Section 13-558. Retirement; options in which retirement allowances may be taken

a. A contributor may at any time file with such board his or  her  election  to  receive  on retirement his or her benefits in a retirement
  allowance payable throughout life or to receive the actuarial equivalent
  of his or her annuity, his or her pension,  or  his  or  her  retirement
  allowance  in  a  lesser  annuity,  or  a  lesser  pension,  or a lesser
  retirement allowance, payable throughout life, with the provision that;
    Option I. If he or she dies before he or she has received in  payments
  the  present  value of his or her annuity, his or her pension, or his or
  her retirement  allowance,  as  it  was  at  the  time  of  his  or  her
  retirement, the balance shall be paid to his or her legal representative
  or  to  such  person  as he or she shall nominate by written designation
  duly acknowledged and filed with such board. The contributor may provide
  by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with such board, that
  if such balance shall be in the sum of ten thousand dollars or more, the
  same shall be paid to the person designated in accordance  with  one  of
  the following options:
    Option  Ia.  Upon  the  death of the contributor such balance shall be
  paid to the person designated in the form  of  an  annuity,  in  monthly
  installments,   throughout   his   or  her  life.  The  annuity  to  the
  beneficiary, if payable, shall be calculated on  the  basis  of  regular
  interest and the mortality table for Option A; or
    Option  Ib.  Upon  the  death of the contributor such balance shall be
  paid  in  a  lesser  annuity  in  monthly  installments  to  the  person
  designated  with  a provision that should such beneficiary die before he
  or she has received the total  actuarial  value  of  such  balance,  the
  unused portion shall be paid to the estate of the contributor or to such
  other  person  as  he  or she shall nominate by written designation duly
  acknowledged and filed with  such  board.  The  lesser  annuity  to  the
  beneficiary,  if  payable,  shall  be calculated on the basis of regular
  interest and the mortality table for Option B.
    In the event that the contributor has made no election of Option Ia or
  Option Ib, the designated beneficiary may elect to receive  the  balance
  payable upon the death of the contributor in a lump sum or he or she may
  elect  to  have  such balance paid under any one of the above options in
  the same manner as if the contributor had designated  the  option  under
  which  such  balance  would have been paid. The beneficiary nominated in
  such designation may be changed by the contributor at  any  time  either
  before  or  after  retirement by a new designation or designations filed
  prior to the death of the contributor.
    Option II. Upon his or her death, his  or  her  annuity,  his  or  her
  pension,  or  his  or  her  retirement  allowance,  shall  be  continued
  throughout the life of and paid to  such  person  as  he  or  she  shall
  nominate  by  written  designation duly acknowledged and filed with such
  board.
    Option III. Upon his or her death, one-half of his or her annuity, his
  or her pension, or his or her retirement allowance, shall  be  continued
  throughout  the  life  of  and  paid  to  such person as he or she shall
  nominate by written designation duly acknowledged and  filed  with  such
  board.
    Option  IV. Some other benefit or benefits shall be paid either to the
  contributor or to such person or persons as he or  she  shall  nominate,
  provided  such  other  benefit  or  benefits  together  with such lesser
  annuity, or lesser pension, or  lesser  retirement  allowance  shall  be
  certified  by  the  actuary  of such board to be of equivalent actuarial
  value and shall be approved by such board.

