{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-61.542","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 61.542","heading":"Designation of principal and contingent beneficiaries -- Rights -- Effects of","body":"change in certain conditions -- Designation following cessation of membership.\n(1) Prior to the first day of the month in which the member receives his or her firs t\nretirement allowance and prior to the member filing a notification of retirement or a\nrequest for refund:\n(a) Each member may designate on the form prescribed by the Authority a\nprincipal beneficiary and contingent beneficiary for his or her account or\naccounts. The principal beneficiary or contingent beneficiary designated by\nthe member shall be:\n1. One (1) or more persons; or\n2. The member's estate; or\n3. A trust;\n(b) If multiple persons are designated as provided by paragraph (a)1. of this\nsubsection, the member shall indicate the percentage of total benefits each\nperson is to receive.\n1. If percentages are not indicated, payments will be disbursed equally to\nthe named beneficiaries.\n2. If the percentages indicated do not total one hundred percent (100% ),\neach beneficiary shall receive an increased or decreased percentage\nwhich is proportional to the percentage allotted him or her by the\nmember.\n3. If any of the multiple beneficiaries die prior to the member's death, the\nremaining beneficiaries shall be entitled to the deceased beneficiary's\npercentage of the total benefits, and each shall receive a percentage of\nthe deceased's share which is equal to the percentage allotted them by\nthe member;\n(c) The principal and contingent beneficiary designation esta blished by the\nmember pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection shall remain in full force\nand effect until changed by the member, except:\n1. A final divorce decree terminates an ex -spouse's status as beneficiary,\nunless the member has on file in the re tirement office a beneficiary\ndesignation that redesignates the ex -spouse as beneficiary subsequent to\nthe issuance of the divorce decree;\n2. If a beneficiary or beneficiaries are convicted of any crime which\nprohibits that person or persons from receiving  the benefits under KRS\n381.280, the beneficiary or beneficiaries shall not be eligible for any of\nthe benefits and the remaining beneficiary or beneficiaries or, if none,\nthe member's estate, shall become the beneficiary; and\n3. When a notification of retirement has been filed at the retirement office,\nthe designation of beneficiary on the notification of retirement, which\nshall be one (1) person, his or her estate, or a trust, shall supersede the\ndesignation of all previous benef iciaries, unless the notification of\nretirement is withdrawn, invalid, or voided. If the notification of\nretirement is withdrawn, invalid, or voided, the prior beneficiary\ndesignation on file with the system shall remain in full force and effect\nuntil changed by the member; and\n(d) Except as provided by paragraph (c)3. of this subsection, if the member fails\nto designate a beneficiary for his or her account or if the beneficiary\ndesignation is determined to be void by the system, the member's estate shall\nbecome the beneficiary.\n(e) If the member has more than one (1) account in the Kentucky Employees\nRetirement System, County Employees Retirement System, or State Police\nRetirement System, the member shall not be eligible to name differing\nbeneficiaries for each system but shall instead complete one (1) beneficiary\ndesignation form which shall be applicable to all systems in which the\nmember has an account.\n(2) If the member dies prior to the first day of the month in which the member would\nhave received his or her first retirement allowance and prior to filing a notification\nof retirement or a request for refund, any retirement benefits shall be payable to the\nprincipal beneficiary, except that:\n(a) If the death of the principal beneficiary or beneficiaries p recedes the death of\nthe member, or if the principal beneficiary is terminated by a divorce decree,\nthe contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries become the principal beneficiary or\nbeneficiaries;\n(b) If the principal beneficiary is one (1) person and is the  member's spouse and\nthey are divorced on the date of the member's death, the contingent beneficiary\nor beneficiaries become the principal beneficiary or beneficiaries;\n(c) If the member is survived by his or her principal beneficiary or beneficiaries\nwho subsequently die prior to having on file at the retirement office the\nnecessary forms prescribed under authority of KRS 61.590, the contingent\nbeneficiary shall become the principal beneficiary or beneficiaries;\n(d) If the deaths of all the principal benef iciaries and all of the contingent\nbeneficiaries precede the death of the member, the estate of the member\nbecomes the beneficiary; and\n(e) If the member dies as a direct result of an act in line of duty as defined in KRS\n16.505 or 78.510, or dies as a result of a duty-related injury as defined in KRS\n61.621, the surviving spouse shall supersede all previously designated\nprincipal or contingent beneficiaries, unless the deceased member files a valid\nbeneficiary designation form with the retirement office af ter the date of\nmarriage to the surviving spouse.