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Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-102

§8466 Application for Benefits

Title 5 › PART III — EMPLOYEES › Subpart G — Insurance and Annuities › CHAPTER 84 — FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM › SUBCHAPTER VI — GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › § 8466

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Benefits based on an employee’s or Member’s service will not be paid from the Fund unless the Office gets an application before the employee’s 115th birthday anniversary. If the employee, Member, annuitant, or former employee has died or another event gives the right to the benefit, the Office must get the application within 30 years of that death or event. If the beneficiary is a minor or legally unable to handle money, payments can go to a state‑appointed guardian or other legal fiduciary. If none is appointed, the Office can pay someone it believes is caring for the person, and that payment blocks others from claiming it. The Office may delay direct payments if they would cause serious harm until a representative payee is named, and it will pay any amounts owed when payments resume. The Office cannot let someone receive payments for a minor or person with a legal disability if that person has been convicted of section 8345a or 8466a; section 208 or 1632 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408, 1383a); or section 6101 of title 38.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §8466

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)No payment of benefits based on the service of an employee or Member shall be made from the Fund unless an application for payment of the benefits is received by the Office before the one hundred and fifteenth anniversary of the birth of the employee or Member.
(b)Notwithstanding subsection (a), after the death of an employee, Member, or annuitant, or former employee or Member, a benefit based on the service of such employee, Member, or annuitant, or former employee or Member, shall not be paid under subchapter II or IV of this chapter unless an application therefor is received by the Office within 30 years after the death or other event which establishes the entitlement to the benefit.
(c)(1)Payment due a minor, or an individual mentally incompetent or under other legal disability, may be made to the person (including an organization) who is constituted guardian or other fiduciary by the law of the State of residence of the claimant or is otherwise legally vested with the care of the claimant or his estate. If a guardian or other fiduciary of the individual under legal disability has not been appointed under the law of the State of residence of the claimant, payment may be made to any person (including an organization) who, in the judgment of the Office, is responsible for the care of the claimant and may appropriately receive such payments on behalf of the claimant, and the payment bars recovery by any other person.
(2)If the Office determines that direct payment of a benefit to an individual mentally incompetent or under other legal disability would cause substantial harm to the individual, the Office may defer or suspend direct payment of the benefit until such time as the appointment of a representative payee is made. The Office shall resume payment as soon as practicable, including all amounts due.
(d)The Office may not authorize a person to receive payments on behalf of a minor or individual of legal disability under subsection (c) if that person has been convicted of a violation of—
(1)section 8345a or 8466a;
(2)section 208 or 1632 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408, 1383a); or
(3)section 6101 of title 38.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–126, § 2(c)(2), designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted “(including an organization)” after “to the person” and after “to any person”, inserted “and may appropriately receive such payments on behalf of the claimant” after “care of the claimant”, and added par. (2). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–126, § 2(d)(2), added subsec. (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2020 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 116–126 effective on Mar. 18, 2020, and applicable on and after the

Effective Date

of

Regulations

promulgated under section 3(b)(1) of Pub. L. 116–126, see section 4 and 3(b) of Pub. L. 116–126, set out respectively as an

Effective Date

of 2020 Amendment note and a

Regulations

note under section 8331 of this title.

Regulations

to carry out amendment by Pub. L. 116–126 to be promulgated by Office of Personnel Management no later than 1 year after Mar. 18, 2020, with allowance for additional

Regulations

relating to administration of representative payee program, see section 3(b) of Pub. L. 116–126, set out as a note under section 8331 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 8466

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102