    b. For purposes of this section, the words "pension"  and  "retirement
  allowance"       shall      be      deemed      to      include      the
  pension-providing-for-increased-take-home-pay.
    c.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this title to the contrary,
  a twenty-year  pension  plan  contributor  who  has  made  an  election,
  pursuant  to  subdivision a of this section, prior to the effective date
  to his or her retirement, may, at any time before his or her  retirement
  allowance as such a contributor begins, change any such election made by
  or  her  to any other election authorized by such subdivision, by filing
  such changed election with the board. Any such changed election may,  at
  any  time before such retirement allowance begins, be further changed in
  the same manner to any other election authorized  by  such  subdivision.
  Any  such  changed  election  last  filed  shall supersede all elections
  previously filed.
    d. (1) The retirement board may adopt rules and regulations  providing
  that   in  any  case  where  a  contributor  or  designated  beneficiary
  authorized by the applicable provisions of this chapter  to  nominate  a
  beneficiary  to receive a lump sum benefit under this section represents
  to the retirement system that a specified person has been designated  by
  such  contributor  or  designated  beneficiary  as a trustee of an inter
  vivos or testamentary trust for the purpose of this subdivision d,  such
  person shall (a) be eligible to be nominated to receive, in the capacity
  of  trustee, a lump sum benefit under Option I and (b) be eligible to be
  nominated to receive, in the capacity  of  trustee,  any  benefit  under
  Option IV which the retirement board shall deem appropriate.
    (2) Any proceeds received by a trustee under this section shall not be
  subject to the debts of the member or to transfer or estate taxes to any
  greater  extent  than if such proceeds were payable to the beneficiaries
  named in the trust and not to the estate of the member.
    (3) A payment made in good faith under this section (a) to a person so
  represented to the retirement system to be a trustee of an  inter  vivos
  trust, or (b) to a person who is designated as a successor trustee of an
  inter  vivos trust and who provides a copy of his or her appointment, or
  (c) to a person who is designated as a trustee or successor trustee of a
  testamentary  trust  and  who  provides  a  copy  of  the   letters   of
  trusteeship, provided such payment is made to such payee in the capacity
  of  trustee,  shall  be a complete discharge to the retirement system to
  the extent of the payment. Such  discharge  shall  not  be  impaired  or
  affected  by  an  adjudication  that a trust is invalid or that a person
  represented to be or designated as a trustee is not entitled to  receive
  the proceeds, if payment is made in good faith under this section before
  notice  to  the  retirement system of the claim of invalidity or lack of
  entitlement on which such adjudication is based.
    (4) If no person to whom the retirement system is authorized  to  make
  payment  in  the capacity of trustee, as provided for in paragraph three
  of this subdivision d, claims the proceeds within eighteen months  after
  the  death  of the retired member, payment shall be made to the deceased
  retired member's estate and such payment shall be a  complete  discharge
  to the retirement system to the extent of the payment.
    (a)  If  satisfactory  evidence  is  furnished  within  such period of
  eighteen months that there is or will  be  no  trustee  to  receive  the
  proceeds, payment shall be made to the deceased retired member's estate.
    (5)  In  the  event  that  after  a  person  represented  to have been
  designated as a trustee of an  inter  vivos  or  testamentary  trust  is
  nominated  pursuant to rules and regulations adopted under paragraph one
  of  this  subdivision  d,  the  contributor  or  designated  beneficiary
  authorized to make a nomination shall, in compliance with the applicable

  provisions  of  this  chapter, nominate for receipt of the same lump sum
  benefit:
    (a)  a  beneficiary  other  than  a person so represented to have been
  designated as a trustee; or
    (b) a person represented to have been designated as a trustee under  a
  different inter vivos or testamentary trust;
  a payment made in good faith under this section to the last such nominee
  as  of  the  date  of  death,  whether  he  or  she is a beneficiary not
  represented to have been designated as trustee or a  person  represented
  to  have  been  so  designated,  shall  be  a  complete discharge to the
  retirement system to the extent of the payment, provided, however,  that
  if  payment is made to a person represented to have been designated as a
  trustee, the retirement system shall be so discharged if payment is made
  to such person in the capacity of trustee and  if  there  is  compliance
  with  the  requirements  of  paragraph  three of this subdivision d with
  respect to submission of copies. In any case where the last such nominee
  is a person represented to  have  been  designated  as  a  trustee,  the
  provisions of paragraph four of this subdivision d shall apply.
    e.  Notwithstanding  section  13-565  and  any other provision of this
  title, an option selection previously filed by a contributor or  retired
  contributor  may be changed no later than thirty days following the date
  of payability of his or her retirement allowance. A retired  contributor
  who  has  been  retired  for  disability  may change an option selection
  previously filed no later than (1) thirty days  following  the  date  on
  which  such  contributor's  application  for  disability  retirement was
  approved by the retirement board or (2) thirty days following  the  date
  on which the contributor was retired for disability, whichever is later.