2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 06 - Local Government, Public Employees, Elections › Chapter 238A - Oregon Public Service Retirement Plan › Section 238A.410 - Death benefits; rules.

(1)(a) If a member of the individual account program dies before retirement, the amounts in the member’s employee account, rollover account and employer account, to the extent the member is vested in those accounts under ORS 238A.320, shall be paid in a lump sum to the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the member for the purposes of this section.
(b) If a member of the individual account program dies before retirement, the amounts in the employee pension stability account established for the member under ORS 238A.353 shall be applied by the Public Employees Retirement Board to pay the costs of any benefit payable under ORS 238.395 or 238A.230 that accrues on or after July 1, 2020. If the amounts in the employee pension stability account exceed the costs of the benefit payable under ORS 238.395 or 238A.230 that accrues on or after July 1, 2020, the excess amounts shall be paid in a lump sum to the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the member for the purposes of this section.
(2) If a member of the individual account program is married at the time of death, or there exists at the time of death any other person who is constitutionally required to be treated in the same manner as a spouse for the purpose of retirement benefits, the spouse or other person shall be the beneficiary for purposes of the death benefit payable under this section unless the spouse or other person consents to the designation of a different beneficiary or beneficiaries before the designation has been made and the consent has not been revoked by the spouse or other person as of the time of the member’s death. Consent and revocation of consent must be in writing, acknowledged by a notary public, and submitted to the Public Employees Retirement Board in accordance with rules adopted by the board. If the member’s spouse is designated as the member’s beneficiary and the marriage of the member and spouse is subsequently dissolved, the former spouse shall be treated as predeceasing the member for purposes of this section, unless the member expressly designates the former spouse as beneficiary after the effective date of the dissolution or the former spouse is required to be designated as a beneficiary under the provisions of ORS 238.465.
(3) For purposes of this section and ORS 238A.400 (3), if a member fails to designate a beneficiary, or if the person or persons designated do not survive the member, the death benefit provided for in this section shall be paid to the following person or persons, in the following order of priority:
(a) The member’s surviving spouse or other person who is constitutionally required to be treated in the same manner as a spouse;
(b) The member’s surviving children, in equal shares; or
(c) The member’s estate.
(4) If a small estate affidavit has been filed under ORS 114.505 to 114.560, and the death benefit does not exceed the maximum amount of personal property for which a small estate affidavit may be filed under ORS 114.505 to 114.560, the board shall pay the death benefit to the person who filed the affidavit, if the member’s estate is the designated beneficiary or is receiving the payment under subsection (3) of this section.
(5) The entire amount of a deceased member’s vested accounts must be distributed by December 31 of the fifth calendar year after the year in which the member died. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, distributions of death benefits under the individual account program must comply with the minimum distribution requirements of 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9) and the regulations implementing that section, as in effect on January 1, 2023. The Public Employees Retirement Board shall adopt rules implementing those minimum distribution requirements. [2003 c.733 §42; 2009 c.5 §8; 2009 c.909 §8; 2010 c.82 §8; 2011 c.7 §8; 2012 c.31 §8; 2013 c.377 §8; 2014 c.52 §8; 2015 c.442 §8; 2016 c.33 §9; 2017 c.527 §9; 2018 c.101 §9; 2019 c.319 §9; 2019 c.355 §9; 2021 456 §10; 2022 c.83 §10; 2023 c.171 §10; 2023 c.404 §12]