Pennsylvania Statutes Title 53 P.S. Municipal and Quasi-Municipal Corporations § 881.406. Withdrawal;  return to service;  death in service

(a) Should a contributor, before reaching superannuation retirement age, for any reason terminate his employment with the municipality, he shall receive a refund of his contributions in full, either with or without interest and excess interest earned as specified in the contract, unless he may be entitled to a retirement allowance for early retirement, and elects to take such retirement allowance.  Should such former contributor thereafter return to the service of the same municipality and restore to the fund in such manner as may be agreed upon by such person and the board, his withdrawn contributions as they were at the time of his separation from service, his annuity rights as they existed at the time of separation from service, shall be restored and his obligations as a member shall begin again.  The rate of contribution of such returning member shall be the same as it was at the time he separated from service.

(b) Should a contributor, having attained or passed superannuation age, elect, upon leaving the service of the member municipality, not to claim the retirement allowance to which he is entitled, he shall, upon written application, be paid by the board the full amount of his contributions standing to his credit in the member's account, either with or without interest earned and the amount in his excess investment account as stipulated in the contract.

(d) Should a contributor die while in service, any death or survivor benefits for which he may be eligible under the provisions of the contract shall be paid in accordance with the terms of the contract.

(e) Should a contributor die while in service, and before becoming eligible for any other benefits contained in the contract, the full amount of his contributions, either with or without interest and excess interest earned as stipulated in the contract, shall be paid to his estate, or to such person, if living, as he shall have designated in writing, filed with the board as his beneficiary.  In case any contributor has failed to designate a beneficiary, or if the named beneficiary has predeceased the member and no such successor beneficiary has been named, and upon the death in service shall have less than one hundred dollars ($100) in accumulated deductions standing to his credit, the board may, if letters testamentary or of administration have not been taken out on his estate within six months after death, pay such accumulated deductions on the claim of the undertaker, or to any person or municipality which shall have paid the claim of the undertaker.

(f) If a member dies while performing qualified military service as defined in section 414(u)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code,  3 the survivors of the member shall be entitled to receive any additional benefits, other than benefit accruals relating to the period of qualified military service, as though the member had returned to service and then terminated employment on account of death.