligible Surviving Spouse means a person who was married to the Public Safety Officer Member:
(1) for at least one (1) year prior to the date of their nonservice-connected death while a Public Safety Officer Member;
(2) on the date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s service-connected death;
(3) for at least one (1) year prior to the effective date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s retirement upon a nonservice- connected disability retirement;
(4) on the effective date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s service-connected disability retirement; or
(5) on the date of the Public Safety Officer Member’s nonservice-connected death while on military leave.
In addition, on the date of the Member’s death, the person must be the spouse of such Member.
Eligible Survivor. Eligible Survivor means a person who is either an Eligible Surviving Spouse or an Eligible Surviving Domestic Partner as defined in this subsection.
Final Compensation. Final Compensation means an amount equivalent to a monthly average of salary actually earned during any twelve (12) consecutive months of service as a Member of the Retirement System, as designated by the Member. In the absence of such designation, the last twelve (12) consecutive months preceding the date upon which retirement would become effective shall be used as the basis for the calculation of Final Compensation.
For the purposes of determining Final Compensation for periods during which the Member receives less than full salary on account of injury or illness, pursuant to any applicable ordinance of the City, the Final Compensation shall be based upon the salary, including, if applicable, any Length of Service Pay, Special Pay, Assignment Pay or Hazard Pay, the Member would have received but for the injury or illness.
Included in the calculation of Final Compensation shall be Length of Service Pay, Special Pay, Assignment Pay and Hazard Pay actually earned during the twelve (12) consecutive months used to determine Final Compensation.
For those Members who retire from the department wherein they were employed while holding a rank no higher than Lieutenant: If Hazard Pay was not earned during all or any part of the twelve (12) consecutive months used to determine Final Compensation, then an amount equivalent to 10% of the Hazard Pay earned at the time of the termination of the last assignment of hazardous duties for each year in the aggregate of the assignment to hazardous duties shall be added to the Final Compensation, not to exceed ten (10) years in the aggregate. The total amount of Hazard Pay included in Final Compensation may not exceed 100% of the amount the Member would have earned had they been entitled to Hazard Pay during the entire 12-month period utilized in the calculation of Final Compensation.
Overtime compensation or payments of money to the member not designated as salary by an ordinance or Memorandum of Understanding shall not be considered for purposes of calculating Final Compensation.
If a Member has not completed twelve (12) consecutive months of service, then and in that event only shall the Final Compensation be calculated as a monthly average of all consecutive calendar months completed, and, if the Member has completed less than one month of total service as a Member, the salary actually received shall be used to calculate its monthly equivalent.
Hazard Pay. Hazard Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of assignment to perform helicopter duties, two-wheel motorcycle duties or any other hazardous duties, shall be provided by ordinance or Memorandum of Understanding.
Length of Service Pay. Length of Service Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of length of service, shall be provided by ordinance or by Memorandum of Understanding.
Member. Member means Public Safety Officer Member, Public Safety Officer Retired Member, or Public Safety Officer Former Member, as appropriate.
Minor Child. Minor Child means a person who is a natural child or an adopted child of a deceased Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member but such person shall be a Minor Child only until such person shall attain the age of 18 years or until they reach the age of 22 years if such person is enrolled in school on a full-time basis as determined by the Board. Entitlement to the benefits of a Minor Child shall terminate if such person marries prior to reaching the age limit(s) provided herein.
Special Pay. Special Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of assignment to perform special duties other than hazardous duties, shall be provided by ordinance or Memorandum of Understanding.
Year. Year means a period of 12 months or, in aggregating partial years for purposes of determining Service, means 365 days.
(b) Benefits for Eligible Survivor.
(1) Member’s Service-Connected Death. The Eligible Survivor of a Public Safety Officer Member who shall die by reason of injuries received or sickness caused by the discharge of their duties while a Public Safety Officer Member, shall be paid for life a monthly allowance in an amount which shall be equal to 80% of the deceased Member’s Final Compensation.
