Section 607. Accidental death benefits

a. The eligible beneficiary of a
  member in service, or of a vested member who  dies  as  a  result  of  a
  qualifying  World  Trade  Center  condition as defined in section two of
  this chapter, shall be entitled to an accidental death  benefit  in  the
  form  of  a pension equal to fifty percent of such member's wages earned
  during his or her last year of actual service or his or her annual  wage
  rate  if he or she was credited with less than one year of service since
  last becoming a member, if, upon application  filed  within  sixty  days
  after  the  death  of  the  member,  the  head  of the retirement system
  determines  that  such  member  died  before  the  effective   date   of
  retirement,  as  the  natural  and  proximate  result of an accident not
  caused by his or her own willful negligence sustained in the performance
  of his or her duties in active service and while actually  a  member  of
  the retirement system.
    Notwithstanding  the  provisions of section two hundred forty-two, two
  hundred forty-three or two hundred forty-four of the military law or the
  provisions of any other law to the contrary and solely for  the  purpose
  of  determining  eligibility  for  an accidental death benefit, a member
  shall be considered to have died as the natural and proximate result  of
  an  accident  sustained  in the performance of duty provided such member
  was on the payroll in the service upon which membership is based at  the
  time  he  or  she  was  ordered  to active duty, other than for training
  purposes, pursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code, with the armed
  forces of the United States and died while on such  active  duty  on  or
  after  the effective date of chapter one hundred five of the laws of two
  thousand five which added this paragraph.
    Provided, however, the head of  the  retirement  system  in  its  sole
  discretion  may  accept  an  application for an accidental death benefit
  after the expiration of the sixty day filing  period,  where,  but  only
  where, an ordinary death benefit has not been previously paid.
    b.  If  an eligible beneficiary receiving the accidental death benefit
  hereunder becomes ineligible to continue to receive  such  benefit,  the
  benefit  shall  be continued for all other members of the eligible class
  of beneficiaries and, if none, to each successive class, if any,  during
  their eligibility therefor.
    c. If the aggregate benefits under the provisions of this section have
  not  exceeded  the amount of the ordinary lump sum death benefit because
  of the absence of eligible beneficiaries or because those  beneficiaries
  formerly  eligible  are  no  longer  eligible  for  payments pursuant to
  section six hundred one of this article, then the difference between the
  amounts, if any, paid under this section and the amount of the  ordinary
  lump sum death benefit shall be paid to:
    1.  The  last eligible beneficiary or beneficiaries, if surviving, who
  were receiving pension payments hereunder or, if none
    2.  The  distributees  of  the  member,  if  there  were  no  eligible
  beneficiaries  at  the  member's  death,  or  the  persons  who would be
  distributees of the member had he or she died intestate on the date that
  the last eligible beneficiary died or became ineligible.
    * NB Expires June 30, 2011