§ 607. Accidental death benefits. a. The eligible beneficiary of a\nmember in service, or of a vested member who dies as a result of a\nqualifying World Trade Center condition as defined in section two of\nthis chapter, shall be entitled to an accidental death benefit in the\nform of a pension equal to fifty percent of such member's wages earned\nduring his or her last year of actual service or his or her annual wage\nrate if he or she was credited with less than one year of service since\nlast becoming a member, if, upon application filed within five years\nafter the death of the member, the head of the retirement system\ndetermines that such member died before the effective date of\nretirement, as the natural and proximate result of an accident not\ncaused by his or her own willful negligence sustained in the performance\nof his or her duties in active service and while actually a member of\nthe retirement system.\n Notwithstanding the provisions of section two hundred forty-two, two\nhundred forty-three or two hundred forty-four of the military law or the\nprovisions of any other law to the contrary and solely for the purpose\nof determining eligibility for an accidental death benefit, a member\nshall be considered to have died as the natural and proximate result of\nan accident sustained in the performance of duty provided such member\nwas on the payroll in the service upon which membership is based at the\ntime he or she was ordered to active duty pursuant to Title 10 of the\nUnited States Code, with the armed forces of the United States or to\nservice in the uniformed services pursuant to Chapter 43 of Title 38 of\nthe United States Code and died while on such active duty or service in\nthe uniformed services on or after June fourteenth, two thousand five.\n Provided, however, the head of the retirement system in its sole\ndiscretion may accept an application for an accidental death benefit\nafter the expiration of the applicable filing period, where, but only\nwhere, an ordinary death benefit has not been previously paid.\n b. If an eligible beneficiary receiving the accidental death benefit\nhereunder becomes ineligible to continue to receive such benefit, the\nbenefit shall be continued for all other members of the eligible class\nof beneficiaries and, if none, to each successive class, if any, during\ntheir eligibility therefor.\n c. If the aggregate benefits under the provisions of this section have\nnot exceeded the amount of the ordinary lump sum death benefit because\nof the absence of eligible beneficiaries or because those beneficiaries\nformerly eligible are no longer eligible for payments pursuant to\nsection six hundred one of this article, then the difference between the\namounts, if any, paid under this section and the amount of the ordinary\nlump sum death benefit shall be paid to:\n 1. The last eligible beneficiary or beneficiaries, if surviving, who\nwere receiving pension payments hereunder or, if none\n 2. The distributees of the member, if there were no eligible\nbeneficiaries at the member's death, or the persons who would be\ndistributees of the member had he or she died intestate on the date that\nthe last eligible beneficiary died or became ineligible.\n
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