PAX Centurion - January / February 2013

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • January/February 2013 • Page 43 month (or $1,080.00 annually) for each additional eligible child. When does this additional allowance for children terminate? Payments to the spouse for the benefit of the childrenwill continue until each child's 18th birthday. If a child is a full-time student at an accredited educational institution, benefits will be extended until the child's 22nd birthday. Benefits will end if a child dies, marries or is adopted. In addition, even if a child is still under 22, benefitswill terminatewhen he or she ceases to be a full-time student. There is no termination of benefits for a child who is physically or mentally incapacitated from earning on the date of the member's death. Is the amount of the allowance limited? The Option D benefit, together with amounts payable to a surviving spouse for the benefit of children, cannot exceed the annual rate of regular compensa- tion the member was receiving on the date of his or her death. What happens if the member's spouse remarries? The spouse will continue to receive the Option D allowance. What benefits arepayable toamember's eligible children if themember is unmarried or the spouse dies after receiving some benefits? The allowance which would have been payable to the spouse, and the ad- ditional allowance for the benefit of the children, will be paid to the surviving eligible children through a legally appointed guardian. What benefits are payable if an individual dies as a member with less than two years of service? If a member dies with less than two years of service and has designated an Option D beneficiary, the nominated eligible beneficiary would receive the OptionCallowance themember would have received if themember had retired on the date of his or her death. If the member is under age 55 on the date he or she dies, the allowance would be calculated as if the member had attained age From Option D on page 42 Massachusetts Public Employees Guide to Survivor Benefits - Option D 55. If the member's death occurs at age 55 or older, the allowance would be calculated using the member's actual age on the date of death. If an individual is an inactivememberwhenhe or shedies, what benefits are payable to the member's spouse? The spouse has the same choice, with certain limitations as discussed below, as the surviving spouse of a member-in-service whose death occurs prior to retirement. The eligible spouse may elect to receive an Option D allowance. If the spouse fails to elect the Option D allowance, the accumulated deductions will be paid to the member's surviving beneficiaries of record or, if there are none, to the surviving spouse in one sum. If an individual dies as an inactivemember, is his or her spouse entitled to a minimum allowance? No. The spouse of an inactive member has no minimum guaranteed al- lowance. If an individual dies as an inactive member, what benefit is payable for his or her minor children? None. The surviving spouse of an inactive member is not entitled to any additional allowance to be paid for the benefit of the children. Nominimumguaranteed allowancewould be payable to the spouse nor can any additional allowance be paid for the benefit of the children of an inactive member. When is a member considered to have inactive status? Members-in-service become members-inactive upon their retirement. Members-in-service also become members-inactive when their employment terminates and their accumulated deductions remain in the system of which theywere an activemember; orwhen they are on an authorized leave of absence (non-medical)without pay for a reason other than retirement board dutieswhich extends for more than a year. 281 Neponset Ave. Dorchester 617-265-2665 Winter/Spring Sign-up Half Days • Full Days Secure Play Area 4,000 sq. ft. 3 Classrooms 2 yrs. 8 mo to 6 yrs. Massachusetts Early Education License #291031 • Daughter of BPPA Retiree Neponset Preschool $37.00 per day By late June, the MedCottage arrived. Workers cut down trees to make room and a crane lowered the cottage onto six concrete piers in the yard. Relatives brought photographs of Viola’s grandchildren and knick- knacks, including a colorful row of miniature houses. Over the bed they hung Roman Catholic icons, including a painting of “Nuestra Senora del Perpetuos Socorro,” whose name, like Soc’s, means “help” in Spanish. But Viola wanted nothing to do with the place. As the standoff dragged on, Soc worried that their money had been wasted, that their MedCottage would end up being the biggest, most expensive storage shed on the planet. Then the air conditioner in the house went kaput, andViola retreated to the MedCottage for relief. Viola now seems used to her new home. On a cabinet in the kitchenette sits a row of faded black-and-white photographs of Viola, wearing a pretty dress and an alluring smile, that she sent to her new husband when he was away on duty. Although the MedCottage has made it possible for Viola to live a few steps away from her family, Soc sometimes wishes that Viola were as self-assured and independent as the younger version in those old photos. But these days, the family also counts it as a small victory when Viola comes to dinner in the main house and then returns without a fuss to “my place.” (Reprinted from the Washington Post, November 22, 2012.) From Elders on page 41 Keeping elders close, in the backyard