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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 8.585-2, 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 of three-fourths of the retirement allowance as it was at his death, as the case may be, shall be continued throughout life or until marriage, 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 8.585-2 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 8.585-10, an allowance in an amount equal to the retirement allowance to which the member would have been entitled pursuant to Section 8.585-3 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 dies or remarries 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 Section 8.585-4, "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 8.585-8, 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. "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 8.585 are subject, shall mean completion of 25 years of service and attainment of age 50, said service to be computed under Section 8.585-10.
Every retirement or death allowance payable to or on account of any member under Section 5.585 shall be increased or decreased as of July 1, 1990, and thereafter on the effective date of any legislation fixing the rates of compensation for firefighters under section 8.405 of this Charter by an amount equal to 50 percent of any increase or decrease, respectively, in the rate of remuneration attached to the rank and position upon which such retirement or death allowance was based; provided, however, that no allowance shall be reduced below the amount being received by a member or his beneficiary on June 30, 1976, or on the date such member or beneficiary began to receive the allowance, whichever is later.
That portion of any allowance payable because of the death or retirement of any member of the fire department which is provided by contributions of the City and County, shall be reduced in the manner fixed by the Board of Supervisors, by the amount of any benefits other than medical benefits, payable by the City and County to or on account of such person, under any workers' compensation law or any other general law and because of the injury or illness resulting in said death or retirement. Such portion which is paid because of death or retirement which resulted from injury received in or illness caused by performance of duty, shall be considered as in lieu of all benefits, other than medical benefits, payable to or on account of such person under such law and shall be in satisfaction and discharge of the obligation of the City and County to pay such benefits.
If a member of the fire department shall die, before retirement from causes other than an injury received in or illness caused by the performance of duty, or regardless of cause, if no allowance shall be payable under Section 8.585-4 or 8.585-5 preceding, a death benefit shall be paid to his estate or designated beneficiary, the amount of which and the conditions for the payment of which shall be determined in the manner prescribed by the Board of Supervisors for the death benefit of other members of the Retirement System. Upon the death of a member after retirement and regardless of the cause of death, a death benefit shall be paid to his estate or designated beneficiary the amount of which and the conditions for the payment of which shall be determined in the manner prescribed by the Board of Supervisors for the death benefit of other members of the Retirement System.
Should any member of the fire department cease to be employed as such a member, through any cause other than death or retirement or transfer to another office or department, all of his or her contributions, with interest credited thereon, shall be refunded to him or her subject to the conditions prescribed by the Board of Supervisors to govern similar terminations of employment of other members of the Retirement System. If he or she shall again become a member of the department, he or she shall redeposit in the retirement fund, the amount refunded to him or her. Should a member of the fire department become an employee of any other office or department, his or her accumulated contribution account shall be adjusted by payments to or from him or her as the case may be to make the accumulated contributions credited to him or her at the time of change, equal to the amount which would have been credited to him or her if he or she had been employed in said other office or department at the rate of compensation received by him or her in the fire department and he or she shall receive credit for service for which said contributions were made, according to the Charter section under which his or her membership in the Retirement System continues.
The following time shall be included in the computation of the service to be credited to a member of the Fire Department for the purposes of determining whether such member qualified for retirement and calculating benefits, excluding, however, any time, the contributions for which were withdrawn by said member upon termination of his service while he was a member under any other Charter section, and not redeposited upon re-entry into service:
(a) Time during and for which said member is entitled to receive compensation because of services as a member of the fire or police department.
(b) Time during which said member is entitled to receive compensation while a member of the Retirement System, because of service rendered in other offices and departments prior to July 1, 1949, provided that accumulated contributions on account of such service previously refunded, are redeposited, with interest from date of refund to date of redeposit, at times and in the manner fixed by the retirement board; and solely for purpose of determining qualification for retirement under Section 8.585-3 for disability not resulting from injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty, time during which said member serves, after July 1, 1949, and receives compensation because of services rendered in other offices and departments.
(c) Time during which said member is absent from a status included in Subsections (a) and (b) next preceding, by reason of service in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, or by reason of any other service included in Section 8.520 of the Charter, during any war in which the United States was or shall be engaged or during other national emergency, and for which said member contributed or contributes to the Retirement System or for which the City and County contributed or contributes on his account.
(d) Time during which said member was on Unpaid Parental Leave pursuant to Charter Section A8.523, and for which said member has purchased service credit in the Retirement System.
(Amended by Proposition G, 11/4/2008)
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