Arizona § 38-762 - Survivor benefits before retirement; definition

§ 38-762. Survivor benefits before retirement; definition

A. On the death of any active or inactive member before retirement, the designated beneficiary of the member shall be paid a survivor benefit equal to the sum of both of the following:

1. The member's contribution and interest and the employer's contribution and interest to the defined benefit plan established by this article for credited service that a member earned by working for an employer, plus all contributions and interest made for the purchase of military service, leave without pay or other public service credit. This amount excludes payments made by an employer pursuant to section 38-738, subsection B, paragraph 3, unless the member has made the payment required by section 38-738, subsection B, paragraph 1.

2. The amount of the member's employee account and the member's employer account together with supplemental credits, if any, transferred from the defined contribution program administered by ASRS to the defined benefit program established by this article.

B. Subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section shall be accumulated at compound interest at a rate determined by the board through the day of the payment of the benefit.

C. In lieu of a single payment, a designated beneficiary who is eligible for a survivor benefit pursuant to subsection A of this section may elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of the survivor benefit as monthly income for life, if the resulting monthly amount is greater than or equal to the amount determined by the board under section 38-764, subsection E.

D. If a member dies before distribution of the member's benefits commences, the member's entire benefits shall be distributed within the required distribution provisions of section 401(a)(9) of the internal revenue code and the regulations that are issued under that section by the United States secretary of the treasury as prescribed in section 38-775.

E. If a deceased member did not designate a beneficiary or the beneficiary named by a member predeceases the member, ASRS shall pay the member's survivor benefit to the following persons in the following order of priority:

1. The member's surviving spouse.

2. The member's surviving natural or adopted children in equal shares.

3. The member's surviving parents in equal shares.

4. The member's estate.

F. Any payment pursuant to this section is payment for the account of the member or the member's beneficiary and all persons entitled to payment and, to the extent of the payment, is a full and complete discharge of all liability of the board or ASRS, or both, under or in connection with ASRS.

G. For the purposes of this section, "designated beneficiary" means any individual designated by the member as the member's beneficiary.