Missouri Revised Statutes § 86.280 - Death benefit — dependents' allowances

86.280. Death benefit — dependents' allowances. — Upon the receipt of proper proofs of the death of a member in service and provided no other benefits are payable under the retirement system, there shall be paid the following benefits: (1) Effective October 1, 1999, a pension to the surviving spouse until the surviving spouse dies of forty percent of the deceased member's average final compensation plus fifteen percent of such compensation to, or for the benefit of, each unmarried dependent child of the deceased member, who is either under the age of eighteen, or who, regardless of age, is totally and permanently mentally or physically disabled and incapacitated from engaging in gainful occupation sufficient to support himself or herself; (2) Any surviving spouse or unmarried dependent child receiving benefits pursuant to the provisions of this section immediately prior to October 1, 1999, shall, upon application to the board of trustees, be made, constituted, appointed and employed by the board of trustees as a special consultant on the problems of retirement, aging and other matters while the surviving spouse or unmarried dependent child is receiving such benefits, and upon request of the board of trustees shall give opinions in writing or orally in response to such requests as may be required. Beginning October 1, 1999, for such services as may be required, the surviving spouse shall receive additional monthly compensation in an amount equal to fifteen percent of the deceased member's average final compensation, and there shall be payable an additional monthly compensation of one hundred dollars or five percent of the member's average final compensation, whichever is greater, for each unmarried dependent child of the member. The additional monthly compensation payable to a surviving spouse pursuant to this subdivision shall be adjusted for any cost-of-living increases that apply, pursuant to subdivision (8) of this section, to the benefit the surviving spouse was receiving prior to October 1, 1999; (3) If no surviving spouse benefits are payable pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of this section, such total pension as would have been paid pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of this section had there been a surviving spouse shall be divided among the unmarried dependent children under age eighteen and such unmarried dependent children, regardless of age, who are totally and permanently mentally or physically disabled and incapacitated from engaging in a gainful occupation sufficient to support themselves. The benefit shall be divided equally among the eligible dependent children, and the share of a child who is no longer eligible shall be divided equally among the remaining eligible dependent children; provided that not more than one-half of the surviving spouse's benefit shall be paid for one child; (4) If there is no surviving spouse or dependent children, the return of accumulated contributions to the designated beneficiary as set forth in section 86.293; (5) No benefits pursuant to this section shall be paid to a child over eighteen years of age who is totally and permanently disabled if such child is a patient or resident of a public-supported institution, nor shall such benefits be paid unless such disability occurred prior to such child reaching the age of eighteen; (6) Wherever any dependent child designated by the board of trustees to receive benefits pursuant to this section is in the care of the surviving spouse of the deceased member, such benefits may be paid to such surviving spouse for the child; (7) Any benefit payable to, or for the benefit of, a child or children under the age of eighteen years pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (3) of this section shall continue to be paid beyond the age of eighteen years through the age of twenty-two years if the child is a full-time student at a regularly accredited college, business school, nursing school, school for technical or vocational training, or university, but such extended benefit shall cease whenever the child ceases to be a student. A college or university shall be deemed to be regularly accredited which maintains membership in good standing in a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by any state college or university; (8) The benefits payable pursuant to this section to the surviving spouse of a member who died in service after attaining the age of fifty-five or completing twenty years of creditable service shall be increased in the same percentages and pursuant to the same method as is provided in section 86.253 for adjustments in the service retirement allowance of a retired member; (9) In the event a surviving spouse receiving death benefits as a result of a prior marriage to a deceased member subsequently remarries another member who also predeceases the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall receive a single death benefit pension, which, upon application to the board of trustees, shall be computed under subdivision (1) of this section using the highest of the average final compensations of the deceased members to which the surviving spouse was previously married; (10) Beginning on August 28, 2023, any surviving spouse that had, prior to August 28, 2023, become ineligible for benefits under subdivisions (1) and (2) of this section as a result of remarrying shall, upon application to the board of trustees, have reinstated all future benefits under subdivisions (1) and (2) of this section. Any such reinstatement shall be as to future benefits only and shall not be retroactive prior to August 28, 2023. (L. 1957 p. 256 § 25, A.L. 1961 p. 207, A.L. 1963 p. 137, A.L. 1969 p. 154, A.L. 1995 H.B. 260, et al., A.L. 1999 S.B. 308 & 314, A.L. 2000 H.B. 1808, A.L. 2005 S.B. 401, A.L. 2023 S.B. 20 merged with S.B. 75)