For the purposes of the benefit provided in this Subsection (b)(1), a Public Safety Officer Member has died by reason of injuries received or sickness caused by the discharge of Public Safety Officer Member’s duties if there is clear and convincing evidence that the discharge of the Member’s duties was the predominant cause of their death.
(2) Member’s Nonservice-Connected Death. The Eligible Survivor of a Public Safety Officer Member who shall have five (5) or more years of Service and who shall die while a Public Safety Officer Member, by reason of injuries or sickness other than injuries received or sickness caused by the discharge of Public Safety Officer Member’s duties, shall be paid for life a monthly allowance in an amount which shall be equal to 50% of the deceased Member’s Final Compensation.
(3) Member’s Nonservice-Connected Death While on Military Leave. The Eligible Survivor of a Public Safety Officer Member who, while on military leave, is killed as a result of the discharge of the Public Safety Officer Member’s military duties, shall be paid for life, as a nonservice-connected survivor benefit, a monthly allowance in an amount which shall be equal to 50% of the deceased Member’s Final Compensation. This benefit shall be paid in lieu of any benefits that would otherwise be payable under Subsections (b)(2), (b)(4) or (b)(5) of this section.
(4) Nonservice-Connected Death of Member with Less than Five Years of Service. In the event a Member dies of nonservice-connected causes before having completed five years of Service, the Eligible Survivor of the deceased Public Safety Officer Member, or the Member’s Minor or Dependent Children if there is no Eligible Survivor, or the Member’s Dependent Parents if there is no Eligible Survivor and no Minor or Dependent Children, shall be entitled to the Basic Death Benefit described in Subsection (b)(5) below.
(5) Basic Death Benefit and Election. The Basic Death Benefit shall consist of: (1) the return of a deceased Member’s accumulated contributions to the Retirement System with accrued interest thereon, subject to the rights created by virtue of the Member’s designation of a beneficiary as otherwise provided in the Retirement System; and (2) if the deceased Member had at least one year of Service, the deceased Member’s Final Compensation multiplied by the number of completed years of Service, not to exceed six years, provided that said amount shall be paid in monthly installments of one-half of the deceased Member’s Final Compensation.
An Eligible Survivor, or a guardian acting on behalf of the Minor or Dependent Children of a deceased Public Safety Officer if there is no Eligible Survivor, or Dependent Parents if there is no Eligible Survivor and no Minor or Dependent Children entitled to an allowance pursuant to any of the provisions of this section, where benefits are based upon the Member’s death in active service, may elect to receive the Basic Death Benefit in lieu of the allowance provided and before the first payment of such allowance.
(6) Retired Member’s Death While on a Service-Connected Disability Retirement. In the event a Public Safety Officer Retired Member dies while they are receiving a service-connected disability allowance pursuant to Section 4.1008.2, the Eligible Survivor shall be paid for life a monthly allowance in an amount which shall be equal to 80% of the allowance received by the deceased Public Safety Officer Retired Member immediately preceding the date of the Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s death, unless the death of the Retired Member occurs within three (3) years after the effective date of their allowance and is due to service-connected causes, in which case, the Eligible Survivor shall receive, or in a case where an option has been elected pursuant to Subsection (c) of this section, may elect to receive, 80% of the Retired Member’s Final Compensation, as modified by the cost of living adjustments made pursuant to Section 4.1022. The benefit described in this Subsection (b)(6) may be modified as provided in Subsection (c) of this section.
(7) Retired Member’s Death While on a Nonservice-Connected Disability Retirement. In the event a Public Safety Officer Retired Member dies while they are receiving a nonservice-connected disability allowance pursuant to Section 4.1008.2, the Eligible Survivor shall be paid for life a monthly allowance in an amount which shall be equal to 70% of the allowance received by the deceased Retired Member immediately preceding the date of the Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s death. The benefit described in this Subsection (b)(7) may be modified as provided in Subsection (c) of this section.
