Survivor insurance/LEOFF

AN ACT Relating to medical insurance premium reimbursements for 1
surviving spouses of line of duty deaths; amending RCW 41.26.510; and 2
creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 41.26.510 and 2016 c 115 s 1 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) Except as provided in RCW 11.07.010, if a member or a vested 7
member who has not completed at least ten years of service dies, the 8
amount of the accumulated contributions standing to such member's 9
credit in the retirement system at the time of such member's death, 10
less any amount identified as owing to an obligee upon withdrawal of 11
accumulated contributions pursuant to a court order filed under RCW 12
41.50.670, shall be paid to the member's estate, or such person or 13
persons, trust, or organization as the member shall have nominated by 14
written designation duly executed and filed with the department. If 15
there be no such designated person or persons still living at the 16
time of the member's death, such member's accumulated contributions 17
standing to such member's credit in the retirement system, less any 18
amount identified as owing to an obligee upon withdrawal of 19
accumulated contributions pursuant to a court order filed under RCW 20
41.50.670, shall be paid to the member's surviving spouse or domestic 21
H-2861.1
HOUSE BILL 2441
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Low, Bronoske, Bergquist, and Davis
Read first time 01/13/26. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
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partner as if in fact such spouse or domestic partner had been 1
nominated by written designation, or if there be no such surviving 2
spouse or domestic partner, then to such member's legal 3
representatives. 4
(2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, if a 5
member who is killed in the course of employment or a member who is 6
eligible for retirement or a member who has completed at least ten 7
years of service dies, the surviving spouse, domestic partner, or 8
eligible child or children shall elect to receive either:9
(a) A retirement allowance computed as provided for in RCW 10
41.26.430, actuarially reduced by the amount of any lump sum benefit 11
identified as owing to an obligee upon withdrawal of accumulated 12
contributions pursuant to a court order filed under RCW 41.50.670 and 13
actuarially adjusted to reflect a joint and one hundred percent 14
survivor option under RCW 41.26.460 and if the member was not 15
eligible for normal retirement at the date of death a further 16
reduction as described in RCW 41.26.430; if a surviving spouse or 17
domestic partner who is receiving a retirement allowance dies leaving 18
a child or children of the member under the age of majority, then 19
such child or children shall continue to receive an allowance in an 20
amount equal to that which was being received by the surviving spouse 21
or domestic partner, share and share alike, until such child or 22
children reach the age of majority; if there is no surviving spouse 23
or domestic partner eligible to receive an allowance at the time of 24
the member's death, such member's child or children under the age of 25
majority shall receive an allowance share and share alike calculated 26
as herein provided making the assumption that the ages of the spouse 27
or domestic partner and member were equal at the time of the member's 28
death; or 29
(b)(i) The member's accumulated contributions, less any amount 30
identified as owing to an obligee upon withdrawal of accumulated 31
contributions pursuant to a court order filed under RCW 41.50.670; or32
(ii) If the member dies on or after July 25, 1993, one hundred 33
fifty percent of the member's accumulated contributions, less any 34
amount identified as owing to an obligee upon withdrawal of 35
accumulated contributions pursuant to a court order filed under RCW 36
41.50.670. Any accumulated contributions attributable to restorations 37
made under RCW 41.50.165(2) shall be refunded at one hundred percent.38
(3) If a member who is eligible for retirement or a member who 39
has completed at least ten years of service dies after October 1, 40
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1977, and is not survived by a spouse, domestic partner, or an 1
eligible child, then the accumulated contributions standing to the 2
member's credit, less any amount identified as owing to an obligee 3
upon withdrawal of accumulated contributions pursuant to a court 4
order filed under RCW 41.50.670, shall be paid: 5
(a) To an estate, a person or persons, trust, or organization as 6
the member shall have nominated by written designation duly executed 7
and filed with the department; or 8
(b) If there is no such designated person or persons still living 9
at the time of the member's death, then to the member's legal 10
representatives. 11
(4) The retirement allowance of a member: 12
(a) Who is killed in the course of employment, as determined by 13
the director of the department of labor and industries,14
(b) Who has left the employ of an employer due to service in the 15
national guard or military reserves and dies while honorably serving 16
in the national guard or military reserves during a period of war as 17
defined in RCW 41.04.005, or 18
(c) Who has left the employ of an employer due to service in the 19
national guard, military reserves, federal emergency management 20
agency, or national disaster medical system of the United States 21
department of health and human services and dies while performing 22
service in response to a disaster, major emergency, special event, 23
federal exercise, or official training on or after March 22, 2014,24
is not subject to an actuarial reduction for early retirement as 25
provided in RCW 41.26.430 or an actuarial reduction to reflect a 26
joint and one hundred percent survivor option under RCW 41.26.460. 27
The member's retirement allowance is computed under RCW 41.26.420, 28
except that the member shall be entitled to a minimum retirement 29
allowance equal to ten percent of such member's final average salary. 30
The member shall additionally receive a retirement allowance equal to 31
two percent of such member's average final salary for each year of 32
service beyond five. 33
(5)(a) The retirement allowance paid to the spouse or domestic 34
partner and dependent children of a member who is killed in the 35
course of employment, as set forth in RCW 41.05.011(5), shall include 36
reimbursement for any payments of premium rates to the Washington 37
state health care authority pursuant to RCW 41.05.080 and for 38
medicare part A (hospital insurance) and medicare part B (medical 39
insurance). The spouse or domestic partner and dependent children who 40
p. 3 HB 2441
are entitled to medicare must enroll and maintain enrollment in both 1
medicare part A and medicare part B in order to remain eligible for 2
the reimbursement provided in this subsection. 3
(b) The retirement allowance paid to the spouse or domestic 4
partner and dependent children of a member who is killed in the 5
course of employment, as set forth in RCW 41.05.011(5), shall include 6
reimbursement from the date of the member's death to the 7
determination that the member was killed in the course of employment 8
for premiums on employer-provided medical insurance, insurance 9
authorized by the consolidated omnibus budget reconciliation act of 10
1985 (COBRA), medicare part A (hospital insurance), and medicare part 11
B (medical insurance). A member who is entitled to medicare must 12
enroll and maintain enrollment in both medicare part A and medicare 13
part B in order to remain eligible for the reimbursement provided in 14
this subsection.15
(c) The retirement allowance of a member who is not eligible for 16
the reimbursement provided in (b) of this subsection shall include 17
reimbursement for any payments made for premiums on other medical 18
insurance. However, in no instance shall the reimbursement exceed the 19
amount reimbursed for premiums authorized by the consolidated omnibus 20
budget reconciliation act of 1985 (COBRA). 21
(6) In addition to the benefits provided in subsection (4) of 22
this section, if the surviving spouse or domestic partner of a member 23
who is killed in the course of employment is not eligible to receive 24
industrial insurance payments pursuant to RCW 51.32.050 due to 25
remarriage, the surviving spouse or domestic partner shall receive an 26
amount equal to the benefit they would receive pursuant to RCW 27
51.32.050 but for the remarriage. This subsection applies to 28
surviving spouses and domestic partners whose benefits pursuant to 29
RCW 51.32.050 were suspended or terminated due to remarriage prior to 30
July 24, 2015. The monthly payments to any surviving spouse or 31
domestic partner who received a lump sum payment pursuant to RCW 32
51.32.050 shall be actuarially reduced to reflect the amount of the 33
lump sum payment. 34
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Section 1 (5) (b) and (c) of this act 35
applies to any payments for premiums made after June 10, 2010. To 36
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this extent, this act applies retroactively, but in all other 1
respects it applies prospectively. 2
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