{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-161.655","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 161.655","heading":"Life insurance benefit -- Assignment of benefit.","body":"(1) Effective July 1, 2000, the Teachers' Retirement System shall:\n(a) Provide a life insurance benefit in a minimum amount of five thousand dollars\n($5,000) for its members who are retired for service or disability, except that\nthe minimum amount for an indiv idual who becomes a member on or after\nJanuary 1, 2022, and retires for service or disability shall be ten thousand\ndollars ($10,000). This life insurance benefit shall be payable upon the death\nof a member retired for service or disability to the member's  estate or to a\nparty designated by the member on a form prescribed by the retirement\nsystem; and\n(b) Provide a life insurance benefit in a minimum amount of two thousand dollars\n($2,000) for its active contributing members, except that the minimum amount\nfor an individual who becomes a member on or after January 1, 2022, and is\nan active contributing member shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000). This\nlife insurance benefit shall be payable upon the death of an active contributing\nmember to the member's e state or to a party designated by the member on a\nform prescribed by the retirement system.\n(2) (a) The member may name one (1) primary and one (1) contingent beneficiary for\nreceipt of the life insurance benefit. To the extent permitted by the Internal\nRevenue Code, a trust may be designated as beneficiary for receipt of the life\ninsurance benefit.\n(b) Members may designate as beneficiaries only presently identifiable and\nexisting individuals, or trusts where otherwise permitted, without contingency\ninstructions, on forms prescribed by the retirement system.\n(c) In the event that a member fails to designate a beneficiary, or all designated\nbeneficiaries predecease the member, the member's estate shall be deemed to\nbe the beneficiary, unless the member is married at the time of his or her\ndeath, in which case the spouse shall be deemed the beneficiary.\n(d) 1. Any beneficiary designation made by the member, including the estate\nshould the estate become the beneficiary by default, shall remain in\neffect until  changed by the member on forms prescribed by the\nretirement system, except in the event of subsequent marriage or\ndivorce.\n2. A valid marriage license shall terminate any previously designated\nbeneficiary, even that of a trust, and establish the spouse a s beneficiary\nunless, subsequent proof of the marriage, the member or retired member\nredesignates someone other than the new spouse as the beneficiary.\n3. An individual who is married prior to becoming an active member or a\nretired member of the retirement system and remains married at the time\nof becoming an active or retired member of the retirement system shall\nhave his or her spouse considered the primary beneficiary, unless the\nmember designates another beneficiary.\n4. A final divorce decree shall term inate the beneficiary status of an ex -\nspouse unless, subsequent to divorce, the member redesignates the\nformer spouse as a beneficiary. A final divorce decree shall not\nterminate the designation of a trust as beneficiary regardless of who is\ndesignated as beneficiary of the trust.\n(e) The Teachers' Retirement System shall not acknowledge a beneficiary\ndesignation unless the life insurance beneficiary form is received by the\nTeachers' Retirement System prior to the member's death, or the life insurance\nbeneficiary form has been deposited in the mail with a postmark date no later\nthan the date of the member's death.\n(3) Application for payment of life insurance proceeds shall be made to the Teachers'\nRetirement System together w ith acceptable evidence of death and eligibility. The\nreciprocal provisions of KRS 61.680(2)(a) shall not apply to the coverage and\npayment of proceeds by the life insurance benefit under this section.\n(4) Suit or civil action shall not be required for the  collection of the proceeds of the life\ninsurance benefit provided for by this section, but nothing in this section shall\nprevent the maintenance of suit or civil action against the beneficiary or legal\nrepresentative receiving the proceeds of the life insurance benefit.\n(5) Upon the death of a member of the Teachers' Retirement System, the life insurance\nprovided pursuant to subsection (1) of this section may be assigned by the\ndesignated beneficiary to a bank or licensed funeral home.","path":["KRS Chapter 161"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51799","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:11Z","sha256":"b8dc3f6abbd5156a090c6496cd7b6ff8ebfd1194aafb1079215408182c4026a9","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-161.650","next":"us-ky/krs-161.660"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}