Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 3, March 1, 2024
If a judge member dies before retiring, benefits shall be
distributed and calculated as follows:
(1) For a surviving spouse:
(a) If the judge member has six or more years
of service as a judge and the judge member is not an inactive judge member
performing pro tem service under the provisions of ORS
238.545(4), the
surviving spouse shall receive a life pension equal to two-thirds of the
retirement allowance the judge member would have received under Plan A, had the
judge member retired on the date of death.
(b) If the judge member has six or more years
of service as a judge and the judge member is an inactive judge member
performing pro tem service under the provisions of ORS
238.545(4) at
the time of death, the surviving spouse shall receive a life pension equal to
two-thirds of the service retirement allowance the judge member would have
received under Plan B, had the judge member retired on the date of death.
(c) If the judge member has less
than six years of service as a judge, the surviving spouse shall receive a lump
sum payment equal to the amount credited to the judge member account in the
Fund on the first of the month following the date of death.
(d) If a surviving spouse receiving a life
pension under this section dies and the total amount of pension payments
received by the surviving spouse is less than the amount that had been credited
to the deceased judge member's account as of the date of death of the judge
member, the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries of the judge member shall
receive a lump sum payment equal to the remainder.
(2) For purposes of computing a surviving
spouse's life pension in section (1) of this rule, a judge member who dies
before age 60 is deemed to have died at age 60.
(3) If the judge member has six or more years
of service as a judge and the judge member has no surviving spouse, the
designated beneficiary or beneficiaries shall receive a lump sum payment equal
to the amount credited to the judge member account in the Fund on the first of
the month following the date of death.
(4) If the judge member has no surviving
spouse and designated a beneficiary or beneficiaries at death, a lump sum
payment equal to the amount credited to the judge member's account on the date
of death shall be paid to the judge member's beneficiary or beneficiaries.
(5) If the judge member has no
surviving spouse and no designated beneficiary or beneficiaries at death, a
lump sum payment equal to the amount credited to the judge member's account on
the date of death shall be paid to the judge member's estate.
(6) If the judge member, under the provisions
of ORS 238.565(8),
elects to have a portion of the pension payable to a surviving spouse paid to a
former spouse, the designated portion shall be paid to the former spouse as a
life pension. The portion of the pension not paid to the former spouse shall be
paid to the surviving spouse, if any.
(a) The
life of the first former spouse designated to receive a pension under ORS
238.565(8) will
be the measuring life of the pensions payable to the surviving spouse and to
any other former spouse.
(b) Upon
the death of the first designated former spouse, the pensions payable to the
surviving spouse and to any other former spouse shall cease.
(c) If, at the death of the first designated
former spouse, the total amount of the payments received by the surviving
spouse and former spouse(s) is less than the amount that had been credited to
the deceased judge member's account as of the date of the judge member's death,
the judge member's designated beneficiary or beneficiaries shall receive a lump
sum payment equal to the remainder.
Stat. Auth: ORS
238.650
Stats. Implemented: ORS
238.565
