Cal. Education Code § 23804

(a) A family allowance is payable upon the death of an active member or a disabled member who was receiving a disability allowance that began to accrue after June 30, 1972. (b) (1) For the family allowance to be payable upon the death of the member, all of the following conditions shall be met at the time of death: (A) Death occurred after June 30, 1972. (B) A preretirement election of an option is not in effect. (C) The provisions for the death payment under this part have been met. (2) In addition to the conditions specified in paragraph (1), at least one-half year of credited service had been performed subsequent to the end of the last break, if a break in service of more than one year had occurred. (3) In addition to the conditions specified in paragraph (1), at least one year of credited service had been performed subsequent to the last reinstatement date, if reinstated from service or disability retirement. (c) The family allowance shall be paid in lieu of the return of the member’s accumulated retirement contributions. (d) The family allowance may be terminated, if all eligible beneficiaries formally waive their rights in accordance with the requirements established by the system. The waiver shall be submitted on a properly executed form prescribed by the system. All waiver forms for an ongoing benefit shall include an acknowledgment on the part of the waiving beneficiary that the benefit being waived is an ongoing benefit, which may exceed the total amount of contributions and interest payable from the member’s account as a result of the waiver. The filing of a waiver by a beneficiary constitutes a complete and immediate discharge of all obligations of the board, the system, or the plan to or on behalf of the beneficiary.