8.3.1.1 Amounts Payable

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

. A surviving spouse is entitled to a monthly benefit in an amount equal to 66-2/3% of the deceased employee’s average monthly wage.^[23] The benefit terminates with the spouse’s death or remarriage.^[24] In the event the surviving spouse remarries, he or she is entitled to a lump sum payment equal to two years’ benefits.^[25] If the remarriage is annulled, however, the death benefit may be reinstated.^[26]

The death benefit payable to a surviving spouse is increased if the deceased employee had children. For each child, the benefit is increased by an amount equal to 15% of the decedent’s average monthly wage, with the total amount payable to the surviving spouse not to exceed 66-2/3% of the employee’s average monthly wage.^[27] The additional benefit is payable until a child attains age 18, with the benefit extended to age 22 “if the child is enrolled as a full-time student in any accredited educational institution.”^[28]

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^[23]A.R.S. § 23-1046 (A)(2).

^[24]Id.

^[25]Id. Self v. Industrial Comm’n, 192 Ariz. 399, 966 P.2d 1003 (Ct. App. 1998). The two-year equivalent lump sum payment upon the remarriage of a surviving spouse is not an “advance” of compensation, but a separate form of compensation that may not be taken as an offset against the surviving dependent children’s entitlement.

^[26]Jackson v. Industrial Comm’n, 121 Ariz. 602, 592 P.2d 1258 (1975); Means v. Industrial Comm’n, 110 Ariz. 72, 515 P.2d 29 (1973).

^[27]A.R.S. § 23-1046 (A)(3) (Supp. 1991). Effective March 1, 1999, if the surviving spouse has a child, then 31-2/3% of the monthly award is allocated for the benefit of the child. If the spouse has more than one child, then the allocation is shared equally by the...