Spokane Municipal Code

Title 03 Administration and Personnel

Chapter 03.05 Spokane Employees' Retirement System

Section 03.05.170 Payment Upon Death of Member

1. Eligible to Retire.
   If a member who had not retired but had named the member’s spouse as the sole primary beneficiary and who was eligible to retire pursuant to SMC 3.05.160, SMC 3.05.165, SMC 3.05.166, or SMC 3.05.167 whichever applies, or who had at least thirty (30) years of creditable service dies, then the member’s surviving spouse may elect to receive:

   1. death benefits provided for in this section, or

   2. a retirement allowance payable only for the remainder of the surviving spouse’s life and equal to that which would have been received had the deceased member retired on the date of death under the provisions of Option E as provided in SMC 3.05.210, or

   3. in lieu of either of the above, a lump sum cash payment not to exceed one-half of the deceased member’s accumulated contributions and a retirement allowance in accordance with Option E as provided in SMC 3.05.210, but reduced proportionately by the amount of cash withdrawn from this selection.

2. Not Eligible to Retire.

   1. Repayment of Contributions.
      Upon the death of any member not eligible to retire, there shall be paid to the member’s estate, or to such persons as the member shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the retirement system, the member’s accumulated contribution with contribution interest, less payments made therefrom to the member, if any. Effective January 1, 2009, a non-spouse designated beneficiary shall be permitted to elect a direct trustee to trustee transfer of such distribution to an individual retirement account established for the purposes of receiving the distribution on behalf of an individual who is a designated beneficiary and who is not the surviving spouse of the participant, which shall be treated as an inherited individual retirement account within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code section 408(d)(3)(C).

   2. Death of Active Married Member.
      Alternatively, upon the death of any active member who is eligible to vest in the retirement system, who is married at the time of death, and whose surviving spouse has been properly nominated as sole primary beneficiary, the surviving spouse may elect to leave the accumulated contributions in the retirement system and, on such date as the member would have been eligible, apply for and receive such retirement allowance as is allowed under retirement Option E as provided in SMC 3.05.210 as established in this chapter. Such retirement will be calculated as if the member had been eligible to retire at the time of death, and will be based upon the age of the surviving spouse at the time when the member would have been eligible to retire. Any retirement allowance calculated under this section will be based on the accumulations and earnings of the member as of the date of retirement.

Date Passed: Monday, January 8, 2018

Effective Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2018

ORD C35574 Section 15