§ 68. Service-connected death benefits.

If any member shall lose his life while in the discharge of his duties, or shall die within five years from injuries received while in the discharge of his duties, and shall leave a Surviving Spouse or Domestic Partner or a child or children or one or more Dependent Parent(s), the Board shall authorize and direct payment of a pension to the member's Surviving Spouse or Domestic Partner or child or children or Dependent Parent(s) as follows:

(a)

To the Surviving Spouse or Domestic Partner, the greater of:

(1)

The pension to which the deceased member would have been entitled under section 66; and

(2)

Eighty-five percent of the member's Salary at the date of his death.

(b)

If there is no Surviving Spouse or Domestic Partner, or if the Surviving Spouse remarries or dies, or the Domestic Partner marries, enters into another Domestic Partnership, or dies, the benefit set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall be paid in equal portions to each child of the deceased member. However, benefits shall continue to be paid to the member's Surviving Spouse on the Surviving Spouse's remarriage, instead of to the member's children, if the member is killed in the line of duty. Payments under this subsection to any child shall cease when:

(1)

The child attains age 18 (or age 22 in the case of a child who is a full-time student in high school or college, in the case of a Handicapped Child ceases to be a Handicapped Child); or

(2)

The child marries or dies.

A legally adopted child shall have the same rights as a natural born child but no pension shall be allowed to any stepchild of a deceased member or child of any Domestic Partner.

(c)

If there are no benefits payable to a child or children, the benefit set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall be paid to the Dependent Parent of the deceased member. If both parents are Dependent Parents, such benefit shall be shared equally.

(d)

The trusteeship and disbursement of the pension to any child or Dependent Parent is to be determined by the Board.

(e)

The pension payments to a Surviving Spouse, Domestic Partner, children and Dependent Parents shall not be decreased or reduced due to benefits received by them under any workmen's compensation law.

(Laws of Fla., 1945, ch. 23414, § 8; Laws of Fla., 1953, ch. 29286, § 5; election of 11-2-99; election of 11-6-01)