Subdivision (1) of section 12 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence, as amended by section 17 of chapter 306 of the Acts of 1996, and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Any member who is retired for disability under the provisions of section six, section seven or who is retired under the provisions of subdivision (2) of section twenty-six, may elect to have his allowance paid in accordance with the terms of option (a), option (b), or option (c), provided, however, that, in the event that the surviving eligible beneficiary of said member, under said option (c), is eligible for a benefit under section nine, said beneficiary shall elect to receive either a benefit pursuant to option (c) or a benefit pursuant to said section nine, but in no event shall said beneficiary be eligible for both benefits.
Summary: This section will eliminate the possibility that a single beneficiary could receive two benefits (the Option C survivor benefit and the death benefit provided for in G.L. c. 32, Section 9) as the result of the death of a member. This section would require the Option C beneficiary who is also eligible for the Section 9 benefit to select one benefit. If the Option C beneficiary and the eligible Section 9 beneficiary are different persons, two benefits would be paid. The possibility of the same person receiving two benefits will remain for those persons who were named as Option C beneficiaries between November 7, 1997 and the effective date of this provision.