§ 31845 Survivor Allowance For Spouse

• •If a worker dies before retiring and was part of the system for at least 18 months straight, their spouse can get monthly money if they give up any one-time death payment.
• •The monthly money depends on the worker’s pay at death and how many kids the spouse is taking care of.
• •The spouse won’t get the full amount if they’re already getting other money from the system (like other benefits).

A firefighter dies in a car crash after working for 20 years. His wife is left with two kids.

The wife can choose to skip the one-time death payment and instead get monthly money based on her husband’s last paycheck and the two kids she’s raising. But if she’s already getting some money from the system (like a smaller benefit), that amount will be taken out of the monthly payment.