Tennessee Code Title 8. Public Officers and Employees § 8-35-306

(a) If a teacher who is a member of a local retirement fund dies prior to retirement under conditions which, if such teacher were a member of the retirement system, would entitle the teacher's estate or the teacher's designated beneficiary to an employer-provided lump sum payment under § 8-36-107, in addition to the payment of the teacher's accumulated contributions, the board of trustees shall pay from the state accumulation fund to the managing board of the local retirement fund, or upon the request of the managing board directly to the estate of such deceased teacher or to the person designated by the teacher, a lump sum in the amount of the employer-provided lump sum benefit which would have been payable had the teacher been a member of the retirement system.

(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the lump sum payment exceeds the employer-provided benefits payable from the local retirement fund on account of the teacher's death, either in the form of a lump sum benefit or in the form of an annuity to some other person, any such excess shall be paid to the estate of the deceased teacher or to the person nominated by the teacher by written designation, duly executed and filed with the managing board of the local retirement fund.