HRS §88-3
What happens to a pension when the pensioner dies
When a person getting a state or county pension dies, the pension payment is adjusted. The amount owed from the last payment to the death date is paid to the person the pensioner named, or to the estate's representative. For deaths after certain dates, the full month's pension may be paid instead.
beneficiariespersonal representatives
The statute, as written — Payment on death of pensioner
Whenever any person receiving a pension from the State or from any county thereof dies, the amount next payable shall be prorated from the last payment date up to and including the date of death, and the prorated amount shall be paid to the person who may have been designated by the pensioner during the pensioner's lifetime in a statement filed with the officer charged with payment of the pension, or if no such designation has been made and filed, the prorated amount shall be paid to the personal representative of the estate of the pensioner; provided that: (1) Effective January 1, 2003, whenever a person receiving a pension from the system dies, the full monthly pension for the month in which the pensioner died, less any portion of the pension paid to the pensioner, shall be payable to the person who may have been designated by the pensioner during the pensioner's lifetime in a statement filed with the officer charged with the payment of the pension, or if no such designation has been made and filed, the prorated amount shall be paid to the personal representative of the estate of the pensioner; and (2) Effective July 1, 2003, whenever a person receiving a pension from the system dies, the full monthly pension for the month in which the pensioner died shall be payable to the pensioner.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.