Page 257

House Bill No. 5506

Public Act No. 22-118 257 of 739

thousand dollars. [For purposes of this subsection, purchased military service and purchased leaves of absence under subdivisions (3) and (8) of subsection (b) of section 10-183e shall be deemed to be Connecticut public school service.] If there is no surviving spouse, such benefit shall be equal to the member's burial expenses but not in excess of what would have been payable to a surviving spouse and shall be payable to the person who paid such expenses. No payment under this subsection shall be made unless application for the payment is filed with the board within two years of such member's death. (c) In lieu of [such] a basic survivor's benefit and [such] a lump sum death benefit, a sole survivor who has attained age eighteen, and is the member's designated beneficiary may elect to receive an amount equal to such member's accumulated contributions together with credited interest. [When a member has designated two or more beneficiaries, who have, at the time of such member's death, attained age eighteen, the one entitled to basic survivor's benefits, if any, shall be deemed the sole survivor within the meaning of this subsection, provided, that all other designated beneficiaries relinquish all claim to any amounts that may be due them from the system.] (d) The surviving spouse of any member who, at the time of death was eligible for a retirement benefit other than a disability benefit and had not filed a waiver of the coparticipant's option, may elect to receive (1) a monthly benefit for life equal to the benefit payable if a one hundred per cent coparticipant's option had been elected or (2) an amount equal to the member's accumulated contributions with credited interest. (e) If no coparticipant option has become effective and if the aggregate payments under this section are less than the accumulated mandatory contributions of a deceased member plus credited interest, there shall be paid to such member's designated beneficiary an amount equal to the difference between such aggregate payments and such