Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 24 - RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS (§§ 24-1-101 — 24-12-204) › Chapter 6 - STATE POLICE RETIREMENT (§§ 24-6-101 — 24-6-508) › Subchapter 4 - TIER TWO BENEFIT PLAN (§§ 24-6-401 — 24-6-416) › Section 24-6-411 - Benefit provisions - Death before retirement

(a)
If an active member with five (5) or more years of actual service, including service for the year immediately preceding his or her death, dies in employer service before retirement, the applicable benefit provided in this section shall be allowed upon the survivor's written application filed with the State Police Retirement System.
(b)
(1)
(A)
If a member dies and is not being paid on that date by his or her employer due solely to illness incurred before he or she left the payroll and the death occurs within one (1) year of the last payroll, the member shall be considered, for purposes of this section, to have died as an active member if all other necessary provisions of this section are met.
(B)
To compute benefits provided by this section, the deceased member's salary at the time of death shall be his or her salary for the year immediately preceding the cessation of his or her pay.
(2)
(A)
If an active member with five (5) or more years of actual service does not have credited service for the year immediately preceding death due to illness which eventually leads to his or her death or due to his or her employer's removing the member from the payroll because of temporary economic conditions of the employer or weather conditions, the active member shall be considered, only for eligibility purposes of the section, to have credited service for the year preceding death.
(B)
Benefits shall be paid according to the salary earned during the year preceding death.
(c)
(1)
The deceased member's surviving spouse who was married to the member for at least six (6) months immediately preceding the member's death shall receive an annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the member had:
(A)
Retired on the date of his or her death with entitlement to an annuity provided for in §
24-6-406
;
(B)
Elected the Option B75 survivor annuity provided for in §
24-6-408
; and
(C)
Designated his or her spouse as joint beneficiary.
(2)
(A)
If the deceased member has satisfied the age and service requirement provided for in §
24-6-404
or had acquired twenty (20) years' actual service, then the spousal annuity shall be payable for life.
(B)
(i)
If the member had acquired fifteen (15) years' actual service, but had not attained sixty-five (65) years of age, the spousal annuity shall commence at the later of either fifty (50) years of age or his or her age at his or her death and shall be payable until the earlier of his or her remarriage or death.
(ii)
Otherwise, the spousal annuity shall commence at the later of either sixty-two (62) years of age or his or her age at his or her death and shall be payable until the earlier of either his or her remarriage or death.
(3)
The spousal annuity shall not be less than ten percent (10%) of the deceased member's covered compensation at the time of death.
(4)
For as long as the surviving spouse has in his or her care any of the deceased member's dependent children who receive a benefit provided for in this section, there shall be payable to him or her a spousal annuity which shall not be less than ten percent (10%) of the deceased member's compensation at the time of death.
(d)
(1)
The deceased member's dependent child or dependent children shall each receive an annuity of the greater of either:
(A)
Ten percent (10%) of the member's covered compensation at the time of death; or
(B)
An equal share of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) monthly.
(2)
If there are three (3) or more dependent children, each dependent child shall receive as an annuity an equal share of the greater of:
(A)
Either twenty-five percent (25%) of the member's covered compensation; or
(B)
One hundred fifty dollars ($150) monthly.
(3)
(A)
A child is considered a dependent child as used in subdivision (d)(1) of this section and for purposes of receiving a survivor's annuity until the child's death, marriage, or attainment of eighteen (18) years of age, whichever occurs first.
(B)
(i)
However, the age-eighteen maximum shall be extended as long as the child continues uninterruptedly being a full-time student at an accredited secondary school, college, or university but in no event beyond his or her attainment of twenty-three (23) years of age.
(ii)
The age-eighteen maximum shall be extended for any child who has been deemed physically or mentally incompetent by an Arkansas court of competent jurisdiction or by the Board of Trustees of the State Police Retirement System for as long as the incompetency exists.
(4)
Once a child ceases to be a dependent child, his or her annuity shall terminate, and there shall be a redetermination of the amounts payable to any remaining dependent children.
(e)
(1)
If at the time of the member's death there is neither a spouse nor a dependent child, each dependent parent shall receive an allowance of the greater of either ten percent (10%) of the deceased member's covered compensation or an equal share of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) monthly.
(2)
A dependent parent eligible for a survivor benefit under this section shall have been claimed as dependent upon the deceased member's or former member's federal tax return for not less than one (1) year immediately preceding the member's death.
(f)
(1)
If no annuity can become payable to a dependent child due to the member's death, the surviving spouse or dependent parents may elect to receive a refund of the member's or former member's accumulated contributions as provided in §
24-6-222
in lieu of any benefits which could become payable under this plan if the:
(A)
Surviving spouse or dependent parents are the only persons who will be eligible for monthly benefits; and
(B)
Surviving spouse or dependent parents are also the designated beneficiaries of the deceased member.
(2)
The option to choose a refund of the deceased member's contribution shall also be afforded to any spouse or dependent parent qualified under this section whose eligibility for the benefit occurred before the passage of this chapter and who could not exercise that option.
(3)
A refund of the deceased member's accumulated contributions made to the surviving spouse or dependent parents under this subsection precludes any right or future claim to monthly retirement benefits due to the death of the member.
(g)
(1)
In the event all the annuities provided for in this section payable on account of the member's death terminate before there has been paid an aggregate amount equal to his or her accumulated contributions standing to his or her credit in the member's deposit account at the time of his or her death, the difference between the accumulated contributions and the aggregate amount of annuity payments shall be paid to such person as he or she shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the system.
(2)
If there is no designated person surviving a termination, the difference shall be paid to the member's estate.
(h)
(1)
A surviving spouse of a deceased member whose benefits were terminated due to remarriage under the provisions of this section shall be entitled to a reinstatement of benefits upon the death of any subsequent spouse.
(2)
The reinstated benefits shall cease immediately upon the subsequent remarriage or death of the surviving spouse of the deceased member.
(i)
(1)
If the member is killed while in the official line of duty and the surviving spouse is eligible for a deferred benefit under this section, the surviving spouse may elect to receive a reduced benefit beginning immediately.
(2)
The reduction of the benefit otherwise defined in this section shall be:
(A)
Five-tenths of one percent (0.5%) per month for each of the first sixty (60) months that the benefit begins before it would have otherwise begun; plus
(B)
Twenty-five hundredths of one percent (0.25%) per month for each month more than sixty (60) months that the benefit begins before it would have otherwise begun.
(3)
However, the total reduction under this subsection shall not be more than fifty percent (50%).
(4)
Those who otherwise would have been eligible for this benefit on or after July 1, 2002, may also elect this reduced benefit prospectively.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 250,§ 3, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 511,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2019, applicable retroactively to 1/1/2017.
Acts 1997, No. 1071, § 1; 1999, No. 387, § 7; 2001, No. 151, § 67; 2003, No. 1735, § 1.