ORS 238.400: Payment upon death of retired member who dies before time expires to make election to change retirement benefits.

If a member of the system, who has attained normal retirement age and has retired from service, dies prior to the expiration of the time an election could be made by the member to change the member’s service retirement benefit option under ORS 238.305, and the records of the Public Employees Retirement Board indicate that the member’s surviving spouse is the member’s beneficiary under ORS 238.390, the surviving spouse may, not more than 60 days after the date of the death of such deceased member, elect to receive the amount referred to in ORS 238.390, or elect Option 2 or Option 3 under ORS 238.305 and designate self as the beneficiary thereunder with the same force and effect as if the election and designation had been properly made by the deceased member. [Formerly 237.167; 2025 c.70 §4]