In the event a Participant who has not attained entitlement to retirement or disability benefits dies from any cause while an Eligible Employee, the Beneficiary of the Participant shall be entitled to receive a refund of the Participant's Member Contribution Account as defined in Article V. In the absence of a designation, the Beneficiary of a Participant shall be his spouse, if surviving, or, if spouse predeceases, his children under the age of 18 or, effective as of April 17, 2002, if attending college under age 23, if any, and if none, his estate.
A.
Effective April 17, 2002, if a Participant "retires on pension" (within the meaning of Act 30 of 2002) and dies, a benefit shall be paid to the surviving spouse or, if no spouse survives, or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, then the child or children under the age of 18 years or, if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years in the case of a child or children, in the amount of 50% of the pension the Participant was receiving or would have been receiving had he been retired at the time of his death. For purposes of this section, a Participant who has attained Normal Retirement Age and dies prior to retiring shall be treated as if he had retired on the day before his death. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Plan, if anyone receives benefits under this section, no one shall receive any other benefits under this Plan on account of the death or retirement of the Participant.
B.
The phrase "attending college" means that the eligible children are registered at an accredited institution of higher learning and are carrying a minimum course load of seven credit hours per semester.
C.
To the extent required by Act 30 of 2002, this section applies to the surviving spouse of a Participant who died on or before April 17, 2002, and who was not remarried as of April 17, 2002.