\n(3) Prior to the first day of the month in which the member would have received his or\nher first retirement allowance, a monthly benefit payable for life shall not be offered\nif the beneficiary designated u nder subsection (1) of this section is more than one\n(1) person, the member's estate, or a trust.\n(4) When a notification of retirement as provided by KRS 61.590 or a form to change\nbeneficiaries as provided by subsection (5)(a) and (b) of this section has  been filed\nat the retirement office:\n(a) The designation of beneficiary on the notification of retirement or beneficiary\nchange form shall supersede the designation of all previous beneficiaries;\n(b) The beneficiary designated by the member on the member' s notification of\nretirement or beneficiary change form shall be one (1) person, the member's\nestate, or a trust; and\n(c) If the death of the beneficiary named on the notification of retirement precedes\nthe first day of the month in which the member receiv es his or her first\nretirement allowance, the member may designate another beneficiary on the\nmember's notification of retirement.\n(5) On or after the first day of the month in which the member receives his or her first\nretirement allowance, the member sha ll not have the right to change his or her\nbeneficiary, except that:\n(a) A retired member receiving the monthly retirement allowance under the basic\npayment option, a period certain option as provided by KRS 61.635(5) to (7),\nor the Social Security adjustm ent option without survivor rights as provided\nby KRS 61.635(8)(a) may elect to change his or her beneficiary at any time by\nfiling a beneficiary change form as prescribed by the board with the retirement\noffice. This paragraph shall not authorize a retire d member to change the\npayment option he or she selected upon retirement;\n(b) A retired member receiving a monthly retirement allowance who marries or\nremarries following retirement may make a one (1) time election within one\nhundred twenty (120) days of m arriage or remarriage to provide monthly\nsurvivorship benefits to his or her new spouse by:\n1. Designating his or her new spouse as beneficiary by filing a beneficiary\nchange form as prescribed by the board with the retirement office; and\n2. Selecting a ne w monthly retirement allowance option under one (1) of\nthe survivorship options provided by KRS 61.635(2), (3), (4), and (8)(b).\nAny new survivorship payment option shall be actuarially equivalent to\nthe monthly retirement allowance the retired member was receiving\nprior to the change and shall not impact any other benefits otherwise\npayable to an alternate payee under KRS 61.690;\n(c) The estate of the retired member becomes the beneficiary if the date of death\nof the beneficiary precedes or coincides with the date of death of the retired\nmember, and the retired member had not elected a new beneficiary under this\nsubsection;\n(d) The estate of the retired member becomes the beneficiary if the retired\nmember had designated a person as beneficiary who was the s pouse or who\nlater married the member and they were divorced on the date of the retired\nmember's death, and the retired member had not elected a new beneficiary\nunder this subsection. An ex -spouse who was the named beneficiary on the\nmember's notification of retirement shall be reinstated as the member's\nbeneficiary for the payment options provided by KRS 61.635(2), (3), (4), and\n(8)(b) if they are remarried to each other as of the date of the retired member's\ndeath, and the retired member had not elected a  new beneficiary under this\nsubsection;\n(e) The estate of the member shall not receive monthly payments if the member\nselected one (1) of the payment options provided by KRS 61.635(2), (3), (4),\nand (8)(b); and\n(f) For purposes of this subsection, \"basic p ayment option\" means the lifetime\nmonthly retirement allowance otherwise provided to the retired member under\nKRS 16.505 to 16.652, 61.510 to 61.705, or 78.510 to 78.852 that is not one\n(1) of the optional retirement plans provided under KRS 61.635.\n(6) Following cessation of membership as provided by KRS 61.535 or 78.540, no\nbeneficiary designation in one (1) account shall be effective for any new retirement\naccount established. If the member fails to designate a beneficiary for his or her new\nretirement account or if the beneficiary designation is determined to be void by the\nsystem, the member's estate shall become the beneficiary.","path":["KRS Chapter 61"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51209","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:15Z","sha256":"08c86c04c3a7c479e7a6639842742645db9a60e49700aada6bd470eaf0479d9c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-61.541","next":"us-ky/krs-61.543"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}