Minor Child Not Eligible for Survivor Spouse Benefits Under Pension Code
In a recent challenge to a Pension Board ruling, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled in favor of a municipality, finding that a minor child was not eligible to apply for the 100% act of duty benefit under section 3-112(e) of the Illinois Pension Code because he is not a surviving spouse. Masterton v. Village of Glenview.
After a police officer died while attending roll call, the officer's former spouse filed an application with the local pension board (Pension Board) for survivor pension benefits for the officer's son. She sought an award of duty death survivor benefits in the amount of 100% of the officer's former salary. The Pension Board initially dismissed the application for 100% benefits, finding that the child was not eligible to apply for a 100% act of duty benefit because he was not a surviving spouse under the applicable Pension Code provision, but awarded a 50% minor child's survivor benefit. The former spouse appealed to the circuit court, which reversed the Pension Board's decision and remanded it back to the Pension Board to conduct further proceedings on the application for 100% benefits. On remand, the Pension Board ruled that the officer's death was not the result of the performance of an act of duty and concluded that the child was only entitled to a 50% pension award. The circuit court upheld the Pension Board's decision and the decision was appealed to the Appellate Court.
The Appellate Court held that the officer's minor son did not qualify for act of duty survivor benefits under section 3-112(e) of the Pension Code because he is not a surviving spouse. Since the Appellate Court determined that the minor child was not eligible to apply for survivor benefits under section 3-112(e), the Court did not address the former spouse's argument that the officer's participation in roll call constituted an act of duty under the Pension Code.
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