PURPOSE: This rule sets forth the procedure for establishing beneficiaries and their eligibility for benefits as authorized in sections 169.663 and 169.670, RSMo.

1. (1) Each member, when completing a membership record, may designate a beneficiary and contingent beneficiaries. If a member fails to designate a beneficiary, the estate of the member shall be considered as the beneficiary.
2. (2) A member may change beneficiary(ies) by filing a request for change with the board of trustees on a form furnished by the board for this purpose.
3. (3) Accumulated contributions of a deceased member due a beneficiary or estate upon the death of a member shall be paid within sixty
4. (60) days of the establishment of the claim. If the beneficiary is a minor, payment shall be made to the conservator of the minor appointed by the court after the filing of a certified copy of the court order making the appointment, or to the custodian designated under the Missouri Transfers to Minors Law.
5. (4) The designated beneficiary of a deceased member, or of a deceased retiree who elected Option 1 at retirement, shall be entitled to receive payment of the accumulated contributions of the deceased member, or any balance of the deceased retiree’s accumulated contributions in excess of the total retirement allowances paid, if an alternate benefit is not elected by the beneficiary. In a like manner, if both a retiree who elected Option 2, 3 or 4 and the designated joint survivor under the option are deceased, any existing balance of the deceased retiree’s accumulated contributions in excess of the total retirement allowances paid to the retiree and to the joint survivor shall be paid to the beneficiary designated for that purpose. However, no payment of accumulated contributions shall be made to an estate except through the personal representative who has been legally qualified and who shall file a certified copy of the appointment; except that in cases where the court does not appoint a personal representative, payment shall be made upon order of the court to the person(s) designated by the court or in the absence of court order the system may make payment to a surviving heir if all known surviving heirs sign an Indemnity Agreement and file this agreement with the board of trustees prior to the payment where such Agreement would adequately protect the system; or payment may be made in accordance with the provisions of section 473.097, RSMo, relating to small estates.
6. (5) Payments due a beneficiary of a deceased service retiree under Option 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 shall commence with the month in which the retiree dies. Reduced payments due a beneficiary of a deceased service retiree under Option 3 or Option 4 shall commence with the month following the month in which the retiree dies. Payments due a beneficiary under Option 2, 3, or 4 shall cease with the payment at the end of the month in which the death of the beneficiary occurs.

7. (6) Option 2 benefits payable under section 169.670, RSMo to a beneficiary of a member or a disability retiree who dies prior to becoming retired on service retirement shall accrue as follows: 16 CSR 10-6

   1. (A) If the beneficiary elects to receive an immediate benefit, then the benefit shall be payable the first day of the month following the death of the member or disability retiree. If the beneficiary elects to receive a deferred benefit to begin when the member or disability retiree would have been eligible to receive a retirement allowance under section 169.670.1 or 4, RSMo, then the benefit shall be payable the first day of the month following the event which would have established the eligibility for such retirement allowance. If the beneficiary elects to receive a deferred benefit to begin when the member or disability retiree would first have been eligible to receive an actuarial equivalent of a retirement allowance, then the benefit shall be payable the first day of the month following the event which would have established eligibility for the actuarial equivalent.
   2. (B) The benefits payable shall be those provided under the law in effect at the date the payments begin. Any actuarial equivalent factors applied in the benefit calculation shall be those in effect at the time benefit payments begin.
   3. (C) The election by the beneficiary for Option 2 benefits must be made before the date the first payment would begin to accrue, except that an election made within one (1) year of the death of the member or disability retiree may be effective from the first of the month following the event which established eligibility for the retirement allowance. An election may not be changed after a payment has been made.

AUTHORITY: section 169.610, RSMo 1994.* Original rule filed Dec. 19, 1975, effective Jan. 1, 1976. Amended: Filed Aug. 11, 1977, effective Nov. 15, 1977. Amended: Filed Sept. 11, 1981, effective Dec. 11, 1981. Emergency amendment filed Oct. 29, 1993, effective Nov. 8, 1993, expired March 7, 1994. Amended: Filed Oct. 29, 1993, effective May 9, 1994. Amended: Filed June 15, 1994, effective Nov. 30, 1994. Amended: Filed July 31, 1995, effective Feb. 25, 1996. Amended: Filed Dec. 12, 1996, effective June 30, 1997. Amended: Filed Oct. 15, 1997, effective April 30, 1998. Amended: Filed Aug. 10, 1998, effective Feb. 28, 1999. *Original authority 1965, amended 1977.