New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL › Chapter 2 - PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM › Subchapter 3 - INSURANCE AND DEATH BENEFITS › Section 17:2-3.2 - Computation of insurance benefits

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) A member's
				insurance death benefit shall be based upon the base salary that is
				attributable to the 12 months or 26 biweekly pay periods immediately preceding
				the member's death upon which contributions to the annuity savings fund were
				made.
(b) For the purpose of
				calculating the benefit payable in (a) above, the salary, in a month or
				biweekly pay period in which no salary was paid, shall be counted as
				zero.
(c) Full salary credit will
				be given for the monthly or biweekly pay period in which a member dies, if the
				member was paid salary to date of death and the salary paid was sufficient to
				permit a full normal monthly or biweekly pension and insurance contribution
				deduction, provided such deduction was made by the employer.
(d) If a member dies during the first year
				following the member's date of enrollment, or if the member has contributed
				pension contributions for less than a year although the member's enrollment has
				been in effect for more than a year, the contributory insurance benefit shall
				be 1 1/2 times the member's annual base salary on which the member contributed
				or would have contributed immediately prior to death. The noncontributory
				insurance benefit shall be 1 1/2 times the actual base salary upon which
				contributions to the annuity savings fund were due from the date of enrollment
				to the date of death.
(e) Where
				post-death audits establish that the insurance benefits were underpaid, an
				additional check shall be sent to the beneficiary for the value of the
				underpayment. Should any change or error in the records result in any member
				receiving from the pension fund more than he or she would have been entitled to
				receive had the records been correct, the Board of Trustees shall correct such
				error, as far as practicable, and shall adjust the payments payable to the
				member's designated beneficiary or estate pursuant to
				N.J.A.C.
				17:1-2.10.
(f) Refunds of a deceased member's pension
				contributions will be made to the member's designated beneficiary or the
				employer after written confirmation is received from the employer setting forth
				the reason for the refund of pension contributions to either the beneficiary or
				to the employer.
(g) Members who
				prove their insurability for the group life insurance benefits shall have their
				insurance benefit calculated on the basis of salary they received or salary
				upon which pension contributions were based during their last year (10 and 12
				months) of service prior to death, regardless of their effective date of
				insurance coverage.
(h) In
				computing the salary upon which pension contributions were based during a
				member's last year of service, in the case of a 12-month employee reported 12
				months a year on a biweekly basis, a total of 26 biweekly pays will be used,
				including any retroactive salary payments made within the prescribed period.
				The total salary will be adjusted by multiplying the total by the factors
				supplied by the actuary; such adjustment will compensate for biweekly payroll
				schedules.
(i) In computing (h)
				above in the case of employees reported on a 10-month basis, the total biweekly
				pays will include those pay periods in the third quarter of each year in which
				a member does not receive salary. The adjustment as specified in (h) shall not
				be made.
(j) If a member was
				reported on a biweekly basis or any combination of 10 and 12-month contract
				years, the last year's salary prior to death shall be determined on a
				proportional basis.