19-9-804. Amount of service retirement benefit -- continuation of benefit after death of member. (1) A member who is eligible for service retirement must receive a retirement benefit equal to 2.5% of the member's final average compensation for each year of service credit.

(2) (a) Upon the death of a member receiving a service retirement benefit, the member's surviving spouse, if there is one, must receive a benefit equal to the amount of the member's benefit at the time of the member's death.

(b) If the member leaves one or more dependent children, then upon the member's death, if there is no surviving spouse, or upon the death of the surviving spouse, the member's surviving dependent child or children collectively if there are more than one must receive the same monthly payments that a surviving spouse would receive for as long as the child or one of the children remains a dependent child as defined in 19-9-104. The payments must be paid pursuant to 19-2-803. If there is more than one dependent child, upon a child no longer qualifying as dependent under 19-9-104, that child's pro rata payments must be made to the remaining dependent children.