(1) Upon the death of a governor or legislator who has not yet retired and who has completed four or more years in the elected office, the member‘s surviving spouse shall receive an allowance equal to 50% of the allowance to which the governor or legislator would have been entitled upon reaching age 65, if the governor or legislator and surviving spouse had been married at least six months.

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Terms Used In Utah Code 49-19-501

  • Equal: means , with respect to biological sex, of the same value. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Governor: includes former governors. See Utah Code 49-19-102
  • Legislator: includes former legislators. See Utah Code 49-19-102
  • Member: means a person, except a retiree, with contributions on deposit with a system, the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act, or with a terminated system. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Office: means the Utah State Retirement Office. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Plan: means the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan created under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-19-102
  • Surviving spouse: means :
         (51)(a) the lawful spouse who has been married to a member for at least six months immediately before the death date of the member; or
         (51)(b) a former lawful spouse of a member with a valid domestic relations order benefits on file with the office before the member's death date in accordance with Section 49-11-612. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Writing: includes :
         (48)(a) printing;
         (48)(b) handwriting; and
         (48)(c) information stored in an electronic or other medium if the information is retrievable in a perceivable format. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(2) Upon the death of a governor or legislator receiving an allowance under this plan, the member’s surviving spouse is entitled to an allowance equal to 50% of the allowance being paid to the member at the time of death.
(3)

     (3)(a) A surviving spouse who requests a benefit under this section shall apply in writing to the office.
     (3)(b) The allowance shall begin on the first day of the month:

          (3)(b)(i) following the month in which the member died, if the application is received by the office within 90 days of the member’s death; or
          (3)(b)(ii) following the month in which the application is received by the office, if the application is received by the office more than 90 days after the member’s death.