23-2321 Retirement system; employee; death before retirement; death benefit. - Nebraska Statutes

23-2321. Retirement system;employee; death before retirement; death benefit.Inthe event of the death before his or her retirement date of any employee whois a member of the system, the death benefit shall be equal to (1) for participantsin the defined contribution benefit, the total of the employee account andthe employer account and (2) for participants in the cash balance benefit,the benefit provided in section 23-2308.01. The death benefit shall be paidto the member's beneficiary, to an alternate payee pursuant to a qualifieddomestic relations order as provided in section 42-1107, or to the member'sestate if there are no designated beneficiaries. If the beneficiary is notthe member's surviving spouse, the death benefit shall be paid as a lump-sumpayment or payments, except that the entire account must be distributed bythe fifth anniversary of the member's death. If the sole primary beneficiaryis the member's surviving spouse, the surviving spouse may elect to receivean annuity calculated as if the member retired and selected a one-hundred-percentjoint and survivor annuity effective on the annuity purchase date. If thesurviving spouse does not elect the annuity option within one hundred eighty days after the death of the member, thesurviving spouse shall receive a lump-sum payment or payments, except thatthe entire account must be distributed by the fifth anniversary of the member'sdeath. SourceLaws 1965, c. 94, § 21, p. 409; Laws 1975, LB 47, § 5; Laws 1985, LB 347, § 10; Laws 1994, LB 1306, § 2; Laws 1996, LB 1273, § 17; Laws 2002, LB 687, § 16; Laws 2003, LB 451, § 12; Laws 2004, LB 1097, § 6; Laws 2009, LB188, § 6.