A. A member who elects to participate in the deferred retirement option plan shall designate a beneficiary. A member’s beneficiary designation applies to all amounts in the member’s deferred retirement option plan participation account.

B. If a designated beneficiary predeceases a deferred retirement option plan participant who dies before designating a new beneficiary, the beneficiary of the participant’s deferred retirement option plan participation account shall be the following persons in the following order of priority:

1. The participant’s surviving spouse.

2. The participant’s natural or adopted children in equal shares.

3. The participant’s estate.

C. A member shall not make a beneficiary designation pursuant to this section that results in an abrogation of a member’s community property obligations under the applicable laws of this state.