(c) Optional Allowances for Eligible Survivor. At any time before the first payment of a service retirement allowance, a service-connected disability allowance or a nonservice-connected disability allowance, the Member may elect to receive, in lieu of their allowance as provided in Section 4.1007 (Service) or Section 4.1008.2 (Disability), the actuarial equivalent at that time of such allowance and of the allowance for the Eligible Survivor, as provided in Subsection (b) of this section, by electing an optional allowance payable throughout the balance of their life, with the proviso that upon their death such optional allowance shall be continued to the Member’s Eligible Survivor in the proportional amount designated by the Member at the time of election of the option provided by this section.
The amount of such optional allowance shall be so calculated that the liability of LACERS at the date of retirement under the optional allowance shall be equal to the liability of LACERS at the same date under the allowance awarded in accordance with the provisions of Section 4.1007 (Service) or Section 4.1008.2 (Disability) and of the survivorship allowance provided by Subsection (b) of this section. For the purpose of this section, the liability of LACERS is defined as the present value, in accordance with tables adopted by the Board, of the allowances or optional allowances calculated by approved actuarial methods, and recommended by the Retirement System’s actuary. In determining the actuarial equivalent of the allowance for an Eligible Survivor as provided pursuant to Subsection (b)(6) of this section, the equivalent of a survivorship allowance of 80% of the Retired Member’s allowance shall be used in all cases.
The optional amounts, calculated in accordance with the foregoing subsection, shall provide a range of optional values such that the amount to be paid to the Eligible Survivor shall range from 75% to 100% of the allowance payable to the Member.
If a Public Safety Officer Retired Member, previously retired pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.1008.2, is reinstated to active duty upon termination of Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s disability, the election to receive the optional allowance as herein provided shall be deemed cancelled as of the effective date of such reinstatement.
A Public Safety Officer Retired Member, previously retired on a disability allowance pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.1008.2, shall have the right to cancel any option previously elected by them pursuant to the provisions of this subsection in the event their allowance is subsequently adjusted as provided for in Section 4.1008.2.
(d) Additional Allowance Amounts for Additional Beneficiaries. Whenever any Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member shall die and leave surviving them, in addition to an Eligible Survivor, a Minor Child or Children or a Dependent Child or Children of the deceased Member and the Eligible Survivor, then such Eligible Survivor shall be paid an additional monthly allowance in an amount which shall be equal to 25% of the allowance they as an Eligible Survivor would be entitled to receive pursuant to the provisions of Subsection (b) of this section while there is one Minor Child or Dependent Child, 40% while there are two Minor Children or Dependent Children or a combination, and 50% while there are three or more Minor Children or Dependent Children or a combination, and such additional monthly allowance shall be the exclusive property of such Eligible Survivor and not the property of any such Minor Child or Dependent Child.
Whenever any Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member dies and leaves surviving them in addition to an Eligible Survivor, a Minor Child or Children or a Dependent Child or Children who are not the child or children of the Eligible Survivor, then the guardian(s) or conservator(s), as appropriate, of the estate(s) of any such Minor Child or Children or Dependent Child or Children shall be paid a monthly allowance in an amount which shall be equal to 25% of the allowance the Eligible Survivor would be entitled to pursuant to the provisions of Subsection (b) of this section while there is one Minor Child or Dependent Child, 40% while there are two Minor Children or Dependent Children or a combination, and 50% while there are three or more Minor Children or Dependent Children or a combination.
Whenever any Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member dies and leaves surviving them, in addition to an Eligible Survivor, a Minor Child or Children or a Dependent Child or Children of the deceased Member and the Eligible Survivor and a Minor Child or Children or a Dependent Child or Children not the child or children of the Eligible Survivor, then a monthly allowance shall be paid in an amount which shall be equal to 25% of the allowance the Eligible Surviving Spouse would be entitled to pursuant to the provisions of Subsection (b) of this section while there is one Minor Child or Dependent Child, 40% while there are two Minor Children or Dependent Children or a combination, and 50% while there are three or more Minor Children or Dependent Children or a combination. The amount of such monthly allowance shall be divided by the number of Minor Children or Dependent Children and shall be adjusted accordingly whenever any Minor or Dependent Child ceases to be such. The Eligible Survivor shall be paid the portion of such monthly allowance which shall be applicable to the number of Public Safety Officer Member’s or Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s Minor Children or Dependent Children and the same shall be their exclusive property. The guardian(s) or conservator(s), as appropriate, of the estate(s) of the Minor Children or Dependent Children who are not those of the Eligible Survivor shall be paid the portion of such monthly allowance which shall be applicable to such Minor Children or Dependent Children and the same shall be the exclusive property of such children.
