Kentucky Revised Statutes Title VIII. Offices and Officers § 61.621.Fred Capps Memorial Act; eligibility for benefits for duty-related injury; benefits for surviving spouse and dependent children; receipt of benefits pending final determination

(2)(a) For purposes of this section, “duty-related injury” means:

(b) “Duty-related injury” does not include the effects of the natural aging process, a communicable disease unless the risk of contracting the disease is increased by nature of the employment, or a psychological, psychiatric, or stress-related change in the human organism unless it is the direct result of a physical injury.

(3)(a) If the employee dies as a result of a duty-related injury and is survived by a spouse, the surviving spouse shall be the beneficiary, and this shall supersede the designation of all previous beneficiaries of the deceased employee's retirement account, except as provided in KRS 61.542(2)(e).

(b) The surviving spouse, provided he or she supersedes all previously designated beneficiaries, may elect to receive the benefits payable under KRS 61.640 or other applicable death benefit statutes, or may elect to receive a lump-sum payment of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and a monthly payment equal to seventy-five percent (75%) of the member's monthly average pay beginning in the month following the member's death and continuing each month until the death of the surviving spouse.

(c) In addition, if the member is also survived by dependent children, monthly payments shall be made for each dependent child equal to ten percent (10%) of the deceased member's monthly average pay, except that the combined maximum payment made to the:

(a) Fifty percent (50%) of the deceased member's monthly average pay, if the deceased member has one (1) dependent child;

(b) Sixty-five percent (65%) of the deceased member's monthly average pay, if the deceased member has two (2) dependent children; or

(c) Seventy-five percent (75%) of the deceased member's monthly average pay, if the deceased member has three (3) or more dependent children.

Payments made to the dependent children under this subsection shall be divided equally among all the dependent children.

(a) If an employee is working in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position based upon KRS 61.592, the monthly retirement allowance shall not be less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the employee's monthly average pay; or

(b) If an employee is working in a nonhazardous position that could not be certified as a hazardous position based upon KRS 61.592, the monthly retirement allowance shall not be less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the employee's monthly final rate of pay.

For purposes of determining a disability that is the result of a duty related injury, the service requirement in KRS 61.600(1)(a), or other applicable statutes in any other state-administered retirement system, shall be waived.

1. Member and dependent children payments under this section shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the member's monthly average pay; and

2. Total maximum dependent children's benefits shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the member's monthly average pay while the member is living and forty percent (40%) of the disabled member's monthly average pay after the member's death. The payment shall commence in the month following the date of disability of the member and shall be payable to the dependent children, or to a legally appointed guardian, or as directed by the system and shall be divided equally among all dependent children.

(8)(a) A spouse applying for benefits under this section who is also eligible for benefits under KRS 61.640 or 78.5532 may elect to receive benefits under KRS 61.640(2)(a) or (b) or 78.5532(2)(a) or (b) while the application for benefits under this section is pending.

(b) If a final determination results in a finding of eligibility for benefits under this section, the system shall recalculate the benefits due the spouse in accordance with this subsection.

(c) If the spouse has been paid less than the amount of benefits to which the spouse was entitled to receive under this section, the system shall pay the additional funds due to the spouse.

(d) If the spouse has been paid more than the benefit the spouse was eligible to receive under this section, then the system shall deduct the amount owed by the spouse from the ten thousand dollars ($10,000) lump-sum payment and from the monthly retirement allowance payments until the amount owed to the systems has been recovered.