Upon receipt by the Board of proper proofs of the death of a member in service who has three or more years of creditable service, there shall be paid a benefit equal to a lump-sum payment of 50 percent of the earnable compensation received by the member during the year immediately preceding the member’s death plus the member’s accumulated contributions with interest to such person, if any, as the member shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the Board.  Otherwise said benefit payment will be paid to the member’s estate.

In the event a member who has become eligible for Service, Early Service, Rule of 70, or Rule of 80 Retirement benefits dies before retirement, the member will be considered to have been retired on the date of death.  In such event, the member’s nominated spouse will have the option of:

(I) Receive the sum of the member’s accumulated contributions together with interest to the date of payment or,

(II) Payment of 40 percent of the member’s monthly retirement allowance which would have been payable to the member if he or she had attained normal retirement age.

**The benefit payable to the surviving spouse may be actuarially reduced if member was not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2010.

**Other benefits may be available for death occurring in the line of duty.