Connecticut § 7-433b - Survivors' benefits for firemen and policemen. Maximum cumulative payment.

§ 7-433b. Survivors' benefits for firemen and policemen. Maximum cumulative payment.

Sec. 7-433b. Survivors' benefits for firemen and policemen. Maximum cumulative payment. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute, charter or special act to the contrary affecting the noncontributory or contributory retirement systems of any municipality of the state, or any special act providing for a police benefit fund or other retirement system, the survivors of any uniformed or regular member of a paid fire department or any regular member of a paid police department whose death has been suffered in the line of duty shall be eligible to receive such survivor benefits as are provided for in the Workers' Compensation Act, and, in addition, they shall receive such survivor benefits as may be provided for in the retirement system in which such department member was a participant at the time of his death; provided such pension benefits (1) shall not terminate upon the remarriage of the spouse of such member, and (2) shall be adjusted so that the total weekly benefits received by such survivors shall not exceed one hundred per cent of the weekly compensation being paid, during their compensable period, to members of such department at the maximum rate for the same position which was held by such deceased at the time of his or her death. Nothing contained in this subsection shall prevent any town, city or borough from paying money from its general fund to any such survivors, provided total weekly benefits paid shall not exceed said one hundred per cent of the weekly compensation.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute, charter or special act to the contrary affecting the noncontributory or contributory retirement systems of any municipality of the state, or any special act providing for a police or firemen benefit fund or other retirement system, the cumulative payments, not including payments for medical care, for compensation and retirement or survivors benefits under section 7-433c shall be adjusted so that the total of such cumulative payments received by such member or his dependents or survivors shall not exceed one hundred per cent of the weekly compensation being paid, during their compensable period, to members of such department in the same position which was held by such member at the time of his death or retirement. Nothing contained in this subsection shall prevent any town, city or borough from paying money from its general fund to any such member or his dependents or survivors, provided the total of such cumulative payments shall not exceed said one hundred per cent of the weekly compensation.

(1959, P.A. 604; P.A. 77-520, S. 2, 3; P.A. 79-376, S. 12; P.A. 07-161, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 77-520 added Subsec. (b) for bidding payment of benefits which would exceed 100% of weekly compensation of workers in same position as member; P.A. 79-376 substituted “workers' compensation” for “workmen's compensation”; P.A. 07-161 amended Subsec. (a) by providing that pension benefits to survivors shall not terminate upon remarriage of spouse and requiring amount of benefits not to exceed maximum rate of compensation paid for position held by deceased at time of death, and made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b).

See Sec. 7-323a et seq. re Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund.

Cited. 177 C. 456; 194 C. 139; 204 C. 563; 208 C. 576; 214 C. 189; 224 C. 441.

Cited. 2 CA 255; 12 CA 138; 26 CA 194.

Subsec. (b):

Cited. 214 C. 181. Ceiling imposed on award of benefits applies at time of retirement. Id., 189. “Weekly compensation” includes overtime as well as base salary. Id., 552. “Ceiling” on benefits applies to total payments composed of heart and hypertension disability payments and retirement pension payments not related to Sec. 7-433c. 243 C. 747.

Interpretation of the statute focuses on amount of compensation that recipient would have received if he continued working. 12 CA 138. Cited. 26 CA 194. Section not applicable where pension was not awarded under Sec. 7-433c but was a regular pension for long years of service. 43 CA 773. It is inconsistent with plain meaning of statute to treat lump-sum payment pursuant to commutation award to be a weekly payment and it should not be considered in calculations concerning weekly statutory cap, thus statute's plain objective is to limit cumulative effect of several weekly benefits, not prohibit onetime commutation award. 208 CA 615.