The state must pay survivor benefits to an eligible surviving spouse, then surviving children, then surviving parents. Eligible survivors are entitled to a lump-sum payment, and the amount is adjusted annually by rule.
Sec. 615.022. PAYMENT TO SURVIVORS. (a) If there is an eligible surviving spouse, the state shall pay the benefits described by Subsection (d) to the eligible surviving spouse. (b) If there is no eligible surviving spouse, the state shall pay the benefits described by Subsection (d) in equal shares to surviving children. (c) If there is no eligible surviving spouse or child, the state shall pay the benefits described by Subsection (d) in equal shares to surviving parents. (d) An eligible survivor, or eligible survivors in equal shares, are entitled to receive a lump sum payment in the amount provided by this subsection. The lump sum payment amount payable to an eligible survivor during the 12 months beginning September 1, 2019, is $500,000. Effective September 1 of each following year, the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas by rule shall adjust the amount of the lump sum payment required under this subsection by an amount equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the preceding year. The amount paid to an eligible survivor or survivors as adjusted under this subsection is calculated based on the date of the decedent's death and not on the date the eligible survivor or survivors file a claim under this chapter. Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 5.12(c), eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1438, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 718 (H.B. 1278), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1181 (H.B. 3635), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019.