If a Minor Child or Dependent Child is an adult who is capable of managing their financial affairs, the Board is not required to pay the guardian or conservator of the Minor Child or Dependent Child any benefits provided in this subsection, which are not the property of the Eligible Survivor but are the property of the Minor Child or Dependent Child. Dependent Child benefits payable under this subsection shall be paid pursuant to the provisions of Charter Section 1238, if applicable.
The additional allowance amounts provided in this subsection for persons other than an Eligible Survivor are to be calculated on the basis of the applicable Eligible Survivor allowance provided pursuant to Subsection (b) of this section, unmodified by any election that may have been made previously pursuant to the provisions of Subsection (c) of this section.
Additional allowance amounts are also subject to the limitation that the amount of any survivorship allowance provided in this section, after the additional payments provided in this subsection are added thereto, may not exceed 100% of the Final Compensation of the deceased Public Safety Officer Member or 100% of the Final Compensation of the deceased Retired Public Safety Officer Member, as modified by the cost of living adjustments made pursuant to Section 4.1022 since the date of retirement of the Public Safety Officer Retired Member. In case of excess, any additional allowance amounts shall be reduced to a level where the total amount of allowance is equal to such maximum.
(e) Allowance for Minor or Dependent Children Where Member Had No Eligible Survivor. Whenever any Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member dies without leaving a Eligible Survivor, the guardian or conservator, as applicable, of the estate(s) of their Minor or Dependent Children shall be paid, until each such child shall cease to be a Minor or Dependent Child, a monthly allowance equal to the allowance an Eligible Survivor would have been eligible to receive pursuant to Subsection (b) of this section had an Eligible Survivor survived such Member. Whenever any Public Safety Officer Member or Retired Public Safety Officer Member shall die leaving an Eligible Survivor who thereafter shall die, the guardian or conservator, as applicable, of the estate(s) of their Minor or Dependent Children shall be paid, until each such child shall cease to be a Minor or Dependent Child, a monthly allowance equal to the allowance an Eligible Survivor would have been eligible to receive pursuant to Subsection (b) of this section. In any of the foregoing events and if there were to be more than one Minor or Dependent Child, an equal share of such monthly allowance shall be paid for and on behalf of each such child to the guardian or conservator, as applicable, of the Public Safety Officer Member’s or Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s estate and shall be adjusted as each of them shall cease to be a Minor or Dependent Child in the manner set forth in Subsection (d) of this section. If payments are made pursuant to this Subsection (e), no additional allowance amounts shall be paid pursuant to Subsection (d) of this section. With regard to benefits payable to a Minor Child or Dependent Child who is an adult and capable of managing their financial affairs, the foregoing provisions requiring payment to a guardian or conservator of such child shall be disregarded and payment may be made directly to such adult child.
Dependent Child benefits payable under this subsection shall be paid pursuant to the provisions of Charter Section 1238, if applicable.
(f) Allowance for Dependent Parents Where Member Had No Eligible Survivor. Whenever any Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member shall die without leaving an Eligible Survivor or a Minor or Dependent Child, a monthly allowance shall be paid to such Dependent Parents or to the survivor of them until each such Dependent Parent shall cease to be such. Any Dependent Parent who ceases to be such, but who thereafter again shall become unable to pay their necessary living expenses without an allowance, shall be entitled to have their allowance reinstated.
The total amount of an allowance payable to the Dependent Parents shall be the same as that to which an Eligible Survivor would have been entitled pursuant to Subsection (b) of this section.
