Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule sets forth the procedure for
establishing beneficiaries and their eligibility for benefits as authorized in
sections
169.663
and
169.670,
RSMo.
(1) Each member may
designate a beneficiary and contingent beneficiaries by filing with the
retirement system a form furnished by the board for this purpose. If a member
fails to designate a beneficiary, the beneficiary shall be determined pursuant
to section
169.676,
RSMo.
(2) A member may change
beneficiary(ies) at any time prior to retirement by filing a request for change
with the board of trustees on a form furnished by the board for this
purpose.
(3) Accumulated
contributions of a deceased member due a beneficiary or estate upon the death
of a member shall be paid within sixty (60) days of the establishment of the
claim. If the beneficiary is a minor, payment shall be made to the conservator
of the minor appointed by the court after the filing of a certified copy of the
court order making the appointment, or to the custodian designated under the
Missouri Transfers to Minors Law.
(4) Upon the death of a member or retiree,
payments shall be made as set forth below.
(A) The designated beneficiary of a deceased
member prior to retirement shall be entitled to receive payment of the
accumulated contributions of the deceased member if an alternate benefit is not
elected by the beneficiary. If the member fails to designate a beneficiary on
the form provided, if the beneficiary designation form on file is deemed
invalid by operation of section 169.676.2., RSMo, or if no beneficiary
designated on the form provided survives the member, the benefit shall be paid
in accordance with section
169.676,
RSMo.
(B) The designated
beneficiary of a deceased retiree who retired before January 1, 2012, and
elected Option 1 at retirement shall be entitled to receive any balance of the
deceased retiree's accumulated contributions in excess of the total retirement
allowances paid. If the retiree fails to designate a beneficiary on the form
provided or if no beneficiary designated on the form provided survives the
member, the benefit shall be paid in accordance with section 169.670.5.,
RSMo.
(C) All members retiring on
or after January 1, 2012, who elect Option 1 must designate a beneficiary at or
after the time of their retirement and any beneficiary designation made prior
to the member's retirement shall be deemed void at the time of their
retirement. Any beneficiary designated at or after retirement by a retiree
electing Option 1 shall, upon the retiree's death, be entitled to receive any
balance of the deceased retiree's accumulated contributions in excess of the
total retirement allowances paid. If the retiree fails to designate a
beneficiary at or after retirement on the form provided or if no beneficiary
designated on the form provided survives the member, the benefit shall be paid
in accordance with section 169.670.5., RSMo.
(D) If both a retiree who elected Option 2,
3, or 4 and the designated joint survivor under the option are deceased, any
existing balance of the deceased retiree's accumulated contributions in excess
of the total retirement allowances paid to the retiree and to the joint
survivor shall be paid to the beneficiary designated for that purpose. If the
retiree fails to designate a beneficiary on the form provided or if no
beneficiary designated on the form provided survives the member, the benefit
shall be paid in accordance with section 169.670.5., RSMo.
(E) No payment of accumulated contributions
shall be made to an estate except through the personal representative who has
been legally qualified and who shall file a certified copy of the appointment;
except that in cases where the court does not appoint a personal
representative, payment shall be made upon order of the court to the person(s)
designated by the court or in the absence of court order the system may make
payment to a surviving heir if all known surviving heirs sign an Indemnity
Agreement and file this agreement with the board of trustees prior to the
payment where such agreement would adequately protect the system; or payment
may be made in accordance with the provisions of section
473.097,
RSMo, relating to small estates.
(5) Payments due a beneficiary of a deceased
service retiree under Option 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 shall commence with the month
following the month in which the retiree dies. Payments due a beneficiary under
Option 2, 3, 4, or 7 shall cease with the payment at the end of the month in
which the death of the beneficiary occurs. Under Options 5 and 6, if the
retiree dies prior to receiving one hundred twenty (120) or sixty (60) monthly
payments, respectively, the remainder of such monthly payments shall be paid to
the retiree's primary beneficiary. If the primary beneficiary dies prior to
receiving the remainder of the one hundred twenty (120) or sixty (60) monthly
payments under Option 5 or 6, respectively, the remainder of such monthly
payments shall be paid to the retiree's first contingent beneficiary. If the
first contingent beneficiary dies prior to receiving the remainder of the one
hundred twenty (120) or sixty (60) monthly payments under Option 5 or 6,
respectively, the remainder of such monthly payments shall be paid to the
retiree's second contingent beneficiary. If there is no primary or contingent
beneficiary who survives the retiree for the remainder of the one hundred
twenty (120) or sixty (60) monthly payments under Option 5 or 6, respectively,
the reserve of the remainder of such payments shall be paid in accordance with
section 169.670.4.(1), RSMo.
(6)
Option 2 benefits payable under section
169.670,
RSMo, to a beneficiary of a member or a disability retiree who dies prior to
becoming retired on service retirement shall accrue as follows:
(A) If the beneficiary elects to receive an
immediate benefit, then the benefit shall be payable the first day of the month
following the death of the member or disability retiree. If the beneficiary
elects to receive a deferred benefit to begin when the member or disability
retiree would have been eligible to receive a retirement allowance under
section 169.670.1. or 4., RSMo, then the benefit shall be payable the first day
of the month following the event which would have established the eligibility
for such retirement allowance. If the beneficiary elects to receive a deferred
benefit to begin when the member or disability retiree would first have been
eligible to receive an actuarial equivalent of a retirement allowance, then the
benefit shall be payable the first day of the month following the event which
would have established eligibility for the actuarial equivalent.
(B) The benefits payable shall be those
provided under the law in effect at the date the payments begin. Any actuarial
equivalent factors applied in the benefit calculation shall be those in effect
at the time benefit payments begin.
(C) The election by the beneficiary for
Option 2 benefits must be made before the date the first payment would begin to
accrue, except that an election made within one (1) year of the death of the
member or disability retiree may be effective from the first of the month
following the event which established eligibility for the retirement allowance.
An election may not be changed after a payment has been made.
(D) Option 2 benefits payable pursuant to
section
169.670,
RSMo, to a beneficiary of a member or a disability retiree who dies prior to
becoming retired on service retirement shall be paid only to a sole beneficiary
who had an insurable interest in the member or disability retiree on the date
of death. An "insurable interest" shall be considered to exist because of the
relationship to a member of a wife, husband, father, mother, child (including a
stepchild or adopted child), or any other person who has a financial interest
in the continued life of the member or who is dependent upon the member for all
or part of his or her support.
(7) Proof of the death of the member or
beneficiary is required before any benefits, including, but not limited to,
accumulated contributions are paid to an estate or other beneficiary. Proof of
death shall be established by submission of an original or a certified copy of
a death certificate issued by the authority of the governmental entity
responsible for issuing such certificates. Other documentation, including, but
not limited to, an appropriate court order may be submitted for evaluation if
it is not possible to obtain a death certificate.
(8) Pursuant to section 169.676.2, RSMo, the
member's marriage, divorce, withdrawal of accumulated contributions, or the
birth of the member's child, or the member's adoption of a child, shall result
in an automatic revocation of the member's previous designation in its entirety
only if such event occurred on or after August 28, 2005, and before the
member's effective service retirement date.
*Original authority: 169.610, RSMo 1965, amended 1977,
2005.
