Bill Text: HI SB183 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii Senate Bill 183 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Employees' Retirement System; Surviving Spouse or Reciprocal Beneficiary Benefits

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-12-01 - Carried over to 2012 Regular Session. [SB183 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-SB183-Introduced.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	183
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to the employees' retirement system.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 88, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§88‑ Reinstatement of benefits. An individual whose:

(1) Benefits under this chapter arose from that individual's spouse's or reciprocal beneficiary's membership in the employees' retirement system through employment as a police officer, firefighter, deputy sheriff, or public safety officer; and

(2) Pension or benefit was terminated by reason of remarriage, marriage, or entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship occurring subsequent to the death of the member,

may have the terminated pension or benefit reinstated upon a written application to the applicable system. The level of reinstated pension or benefit payment shall be the amount received by the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary on the date that the payment was terminated, adjusted to reflect ad hoc and scheduled increases from the date of termination to the date of reinstatement. Benefit payments accruing between the effective date of reinstatement and the date reinstated benefits payments commence shall be paid without interest."

SECTION 2. Section 88-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Deputy sheriff" means an employee in the department of public safety who has been conferred police power by the director of public safety pursuant to section 353C-4 and is in a position of deputy sheriff I, II, III, IV, or V.

"Public safety officer" means any individual employed as a corrections officer, investigator of the department of the prosecuting attorney, investigator of the department of the attorney general, narcotics enforcement investigator, water safety officer, or public safety investigations staff investigator."

SECTION 3. Section 88-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§88-1 Restrictions. [~~The provisions of this~~] This section shall [~~be applicable~~] apply to every pension and to every recipient or beneficiary thereof, granted or provided for by any special act of the legislature (other than benefits, or the recipients thereof, payable to beneficiaries or retirants of the employees' retirement system under parts II, VII, and VIII) whether the pension [be] is payable by the State or by any county, or by any board, commission, bureau, department, or other agency thereof:

(1) No recipient or beneficiary shall be permitted to draw any pension, or any portion thereof, in excess of $50 per month, while the recipient or beneficiary is holding any salaried position or office in, under, or by authority of the United States, the State, or any political subdivision thereof. This paragraph shall not apply to any recipient or beneficiary who is elected to the legislature or to the council of any county[.];

(2) If the recipient or beneficiary is a surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, the pension so granted shall cease when the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship[.];

(3) Any pension payable to any minor shall cease when the minor reaches the age of eighteen years[.]; and

(4) If any recipient or beneficiary of a pension, having a spouse or reciprocal beneficiary at the time the pension was first granted to the recipient or beneficiary dies, then the spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, as long as the spouse or reciprocal beneficiary remains unmarried or not in a reciprocal beneficiary relationship, shall be paid sixty per cent of the amount of the pension payable to the beneficiary."

SECTION 4. Section 88-85, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

"(a) In the case of an accidental death as determined by the board pursuant to section 88-85.5, there shall be paid to the member's designated beneficiary or to the member's estate the amount of the member's accumulated contributions and there shall be paid in lieu of the ordinary death benefit payable under section 88-84, a pension of one-half of the average final compensation of the member:

(1) To the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of the member to continue until the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship; provided that payments under this paragraph shall not terminate when a surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of a police officer, firefighter, deputy sheriff, or public safety officer remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship;

(2) If there [be] is no surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, or if the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary dies or remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship before any child of the deceased member shall have attained the age of eighteen years, then to the deceased member's child or children under the age of eighteen, divided in the manner as the board in its discretion shall determine, to continue as a joint and survivor pension of one-half of the deceased member's final compensation until every child dies, or attains the age of eighteen; [or] provided that this paragraph shall not apply if payments are being made to a surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of a police officer, firefighter, deputy sheriff, or public safety officer, unless the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary dies before any child of the deceased member attains the age of eighteen years; or

(3) If there is no surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary or child under the age of eighteen years surviving the deceased member, then to the deceased member's dependent father or dependent mother, as the deceased member shall have nominated by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the board, or if there is no nomination, then to the deceased member's dependent father or to the deceased member's dependent mother as the board, in its discretion, shall direct to continue for life.

