(a) Eligibility. A Surviving Spouse of a Member who has one or more Years of Service and dies before retirement not as a result of a cause described in Subsection 5‑308(a), shall be eligible to receive a death benefit. A Dependent Minor Child of such a Member shall be eligible to receive the benefit if the Member has no Surviving Spouse or if the spouse is under age 55. If the Member has more than one Dependent Minor Child, the benefit shall be divided equally among them. If the Member has a Surviving Spouse and one or more Dependent Minor Children of a former marriage, one‑half the benefit shall be paid to the Surviving Spouse. The other half shall be paid to the Dependent Minor Children until the last ceases to be minor and then paid to the Surviving Spouse.
(b) Amount on Death Before 5 Years of Service. If the Member had less than 5 Years of Service, the benefit on nonservice‑connected death before retirement shall be a lump sum equal to the amount of the Member's contributions as provided in Paragraph 5‑305(d)1, less any benefits paid to the Member under this Chapter.
(c) Amount on Death After 5 Years of Service. If the Member had 5 or more Years of Service, the benefit on nonservice‑connected death before retirement shall be an annuity equal to 50 percent of the Member's accrued retirement benefit under Section 5‑304, based on 2.6 percent of the Member's Final Pay instead of 2.2 percent.
(d) Form of Benefit. A benefit payable under Subsection (b) shall be paid in a lump sum. A benefit payable under Subsection (c) to a Surviving Spouse shall be paid monthly commencing with the month after the Member's death if the spouse is age 55 or over and otherwise with the month after the spouse attains age 55 and shall continue for the spouse's life. A benefit payable under Subsection (c) to a Dependent Minor Child shall be paid monthly commencing with the month after the Member's death and shall continue until the child ceases to be a minor. A benefit payable under subsection (c) shall be adjusted as provided in Section 5‑312.
(e) Offset. The monthly amount of nonservice connected death benefits under this Charter shall be reduced by any monthly death benefit payment made by PERS up to the amount provided in Subsection (b) and (c) of this section. The Fund Administrator shall reduce any nonservice connected death benefit payable under this Chapter in the amount determined to be necessary by the Fund Administrator to meet the limitation imposed by this subsection.