Upon the death of a member who has completed at least three (3) years of total service, or upon the death of a member in the line of duty, survivor annuities and death benefits shall be payable to eligible survivors described in Subsection (a) for the applicable term set forth in Subsection (b).

(a) Eligible Survivors.

(1) The following persons shall be eligible to receive the following survivor benefits or death benefits as set forth in this Article. Eligibility shall be determined as of the date of death of a member, whether in service, in the line of duty, or in retirement.

(A) Surviving Spouse Annuity. A surviving spouse, as defined in § 8104(v), shall be eligible to receive a surviving spouse annuity upon the death of a member.

(B) Surviving Child Annuity. A member’s unmarried child, by blood or adoption, who is:

(i) under the age of eighteen (18) years and lived in the same principal residence as

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the member who provided more than one-half
(1/2) of the child’s support;

(ii) eighteen (18) years of age or older, but under twenty-four (24) years of age, and a full-time student in high school, or an accredited undergraduate educational institution; or

(ii) disabled prior to age eighteen (18) years, shall be eligible to receive a surviving child annuity upon the death of a member based on the Rate Formula set forth in § 8135.

(2) To establish eligibility based on disability, the Board must receive, no later than one (1) year following the death of a member, examination report(s) by two (2) licensed physicians pronouncing that prior to age eighteen (18) years the child was, and currently remains, permanently physically or mentally disabled, and incapable of self-support.

(b) Term of Survivor Benefits.

(1) A surviving spouse annuity shall be payable as of the death of the member, and shall terminate upon the earlier of:

(A) the death of the surviving spouse; or

(B) the remarriage of the surviving spouse before the age of forty (40) years.

(2) A surviving child annuity shall be payable to each eligible surviving child as of the death of the member, subject to the aggregate basic surviving child annuities for five (5) or more children under § 8135.

(3) A surviving child annuity shall terminate upon a child’s

(A) death,

(B) marriage,

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(C) attainment of age eighteen (18) years (unless the child is disabled, or attends high school or an undergraduate educational institution full- time),

(D) attainment of age twenty-five (25) years (unless the child is disabled), or if a previously disabled child is no longer disabled.

(c) Optional Provisions for Unmarried Employees. Upon retirement for services, any unmarried employee, whether male or female, if in good health as determined upon medical examination, may elect to receive in lieu of his or her full service retirement annuity, on an actuarial equivalent basis, a reduced annuity payable during his or her lifetime with an annuity payable to his or her designated beneficiary at the same rate and under the same conditions as are applicable to a surviving spouse of a member.

(1) The reduced retirement annuity payable to the member under this option shall be ninety percent (90%) of the full service retirement annuity if the designated beneficiary is of the same age, or older, or less than five (5) years younger than the retired employee.

(2) Such retirement annuity shall be reduced to the extent of one percent (1%) for each additional year above five (5) that the age of the member exceeds the age of the beneficiary; provided, that the reduced retirement annuity for the member shall in no event be less than sixty percent (60%) of the full service retirement annuity.

(d) Survivor Death Benefit. Upon the death of a member, while in service or in receipt of a service retirement or disability retirement annuity, if a surviving spouse or child survives the member, a single lump sum death benefit payment in the amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) shall be payable.

SOURCE: GC § 4217, as repealed and reenacted by P.L. 11-171; Subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) amended by P.L. 13-199 (Nov. 11, 1976). Subsection (f) added by P.L. 20-099:8 (Oct. 13, 1989). Subsection (c)

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amended by P.L. 24-189:2 (May 6, 1998). Subsection (a)(4) amended by P.L. 24-281:2 (Oct. 16, 1998). Subsection (a) amended by P.L. 26-010:1 (May 18, 2001). Repealed and reenacted by P.L. 31-192:5 (Feb. 27, 2012).

2018 NOTE: Subsection/subitem designations added/altered pursuant to
1 Guam Code Ann. § 1606.

P.L. 26-010:2 (May 18, 2001) amended subsection (a) and included the following uncodified language:

Section 2. Any child who survives a member who, as of the date of the death of the member is a full-time student, is under the age of twenty-four (24) years, and has been continuously enrolled as a full-time student since the death of the member shall be eligible for a survivor annuity until determined ineligible according to the provisions of this Act.

This language was never codified, and repealed by P.L. 31-192:2 (Feb. 27,
2012). Thus, this language was only in effect from May 18, 2001 until
February 27, 2012.