Superannuation Act 1916

Where—

an employee dies before retirement leaving a spouse or de facto partner,

the spouse or de facto partner dies, and

there are children of the employee or of the spouse or de facto partner in respect of whom pension becomes payable in accordance with section 33,

the total amount of pension paid to the spouse or de facto partner under section 30 otherwise than in respect of a child, and

any lump sum paid to the spouse or de facto partner under section 21C in respect of such a pension.

If an employee dies before retirement leaving a surviving spouse or de facto partner, and the surviving spouse or de facto partner dies, and there is no child of the employee or of the spouse or de facto partner in respect of whom pension is payable under this Act, there is payable to the employee’s personal representative or, where the employee has no personal representatives, to such person as STC may determine, an amount calculated by deducting from the minimum benefit payable in respect of the employee the total of all benefits paid as a consequence of the death of the employee to the spouse or de facto partner or any other person under this Act (including any instalments of pension).

In a case to which subsection (1) applies, STC may, if it considers it to be in the best interests of the child or children, make a payment in accordance with subsection (2) as if there were no child or children of the deceased, in which case no pension is payable under this Act in respect of the child or children and no amount is payable under subsection (1).

For the purposes of this section, the minimum benefit payable in respect of an employee is the amount that would have been payable if the employee had resigned, immediately before dying, from the service of the employee’s employer and elected under section 38B to take the benefit of section 38A.