459-040-0060 Judge Member Death Before Retirement If a judge member dies before retiring, benefits shall be distributed and calculated as follows: (1) For a surviving spouse: (a) If the judge member has six or more years of service as a judge and the judge member is not an inactive judge member performing pro tem service under the provisions of ORS 238.545(4), the surviving spouse shall receive a life pension equal to two-thirds of the retirement allowance the judge member would have received under Plan A, had the judge member retired on the date of death. (b) If the judge member has six or more years of service as a judge and the judge member is an inactive judge member performing pro tem service under the provisions of ORS 238.545(4) at the time of death, the surviving spouse shall receive a life pension equal to two-thirds of the service retirement allowance the judge member would have received under Plan B, had the judge member retired on the date of death. (c) If the judge member has less than six years of service as a judge, the surviving spouse shall receive a lump sum payment equal to the amount credited to the judge member account in the Fund on the first of the month following the date of death. (d) If a surviving spouse receiving a life pension under this section dies and the total amount of pension payments received by the surviving spouse is less than the amount that had been credited to the deceased judge member’s account as of the date of death of the judge member, the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries of the judge member shall receive a lump sum payment equal to the remainder. (2) For purposes of computing a surviving spouse’s life pension in section (1) of this rule, a judge member who dies before age 60 is deemed to have died at age 60. (3) If the judge member has six or more years of service as a judge and the judge member has no surviving spouse, the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries shall receive a lump sum payment equal to the amount credited to the judge member account in the Fund on the first of the month following the date of death. (4) If the judge member has no surviving spouse and designated a beneficiary or beneficiaries at death, a lump sum payment equal to the amount credited to the judge member’s account on the date of death shall be paid to the judge member’s beneficiary or beneficiaries. (5) If the judge member has no surviving spouse and no designated beneficiary or beneficiaries at death, a lump sum payment equal to the amount credited to the judge member’s account on the date of death shall be paid to the judge member’s estate. (6) If the judge member, under the provisions of ORS 238.565(8), elects to have a portion of the pension payable to a surviving spouse paid to a former spouse, the designated portion shall be paid to the former spouse as a life pension. The portion of the pension not paid to the former spouse shall be paid to the surviving spouse, if any. (a) The life of the first former spouse designated to receive a pension under ORS 238.565(8) will be the measuring life of the pensions payable to the surviving spouse and to any other former spouse. (b) Upon the death of the first designated former spouse, the pensions payable to the surviving spouse and to any other former spouse shall cease. (c) If, at the death of the first designated former spouse, the total amount of the payments received by the surviving spouse and former spouse(s) is less than the amount that had been credited to the deceased judge member’s account as of the date of the judge member’s death, the judge member’s designated beneficiary or beneficiaries shall receive a lump sum payment equal to the remainder. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 238.650 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 238.565 History: PERS 12-2013, f. & cert. ef. 11-22-13 PERS 11-2007, f. & cert. ef. 7-26-07