The pension shall be effective on the first day of the month following the member's death, except for the month of December, when benefits shall be effective on the first or last day of the month.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any condition of impairment of health caused by any disease of the heart, lungs, or respiratory system, resulting in death to a firefighter, police officer, or sewer worker, shall be presumed to have been suffered in the actual performance of duty at some definite time and place through no wilful negligence on the firefighter's, police officer's, or sewer worker's part, and as a result of the inherent occupational hazard of exposure to and inhalation of smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and other toxic vapors, unless the contrary [be] is shown by competent evidence; provided that [~~such~~] the firefighter, police officer, or sewer worker shall have passed a physical examination on entry or subsequent entry into [~~such~~] that service [~~or subsequent to such entry~~], which examination failed to reveal any evidence of [~~such~~] that condition."

SECTION 5. Section 88-163, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§88-163 Death benefits: funeral expenses; payments to dependents. (a) Upon the death of any member of the police force, fire department, or band, as a result of any injury received or disease contracted while in the performance of [~~his~~] the member's duty, or when entitled to a pension under this part or who has been pensioned under this part there shall be paid, for funeral expenses, a sum not to exceed $100. Should the deceased member leave a dependent [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and a child or children under the age of eighteen years, then there shall be paid out of the system $50 per month to the [~~widow~~] spouse until [~~her~~] the spouse's death or remarriage or to the reciprocal beneficiary until death, marriage, or entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship and $7.50 per month to the [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary for each child so long as the child shall reside with the [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary or is supported by the [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary[.]; provided that termination of payments under this subsection upon remarriage, marriage, or entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship shall not apply where payments arise out of the deceased member's employment with the police or fire department. Upon the death of [~~such widow~~] the spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, or in the event the deceased member leaves no [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary but a child or children under the age of eighteen years, then there shall be paid out of the system $50 per month to the child or children of the deceased member under the age of eighteen years with each child, if there [be] is more than one, receiving an equal share of the $50 per month payment plus $7.50 per month. All payments to a child of a deceased member provided for herein shall cease when [~~he or she~~] the child arrives at the age of eighteen years.

(b) If any member of the police force, fire department, or band[,] dies not leaving a [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, but leaving a father or mother dependent upon [~~him~~] the member, the father or mother (but not both) [~~shall~~], upon satisfactory proof of dependency being made to the board of trustees, shall receive from the system a sum not exceeding $50 per month. The board shall determine whether the father or mother is dependent and how much of the amount [~~herein~~] provided for in this section shall be paid to [~~him or her.~~] that father or mother. If there [be] is no [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and no child and no father or mother, but dependent brothers or sisters, then [~~such~~] the pension shall be paid to them in [~~such~~] sums as shall not exceed the aggregate amount of $30 per month. All pensions authorized as provided in this subsection shall be subject to reduction by the board of trustees whenever, in its judgment, circumstances make it reasonable, fair, or necessary. All pensions so reduced may thereafter be restored or further reduced as the board may deem best.

(c) On the remarriage or entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship of any [~~widow~~] spouse or reciprocal beneficiary where the spouse or reciprocal beneficiary is entitled to the benefits of any sum, or in the event of any father or mother, or brothers or sisters ceasing to be dependents, then the payments to them shall cease."

SECTION 6. Section 88-286, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:

"(b) In the case of ordinary death, the death benefit shall be as follows:

(1) For the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, an allowance equal to one-half of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age, payable until remarriage, marriage, or entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship, as if the member had retired on the first day of a month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed; and for each child under the age of eighteen an allowance equal to ten per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age, payable until the child attains age eighteen; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the children under the age of eighteen shall not exceed twenty per cent of the member's accrued retirement allowance unreduced for age; or

(2) For the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, if the member was eligible for retirement at the time of death in service, and death occurred after June 30, 1990, an allowance that would have been payable as if the member had retired on the first day of a month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed, and had elected to receive a retirement allowance under option B of section 88-283; and

(3) If there is no surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, each child under the age of eighteen shall receive an allowance equal to twenty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age, payable on the first day of a month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed, until the child attains age eighteen; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the children under the age of eighteen shall not exceed forty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age.

