2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHTEEN - Education (§§ 1 — 3510-3520) › PART I - Public Schools (§§ 1 — 596d) › Chapter 18C - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Teacher’s Retirement System Act (§§ 393 — 399d) › Subchapter IV - Defined Benefit Program for System Participants as of July 31, 2014 (§§ 396 — 396i) › § 396h - Payments after the death of a pensioner

(a) When a pensioner dies, his/her beneficiaries shall receive the full pension for the month in which such pensioner died. Moreover, an additional payment equal to a fifteen-day pay period shall be made on the month following the death of the pensioner. However, if no beneficiaries where designated, his/her legal or forced heirs or beneficiaries shall receive the remaining balance of the contributions made by the deceased pensioner; provided, that there are no designated beneficiaries entitled to receive a pension, after deducting paid contributions, but in no case shall they receive less than a one thousand dollars ($1,000) lump sum payment. This benefit shall not apply to the beneficiaries or legal or forced heirs of the deceased pensioner who enrolled in the System after August 1, 2014.
(b) If, upon the death of such pensioner, his/her children are enrolled in a regular program at a public or private school or post-secondary institution, regardless of the application of the provisions related to children with disabilities or children younger than six (6) years, they shall continue receiving half of the pension distributed equally among such children. Said children shall cease to receive the pension when they reach the age of twenty-two (22) or when they cease to be enrolled full-time in an educational institution, the earlier of the two. The amount payable to any child who ceased to receive the pension for the above reasons shall be evenly distributed among the other children. In the event that there are children with disabilities, they shall continue receiving the portion corresponding to the first distribution for the duration of the disability. Upon reaching the age of six (6), the provisions related to education shall apply to every child who does not have a disability. The application for an annuity for those children shall be filed by the surviving parent attesting to the fact that he/she holds legal custody, or by a legal guardian appointed by a court of justice, or an administrative guardian appointed by the agency, and the annuity payment for such minors shall be made in the name of the surviving parent or guardian.
(c) In the case of widows or widowers, they shall receive half of the pension.
(d) The disability of children to which this section refers must have existed before they are of legal age. The nature of the disability would have never allowed the child to lead an independent life outside of the deceased pensioner’s family unit or would have prevented the child from leading a life totally independent from his/her parents, continuously depending on the deceased pensioner to satisfy at least fifty percent (50%) of his/her needs. If the child with disabilities is receiving his/her own disability pension or income, such child shall only be entitled to receive the portion provided in subsection (a) of this section, but the provisions on education shall not apply.
(e) The System shall have the authority to request, investigate, examine, and evaluate the evidence presented regarding the disability, age, and education requirements of the applicants for the benefit herein established. It shall also have legal authority to verify periodically that the requirements established herein are met. Unjustified refusal or failure by the applicants or beneficiaries to furnish the information requested by the System, or the lack of cooperation with the investigations conducted to such effects shall entail the loss of such benefit.
(f) A beneficiary’s pension shall automatically cease on the payroll payment date following his/her death. Any payment made after such date shall be returned to the Fund.
(g) When a participant dies, death benefits shall be paid to any person who was designated in writing through the form adopted by the System therefor. In order for the designation of beneficiaries to be valid, it shall be filed with the System while the participant is alive.
(h) Beneficiaries who, as of July 31, 2014, are receiving a death benefit of a pensioner shall continue to receive such benefit without any alteration.
(i) Death benefits for participants who retire as of August 1, 2014 shall be determined as established in §§ 397-397k of this title.
History —Dec. 24, 2013, No. 160, § 4.8.