§74-916.1. Payments upon death - Waiver of probate procedures.
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A. Upon the death of a retired member, the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System shall pay to the beneficiary of the member or if there is no beneficiary or if the beneficiary predeceases the member, to the estate of the member, the sum of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) as a death benefit for those retired members who died prior to July 1, 1999. For those retired members who died on or after July 1, 1999, the sum shall be Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00). The benefit payable pursuant to this subsection shall be deemed, for purposes of federal income taxation, as life insurance proceeds and not as a death benefit if the Internal Revenue Service approves this provision pursuant to a
private letter ruling request which shall be submitted by the board of trustees of the System for that purpose.
B. Upon the death of a member who dies leaving no living beneficiary or having designated his estate as beneficiary, the System may pay any applicable death benefit, unpaid contributions, or unpaid benefit which may be subject to probate, in an amount of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or less, without the intervention of the probate court or probate procedure pursuant to Section 1 et seq. of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
1. Before any applicable probate procedure may be waived, the System must be in receipt of the member's proof of death and the following documents from those persons claiming to be the legal heirs of the deceased member:
a. the member's valid last will and testament, trust
documents or affidavit that a will does not exist,
b. an affidavit or affidavits of heirship which must
state:
(1)the names and signatures of all claiming heirs to
the deceased member's estate including the
claiming heirs' names, relationship to the
deceased, current addresses and current telephone
numbers,
(2)a statement or statements by the claiming heirs
that no application or petition for the
appointment of a personal representative is
pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction,
(3)a description of the personal property claimed
(i.e., death benefit or unpaid contributions or
both), together with a statement that such
personal property is subject to probate, and
(4)a statement by each individual claiming heir
identifying the amount of personal property that
the heir is claiming from the System, and that
the heir has been notified of, is aware of and
consents to the identified claims of all the
other claiming heirs of the deceased member
pending with the System,
c. a written agreement or agreements signed by all
claiming heirs of the deceased member which provides
that the claiming heirs release, discharge and hold
harmless the System from any and all liability,
obligations and costs which it may incur as a result
of making a payment to any of the deceased member's
heirs,
d. a corroborating affidavit from an individual other
than a claiming heir, who was familiar with the
affairs of the deceased member, and
e.
proof that all debts of the deceased member, including
payment of last sickness, hospital, medical, death,
funeral and burial expenses have been paid or provided
for.
2. The Executive Director of the System shall retain complete discretion in determining which requests for probate waiver may be granted or denied, for any reason. Should the System have any question as to the validity of any document presented by the claiming heirs, or as to any statement or assertion contained therein, the probate requirement provided for in Section 1 et seq. of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall not be waived.
3. After paying any death benefits or unpaid contributions to any claiming heirs as provided pursuant to this subsection, the System is discharged and released from any and all liability, obligation and costs to the same extent as if the System had dealt with a personal representative of the deceased member. The System is not required to inquire into the truth of any matter specified in this subsection or into the payment of any estate tax liability.
C. The beneficiary or beneficiaries of death benefits provided pursuant to this section may elect to disclaim the death benefits, in which case such benefits shall be transferred to a person licensed as a funeral director or to a lawfully recognized business entity licensed as required by law to provide funeral services for the deceased member. The qualified disclaimer shall be in writing and shall be an irrevocable and unqualified refusal to accept all or a portion of the death benefit. It shall be received by the transferor no more than nine
(9)months after the later of the day the transfer creating the interest in the disclaiming person is made or the day the disclaiming person attains age twenty-one (21). The interest in the death benefits shall pass without direction by the disclaiming person to another person. After paying death benefits to any beneficiary or the member's estate pursuant to this subsection, the System shall be discharged and released from any and all liability, obligation, and costs. The System is not required to inquire into the truth of any matter specified in this subsection or into the payment of any tax liability. Added by Laws 1987, c. 236, § 186, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987. Amended by Laws 1995, c. 94, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 1999, c. 167, § 6, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2001, c. 192, § 1, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2002, c. 352, § 6, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2010, c. 83, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2010; Laws 2013, c. 159, § 4, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2025, c. 92, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2025.