(g) Determinations With Respect to Cause of Death and Dependency. The Board shall have the same power as that which has been given to it by Section 4.1008.2(d) and (f) in order to determine:
(1) whether a Public Safety Officer Member’s death was service-connected or nonservice-connected for the purposes of Section 4.1010.2(b)(1) and (2);
(2) whether or not a child of a deceased Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member is a Dependent Child; and
(3) whether or not any parent of a deceased Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Retired Member is a Dependent Parent.
The Board also shall have the power to determine, from time to time, whether or not a child continues to be a Dependent Child, whether or not a parent continues to be a Dependent Parent and whether or not a Dependent Parent who had ceased to be such thereafter shall have become entitled to have their allowance reinstated. The Board also shall have the power to determine whether a Minor Child or Dependent Child is an adult and capable of managing their financial affairs.
(h) Medical Reports and Hearings. The power of the Board to determine whether a Public Safety Officer Member’s death was service-connected or nonservice- connected, as provided in Subsection (g) of this section, hereafter may be exercised by it upon the basis of a written report from one regularly licensed and practicing physician selected by it, but the Board, in its discretion, may obtain such a report from more than one such physician. This determination may, at the option of the Board, be made without a hearing being held pursuant to the provisions of Subsection (g) of this section, provided that, should any decision made without a hearing being held adversely affect any person, such person may request and, upon such request, shall be granted a hearing before the Board at which such decision shall be reconsidered.
(i) Distribution of Contributions. Whenever a Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Former Member dies prior to retirement without leaving a person or persons entitled to receive an allowance pursuant to Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) of this section, then, and in that event, the Member’s Accumulated Contributions shall be paid to such person or legal entity as the Member shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the Board; or, if there is no such designation, then to the Public Safety Officer Member’s or Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s surviving spouse or surviving Domestic Partner; or, if none, then to the Public Safety Officer Member’s or Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s children; or, if no children, then to the Public Safety Officer Member’s or Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s parents. In the event there is no written designation of beneficiary, surviving spouse or surviving Domestic Partner, children or parents, then the contributions shall be paid to the executor or administrator of the estate of such deceased Public Safety Officer Member or Public Safety Officer Former Member or to any other person or legal entity legally authorized to collect money due the decedent.
(j) Burial Allowance. Upon the death of every Public Safety Officer Retired Member, the sum of $2,500.00 shall be paid to such person or legal entity as the Public Safety Officer Retired Member shall have nominated by written designation, duly executed and filed with the Board of Administration; or to the Eligible Survivor of such deceased Public Safety Officer Retired Member, in the event there be no designated beneficiary; or to Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s child or children, in the event there be no designated beneficiary or Eligible Survivor, provided that such payment shall be made only after satisfactory evidence has been presented to the Board showing that the expense of burial of the decedent has been paid or that the obligation to pay therefor has been assumed by a person or persons or an organization legally capable of contracting such obligation. The fact of burial, as evidenced by a certified copy of the death certificate, shall be sufficient evidence of compliance with the requirements stated in the foregoing sentence. While the purpose of this benefit is to provide a funeral allowance for the deceased retiree, the Retirement System shall have no responsibility to assure that this payment is used for that purpose.
In the event there be no designated beneficiary, Eligible Survivor, or child or children, or in the event the requirements herein stated with respect to the expense of burial of such Public Safety Officer Retired Member have not been complied with within such time as the Board, in its discretion, may determine, then the payment of the amount specified in this subsection shall be paid to the executor or administrator of the estate of such decedent, or to any other person or legal entity legally authorized to receive money due said decedent.
(k) Reversion of Unclaimed Contributions to the Retirement Fund. The right to the payments set forth in this section is a vested property right of the person(s) entitled to such payment; provided, however, that should the person(s) entitled thereto fail to claim this benefit within ten (10) years from the date of such death, the funds shall revert to the Retirement Fund, unless and until, the Board of Administration receives a valid belated claim for payment, determined at the sole discretion of the Board of Administration. Any death benefit payable shall be subject to mandatory minimum distribution as required by the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the funds that are required to be distributed shall revert to the Retirement Fund if the person(s) entitled to the funds refuses to cooperate in electing to be paid such funds or cannot be located and the Retirement System has followed Internal Revenue Service procedures to locate such person(s).
