West Virginia Code 7-14D-20 – Additional death benefits and scholarships – dependent children
(a) In addition to the spouse death benefits in §7-14D-18 and § 7-14D-19 of this code, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive and there shall be paid to the spouse $100 monthly for each dependent child.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 7-14D-20
- Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member, or paid on his or her behalf pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- Beneficiary: means a natural person who is entitled to, or will be entitled to, an annuity or other benefit payable by the plan. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Board: means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board created pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Dependent child: means either:
(1) An unmarried person under age 18 who is:
(A) A natural child of the member. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- Dependent parent: means the father or mother of the member who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal income tax purposes at the time of the member's death. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Fund: means the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement Fund created pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- Member: means a person first hired as a deputy sheriff after the effective date of this article, as defined in subdivision (u) of this section, or a deputy sheriff first hired prior to the effective date and who elects to become a member pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- Spouse: means the person to whom the member is legally married on the annuity starting date. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Surviving spouse: means the person to whom the member was legally married at the time of the member's death and who survived the member. See West Virginia Code 7-14D-2
(b) If the surviving spouse dies while receiving death benefits provided in §7-14D-18 or § 7-14D-19 of this code or if there is no surviving spouse, the fund shall pay monthly to each dependent child a sum equal to one fourth of the surviving spouse’s entitlement under either §7-14D-18 and § 7-14D-19 of this code. If there is neither a surviving spouse nor a dependent child, the fund shall pay in equal monthly installments to the dependent parents of the deceased member during their joint lifetimes a sum equal to the amount which a surviving spouse, without children, would have received: Provided, That when there is only one dependent parent surviving, that parent is entitled to receive during his or her lifetime one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive: Provided, however, That if there is no surviving spouse, dependent child, nor dependent parent of the deceased member the accumulated contributions shall be paid to a named beneficiary or beneficiaries: Provided further, That if there is no surviving spouse, dependent child, nor dependent parent of the deceased member, nor any named beneficiary or beneficiaries then the accumulated contributions shall be paid to the estate of the deceased member.
(c) Any person qualifying as a dependent child under this section, in addition to any other benefits due under this or other sections of this article, is entitled to receive a scholarship to be applied to the career development education of that person. This sum, up to but not exceeding $7,500 per year, shall be paid from the fund to any higher education institution in this state, career-technical education provider in this state, or other entity in this state approved by the board, to offset the expenses of tuition, room and board, books, fees, or other costs incurred in a course of study at any of these institutions so long as the recipient makes application to the board on an approved form and under such rules as the board may provide, and maintains scholastic eligibility as defined by the institution or the board. The board may propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with § 29A-3-1 et seq. of this code which define age requirements, physical and mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement methods, institutional qualifications, and other requirements as necessary and not inconsistent with this section. Scholarship benefits awarded pursuant to this subsection are not subject to division or payable to an alternate payee by any Qualified Domestic Relations Order.