{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-78.5538","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 78.5538","heading":"Death benefit -- Designation of beneficiary -- Debt owed at death --","body":"Assignment of benefit.\n(1) (a) Upon the death of a retired member of the system, who was receiving a\nmonthly retirement allowance based on a minimum of forty-eight (48) months\nof service, a death benefit for the beneficiary of five thousand dollars ($5,000)\nshall be paid.\n(b) If the retired member had more than one (1) account in the County Employees\nRetirement System or is eligible for a benefit from the Kentucky Retirement\nSystems under the provisions of KRS 61.705, the combined payment from the\nCounty Employees Retirement System under this section and the Kentucky\nRetirement Systems under KRS 61.705 to the named beneficiary shall not\nexceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). Each system's cost shall be prorated\nbetween the systems based upon the level of service credit in each system.\n(c) Application for the death benefit made to the system shall include acceptable\nevidence of death and of the eligibility of the applicant to receive the death\nbenefit.\n(2) (a) The death benefit shall be paid to a beneficiary named by the retired member.\nUpon retirement or any time thereafter, the retired member may designate on\nthe form prescribed by the board, death benefit designation, a pers on, the\nretired member's estate, a trust or trustee, or a licensed funeral home, as the\nbeneficiary of the death benefit provided by this section or KRS 61.705. The\nbeneficiary for the death benefit may or may not be the same beneficiary\ndesignated in acco rdance with KRS 61.590(1) but only one (1) designation\nshall be available to a retired member who has service in both the County\nEmployees Retirement System and the Kentucky Retirement Systems.\n(b) If the beneficiary designated under this section is a per son and that person\ndies prior to the member, or if the beneficiary was the retired member's\nspouse and they were divorced on the date of the retired member's death, then\nthe retired member's estate shall become the beneficiary, unless the retired\nmember has filed a subsequent death benefit designation.\n(c) If a licensed funeral home is designated as beneficiary and the licensed\nfuneral home cannot be reasonably identified or located by the system at the\ntime of the retired member's death, then the retired  member's estate shall\nbecome the beneficiary of the death benefit.\n(3) The five thousand dollar ($5,000) death benefit paid to the designated beneficiary\nshall not be subject to garnishment as an asset of the retired member's estate, except\nif:\n(a) At the  time of the retired member's death, a debt to the County Employees\nRetirement System remains on his or her account, the balance owed shall be\ndeducted from the five thousand dollar ($5,000) death benefit;\n(b) After the death of the retired member, an overpayment of benefits occurs, the\nbalance owed for the overpayment shall be deducted from the five thousand\ndollar ($5,000) death benefit; or\n(c) At the time of the retired member's death, the designated benefici ary is the\nretired member's estate.\n(4) Upon the death of a retired member, the death benefit provided pursuant to this\nsection may be assigned by the designated beneficiary to a bank or licensed funeral\nhome.","path":["KRS Chapter 78"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54867","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:39Z","sha256":"12a4a015fb5dd293d78463daaf4b70b4200b38d24aa2f4c5d87d4e607e301e67","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-78.5536","next":"us-ky/krs-78.5540"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}