(l) Survivor Benefit Purchase Program for Public Safety Officer Retired Members. A Public Safety Officer Retired Member may elect, after retirement, to provide a survivor benefit to a spouse or Domestic Partner subject to the following:
(1) Member to Pay Full Cost. The Public Safety Officer Retired Member shall pay the full actuarially determined cost of the survivor benefit through an actuarial reduction in their monthly retirement benefit.
(2) Vesting Requirement. The right to benefits under this program shall not vest until the Public Safety Retired Member survives at least one (1) year from the date the Public Safety Officer Retired Member makes an election to provide this benefit, unless the Board shall determine by a preponderance of the evidence that the Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s death was accidental.
If the right to benefits has not vested before the date of the Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s death and the accidental death exception does not apply, then no survivor benefit shall be provided by the Retirement System and the amount by which the Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s monthly retirement benefits were reduced after making this election shall be paid as a lump sum to the spouse or Domestic Partner, provided that if the spouse or Domestic Partner has predeceased the Member, the lump sum shall be paid to the Member’s estate.
(3) Only One Election Allowed. In order to minimize administrative costs to the Retirement System, a Public Safety Officer Retired Member may exercise this election only once. The Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s election shall not apply to any interest in their pension benefit awarded by the court to another person, but only to the interest retained by the Public Safety Officer Retired Member. The election may be made only to provide a benefit for a spouse or Domestic Partner who is not already qualified to receive a benefit from the Retirement System upon the Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s death. For purposes of this section, a domestic partnership must either be filed with the Retirement System or the California Secretary of State or be recognized as a valid domestic partnership in this state based upon the provisions of Section 299.2 of the Family Code or any successor provisions.
(4) Irrevocable Election. Once an election is made, it is irrevocable. The Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s monthly retirement benefits will be permanently reduced and will not increase if the spouse or Domestic Partner predeceases the Public Safety Officer Retired Member or if their marriage or domestic partnership is otherwise terminated.
(5) Survivor Benefit. The benefit authorized by this Section consists of a percentage continuation of the Public Safety Officer Retired Member’s monthly retirement benefit payable to the surviving spouse or Domestic Partner of the Member for the survivor’s lifetime. In order to be eligible to receive the survivor benefit provided by this Section, the survivor must be either the spouse or Domestic Partner of the Member at the time the Member elected to provide this benefit and at the time of the Member’s death. A survivor receiving a benefit under this section shall not be eligible for a health subsidy from the Retirement System. The payment of a survivor benefit provided by this section does not impact the payment of other survivor benefits from the Retirement System.
(6) Payment Options. The Public Safety Officer Retired Member shall select the percentage of continuance that they desire to fund from the options provided by the Retirement System. These options shall be established by Board rule and shall provide a reasonable range of choices, subject to any limitations imposed by federal law. If no continuance is payable based on the provisions of Subdivision (2), then the amount paid by the Public Safety Officer Retired Member as a reduction in their monthly retirement benefit shall be refunded as provided therein.
(7) Right to Review, Modify and Terminate the Program. The City’s right to review the program, as provided below, may not be exercised more often than every five (5) years.
To initiate a review, the City Administrative Officer (CAO) shall request the Retirement System to provide data relevant to the program’s costs. If the CAO so requests after reviewing the data provided, an actuarial report shall be obtained. As part of this review, the City Council shall have the authority, by ordinance, to enact modifications to the program necessary to maintain cost neutrality or to terminate the program if the program cannot be modified to maintain cost neutrality.
If the program is modified, the modifications shall not apply to Public Safety Officer Retired Members who elected this benefit before the effective date of the modifications. If the program is terminated, the Retirement System shall continue to administer the program for all Public Safety Officer Retired Members who elected benefits under the program prior to the termination date, but shall not allow Public Safety Officer Retired Members to elect benefits under the program after the termination date.
(8) Board’s Authority to Adopt Rules and Administer the Program. The Board shall administer this program and adopt any necessary rules, including the authority to establish any mortality assumptions required for the administration of the program.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 187,923, Eff. 7-9-23.