For the purpose of determining eligibility for the ordinary death benefit, a year round school employee shall be considered in service during the July and August preceding a transfer to a traditional school schedule if the employee was in service for the entire prior school year and has a contract for the upcoming traditional school year. The application for ordinary death benefits shall be filed no later than three years from the date of the member's death.

(c) In the case of accidental death as determined by the board pursuant to section 88-85.5, the death benefit shall be effective on the first day of the month following the member's death, except for the month of December when retirement on the first or last day of the month shall be allowed, as follows:

(1) For the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, an allowance equal to thirty per cent of the member's average final compensation, payable until remarriage, marriage, or upon entry into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship; provided that payments shall continue to a surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of a police officer, firefighter, deputy sheriff, or public safety officer who remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship;

(2) If there is a surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, each child under the age of eighteen shall receive an allowance equal to the greater of:

(A) Ten per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the children under the age of eighteen shall not exceed twenty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; or

(B) Three per cent of the member's average final compensation; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the children under the age of eighteen shall not exceed six per cent of the member's average final compensation.

The death benefit under this paragraph shall be payable to each child until the child attains age eighteen; and

(3) If there is no surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, each child under the age of eighteen shall receive an allowance equal to the greater of:

(A) Twenty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the children under the age of eighteen shall not exceed forty per cent of the member's accrued maximum retirement allowance unreduced for age; or

(B) Six per cent of the member's average final compensation; provided that the aggregate death benefits for all the children under the age of eighteen shall not exceed twelve per cent of the member's average final compensation.

The death benefit under this paragraph shall be payable to each child until the child attains age eighteen."

SECTION 7. Section 88-339, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

"(a) In the case of an accidental death as determined by the board pursuant to section 88-85.5, there shall be paid to the member's designated beneficiary or to the member's estate the amount of the member's accumulated contributions and there shall be paid in lieu of the ordinary death benefit payable under section 88-338 a pension of one-half of the average final compensation of the member:

(1) To the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of the member to continue until the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship; provided that payments shall continue to a surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of a police officer, firefighter, deputy sheriff, or public safety officer who remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship;

(2) If there [be] is no surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, or if the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary dies or remarries, marries, or enters into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship before any child of the deceased member shall have attained the age of eighteen years, then to the deceased member's child or children under that age, divided in a manner as the board in its discretion shall determine, to continue as a joint and survivor pension of one-half of the deceased member's final compensation until every child dies, or attains that age; [or] provided that this paragraph shall not apply if payments are being made to a surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of a police officer, firefighter, deputy sheriff, or public safety officer, unless the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary dies before any child of the deceased member attains the age of eighteen years; or

(3) If there is no surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary and no child under the age of eighteen years surviving the deceased member, then to the deceased member's dependent father or dependent mother, as the deceased member shall have nominated by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the board, or if there is no nomination, then to the deceased member's dependent father or to the deceased member's dependent mother as the board, in its discretion, shall direct to continue for life.

The pension shall be effective on the first day of the month following the member's death, except for the month of December, when benefits shall be effective on the first or last day of the month.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any condition of impairment of health caused by any disease of the heart, lungs, or respiratory system, resulting in death to a sewer worker shall be presumed to have been suffered in the actual performance of duty at some definite time and place through no wilful negligence on the sewer worker's part, and as a result of the inherent occupational hazard of exposure to and inhalation of smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and other toxic vapors, unless the contrary [be] is shown by competent evidence; provided that the sewer worker shall have passed a physical examination on entry into that service or subsequent to entry, which examination failed to reveal any evidence of [~~the~~] that condition."

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Employees' Retirement System; Surviving Spouse or Reciprocal Beneficiary Benefits

Description:

Allows the surviving spouse or surviving reciprocal beneficiary of a police officer, firefighter, deputy sheriff, or public safety officer in the employees' retirement system who died in the line of duty to remarry, marry, or enter into a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship and to continue to receive pension and other retirement benefits arising from their former spouse's employment. Allows for the reinstatement of benefits.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.