{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-78.5534","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 78.5534","heading":"Death  in the line of duty of member  in hazardous  position --","body":"Payments  to surviving spouse,  dependent  children, and  designated\nbeneficiaries -- Election -- Receipt of benefits under KRS  78.5532 pending\nfinal determination.\nThe provisions of this section shall apply to members  in a hazardous position.\n(1) If a member  dies as a direct result of an act in line of duty as defined in KRS\n78.510 and is survived by a spouse:\n(a) The  surviving spouse shall be the beneficiary, and this shall supersede\nthe designation of all previous beneficiaries of the deceased member's\nretirement account except as provided in KRS 61.542(2)(e);\n(b) The  surviving spouse, provided he or she supersedes all previously\ndesignated beneficiaries, may elect to receive a lump-sum payment of ten\nthousand dollars ($10,000) and a monthly payment equal to seventy-five\npercent (75%) of the member's monthly average pay beginning in the\nmonth following the member's death and continuing each month until the\ndeath of the surviving spouse; and\n(c) In addition, if the member  is also survived by dependent children, monthly\npayments  shall be made  for each dependent child equal to ten percent\n(10%) of the deceased member's monthly average pay, except that the\ncombined maximum  payment made to the:\n1. Surviving spouse and dependent children under this subsection\nshall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the deceased\nmember's monthly average pay; and\n2. Dependent  children, while the surviving spouse is living, shall not\nexceed  twenty-five percent (25%)  of the deceased  member's\nmonthly average pay. Payments made  to the dependent children\nunder  this subsection shall be  divided equally among  all the\ndependent children.\n(2) If a member  dies as a result of an act in line of duty as defined in KRS  78.510\nand  is not survived by a spouse but is survived by a dependent child or\nchildren, the following benefits shall be paid to the dependent child or children:\n(a) Fifty percent (50%) of the deceased member's monthly average pay, if\nthe deceased member  has one (1) dependent child;\n(b) Sixty-five percent (65%) of the deceased member's monthly average pay,\nif the deceased member  has two (2) dependent children; or\n(c) Seventy-five percent (75%) of the deceased member's monthly average\npay, if the deceased member  has three (3) or more dependent children.\nPayments  made  to the dependent children under this subsection shall be\ndivided equally among all the dependent children.\n(3) If a member  dies as a direct result of an act in line of duty as defined in KRS\n78.510 and the member  has on file in the retirement office at the time of his or\nher death a written designation of only one (1) beneficiary other than his or her\nspouse who has not been superseded by the surviving spouse as provided by\nsubsection (1)(a) of this section, and who is a dependent receiving at least\none-half (1/2) of his or her support from the deceased member, the beneficiary\nmay  elect to receive a lump-sum payment of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).\n(4) The payments provided by this section shall commence  in the month following\nthe date of death of the member  and shall be payable to the spouse,\ndependent  children, beneficiaries, or to a legally appointed guardian or as\ndirected by the system. Benefits to a dependent child under this section shall\nbe payable notwithstanding an election by a surviving spouse or beneficiary to\nwithdraw the deceased member's accumulated account balance as provided in\nKRS  61.625 or to elect benefits under any other provisions of KRS  78.510 to\n78.852.\n(5) A surviving spouse or beneficiary eligible for benefits under subsection (1) or\n(3) of this section who is also eligible for benefits under any other provisions of\nKRS  78.510 to 78.852 may  elect benefits under this section or any other\nsection of KRS 78.510 to 78.852 but cannot elect to receive both.\n(6) (a) A surviving spouse or beneficiary applying for benefits under subsection\n(1) or (3) of this section who  is also eligible for benefits under KRS\n78.5532 may  elect to receive benefits under KRS  78.5532(2)(a) or (b)\nwhile the application for benefits under subsection (1) or (3) of this section\nis pending.\n(b) If a final determination results in a finding of eligibility for benefits under\nsubsection (1) or (3) of this section, the system shall recalculate the\nbenefits due the surviving spouse or beneficiary in accordance with this\nsubsection.\n(c) If the surviving spouse or beneficiary has been paid less than the amount\nof benefits which the surviving spouse or beneficiary was  entitled to\nreceive under this section, the system shall pay the additional funds due\nto the surviving spouse or beneficiary.\n(d) If the surviving spouse or beneficiary has been paid more  than the\namount of benefits which the surviving spouse or beneficiary was entitled\nto receive under this section, the system shall deduct the amount\noverpaid to the surviving spouse or beneficiary from the ten thousand\ndollars ($10,000) lump-sum payment and from the monthly retirement\nallowance payments until the amount owed  to the systems has been\nrecovered.","path":["KRS Chapter 78"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50785","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:39Z","sha256":"410945035a73aa7f957825048e0ee453409aeaad6efd9ff3848d1436a45e5ff8","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-78.5532","next":"us-ky/krs-78.5536"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}