§ 31773 Participant Death Retirement Benefits

• •If someone in the program dies during the program period, their retirement benefits are calculated as if they were still working, unless other rules apply.
• •For certain benefits, the calculation is done as if the person died on the date they chose to start the program, not the actual death date.
• •The spouse's eligibility for benefits depends on whether they were married and how long they were married as of the actual death date.
• •Any money left in the person's program account will be given out according to another rule (Section 31776.4).

A person in the program dies in a car crash during the program period.

Their retirement benefits will be calculated as if they were still working, unless other rules apply. If they had chosen to start the program on January 1st but died on March 1st, some benefits will be calculated as if they died on January 1st. Their spouse will get benefits based on whether they were married and how long they were married on March 1st. Any money left in their program account will be given out according to the rules.