If a miscellaneous safety member shall die before or after retirement by reason of an injury received in, or illness caused by the performance of his or her duty, a death allowance, in lieu of any allowance, payable under any other section of the Charter or by ordinance, on account of death resulting from injury received in or illness caused by the performance of duty, shall be paid, beginning on the date next following the date of death, to his or her surviving spouse throughout his or her life or until his or her remarriage. If the member, at the time of death, was qualified for service retirement, but he or she had not retired, the allowance payable shall be equal to the retirement allowance which the member would have received if he or she had been retired for service on the date of death, but such allowance shall not be less than 50 percent of the final compensation earnable by said member immediately preceding death. If death occurs prior to qualification for service retirement, the allowance payable shall be equal to the compensation of said member at the date of death, until the date upon which said member would have completed at least twenty-five (25) years of service in the aggregate and attained the age of fifty (50) years, had he or she lived and rendered service without interruption in the position held by him or her at death, and after said date the allowance payable shall be equal to the retirement allowance said member would have received if retired for service on said date, based on the final compensation he or she would have received prior to said date, had he or she lived and rendered service as assumed, but such allowance shall not be less than 50 percent of such final compensation.
If he or she had retired prior to death, the allowance payable shall be equal to one-half of his or her retirement allowance of the member as it was prior to optional modification and prior to reduction as provided in Subsection (a) of Section A8.514 of this Charter, but exclusive of the part of such allowance which was provided by additional contributions, except that if he or she was a member under Section A8.610 and if death occurred prior to qualification for the service retirement allowance, the allowance continued shall be adjusted upon the date at which said member would have completed at least twenty-five (25) years of service in the aggregate and attained the age of fifty (50) years, in the same manner as it would have been adjusted had the member not died. If such retired person leaves no such surviving spouse, or if such surviving spouse should die or remarry before every child of such deceased retired person attains the age of 18 years, the allowance which such surviving spouse would have received had he or she lived and not remarried shall be paid to retired person's 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. Upon the death of a member after retirement and regardless of the cause of death, a death benefit shall be paid to his or her estate or designated beneficiary in the manner and subject to the conditions prescribed by the Board of Supervisors for the payment of a similar death benefit upon the death of other retired members.
No allowance, however, shall be paid under this section to a surviving spouse following the death of a member unless he or she was married to the member prior to the date of injury or onset of the illness which results in death, or unless such surviving spouse was married to said member at least one year prior to his or her retirement. If there is no surviving spouse entitled to an allowance hereunder, or if he or she dies or remarries before every child of such deceased member attains the age of 18 years, then the allowance which the surviving spouse would have received had he or she lived and not remarried shall be paid to his or her child or children under said age, collectively, 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 spouse and no children under the age of 18 years, but leave a child or children, regardless of age, dependent upon him or her for support because partially or totally disabled and unable to earn a livelihood or a parent or parents dependent upon him or her for support, the child or children and the parents so dependent shall collectively receive a monthly allowance equal to that which a surviving spouse otherwise would have received, during such dependency.
(Added by Proposition C, Approved 11/8/2011)