Upon the death of a member of the fire department resulting from any cause, other than an injury received in or illness caused by performance of duty:
(a) if his death occurred after qualification for service retirement, under Section 8.570, or after retirement for service or because of disability which resulted from any cause other than an injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty, three-fourths of his retirement allowance to which the member would have been entitled if he had retired for service at the time of death or three-fourths of the retirement allowance as it was at his death, as the case may be, shall be continued throughout life or until remarriage, to his surviving wife; or
(b) if his death occurred after the completion of at least 25 years of service in the aggregate but prior to the attainment of the age of 50 years, three-fourths of the retirement allowance to which he would have been entitled under Section 8.570 if he had attained the age of 50 years on the date of his death shall be continued throughout life or until remarriage to his surviving wife; or
(c) if his death occurred after retirement for disability by reason of injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty, his retirement allowance as it was at his death shall be continued throughout life or until remarriage, to his surviving wife, except that, if death occurred prior to qualification for service retirement allowance, the allowance continued shall be adjusted upon the date of which said member would have qualified for service retirement, in the same manner as it would have been adjusted had the member not died; or
(d) if his death occurred after completion of at least 10 years of service in the aggregate, computed as provided in Section 8.578, an allowance in an amount equal to the retirement allowance to which the member would have been entitled pursuant to Section 8.571 if he had retired on the date of death because of incapacity for performance of duty resulting from a cause other than bodily injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty shall be paid throughout life or until remarriage to his surviving wife. If there be no surviving wife entitled to an allowance hereunder, or if she die or remarry before every child of such deceased member attains the age of 18 years, then the allowance which the surviving wife would have received had she lived and not remarried shall be paid to his 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 attaining the age of 18 years. Should said member leave no surviving wife and no children under age of 18 years, but leave a child or children, regardless of age, dependent upon him for support because partially or totally disabled and unable to earn a livelihood or a parent or parents dependent upon him for support, the child or children and the parents so dependent shall collectively receive a monthly allowance equal to that which a surviving wife otherwise would have received, during such dependency. No allowance, however, shall be paid under this section to a surviving wife unless she was married to the member prior to the date of the injury or onset of the illness which results in death if he had not retired, or unless she was married to the member at least one year prior to his death if he had retired.
As used in this section and in Section 8.572, "surviving wife" shall mean and include a surviving spouse, and shall also mean and include a spouse who has remarried since the death of the member but whose remarriage has been terminated by death, divorce or annulment within five years after the date of such remarriage and who has not thereafter again remarried.
The surviving wife, in the event of death of the member after qualification for but before service retirement, may elect before the first payment of the allowance, to receive the benefit provided in Section 8.576, in lieu of the allowance which otherwise would be continued to her under this section. If there be no surviving wife, the guardian of the eligible child or children may make such election, and if there be no such children, the dependent parent or parents may make such election. Persons heretofore retired under Charter Section 8.567, as members of the fire department at the time of retirement, shall be subject to the provisions of this section. "Qualified for service retirement," "qualification for service retirement" or "qualified as to age and service for retirement," as used in this section and other sections to which persons who are members under Section 8.568 are subject, shall mean completion of 25 years of service and attainment of age 50, said service to be computed under Section 8.578.
The amendments of this Section 8.573 contained in the proposition therefor submitted to the electorate on November 7, 1972, are hereby declared to be retroactive and shall be applicable to members who died after October 1, 1970.