Arizona Laws 38-888. Pension to the surviving spouse of a member
A. The surviving spouse of a deceased member is entitled to receive a surviving spouse’s pension if the spouse was married to the member on the date of the member’s death. Payment of a surviving spouse’s pension commences as of the last day of the month following the member’s date of death. The last payment shall be made as of the last day of the month in which the surviving spouse’s death occurs. The amount of a surviving spouse’s pension is forty percent of the deceased member’s average monthly salary or four-fifths of what the deceased member’s pension would have been on the date of death had the member been retired, whichever is greater. The surviving spouse shall file a written application with the plan in order to receive the survivor benefit.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 38-888
- Average monthly salary: means :
(a) For an employee who becomes a member of the plan:
(i) Before January 1, 2012, one-thirty-sixth of the aggregate amount of salary that is paid a member by a participating employer during a period of thirty-six consecutive months of service in which the member received the highest salary within the last one hundred twenty months of service. See Arizona Laws 38-881
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Eligible child: means an unmarried child of a deceased active or retired member who meets one of the following qualifications:
(a) Is under eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 38-881
- Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Pension: means a series of monthly payments by the retirement plan but does not include an annuity that is payable pursuant to section 38-911. See Arizona Laws 38-881
- plan: means the corrections officer retirement plan established by this article. See Arizona Laws 38-881
- retired: means termination of employment after a member has fulfilled all requirements for a pension or, for an employee who becomes a member of the plan on or after January 1, 2012, attains the age and service requirements for a normal retirement date. See Arizona Laws 38-881
B. The surviving spouse of a deceased member who is killed in the line of duty or dies from injuries suffered in the line of duty is entitled to receive a monthly amount equal to the deceased member’s average monthly benefit compensation. For the purposes of this subsection, "killed in the line of duty" means the decedent‘s death was the direct and proximate result of physical injuries incurred in the performance of the decedent’s public safety duties and does not include suicide.
C. If a deceased member does not have an eligible surviving spouse or the pension of the eligible surviving spouse is terminated, each eligible child is entitled to a child’s pension as calculated pursuant to section 38-904.