§4047 Payment of annuity

Summary

An annuity begins on the first day of the month after you leave the Service or after your pay stops and you meet the age and service rules. There are exceptions for three kinds of people: those retired or involuntarily separated under certain other rules (except removal for cause), those retiring for disability under another rule, and those who serve 3 days or less in the month they retire. A survivor’s annuity won’t be paid until the survivor files an application and gives the proof the Secretary of State requires; if no application or proof is filed while the eligible person is alive, nothing is payable to their estate. You may refuse all or part of your annuity by signing a waiver with the Secretary of State and can cancel that waiver in writing at any time, but no payments are made while the waiver was in effect. The Secretary of State won’t try to recover an overpayment when the person was not at fault and recovery would be unfair or impossible to administer. The Secretary of State must make rules so a participant with a life‑threatening or serious medical condition can, when retiring (except under the disability rule), choose annuity benefits under this part instead of other benefits. The rules must offer alternative annuity options, including at least: payment of the lump‑sum credit (excluding interest) plus a lifetime annuity to the participant, and for those married at retirement, that same lump sum plus a lifetime annuity with a survivor annuity for the spouse. The alternatives should, as much as possible, equal the actuarial value of the normal annuity. If married, you cannot make this election unless your spouse signs a waiver; if a former spouse is entitled to benefits, you cannot elect unless that former spouse signs a waiver. A married participant who makes this election can, within the 18‑month period after retirement and subject to any required deposit, make the special election provided under the rules. Receiving a lump‑sum credit under these choices does not stop you from getting any other benefits allowed here.