§2002 Definitions Relating to Participants and Annuitants

Summary

Defines who counts as participants, spouses, former spouses, and children under the Agency’s retirement rules. A former participant is someone who took part in the retirement system while working for the Agency but left without getting an immediate annuity. A retired participant is someone who took part and is now receiving an annuity from the fund. A surviving spouse is the husband or wife who was married to the participant for at least 9 months before death, or who is the parent of a child from that marriage; the 9-month rule is waived if the death was accidental or if the surviving spouse had earlier been married to the participant and their total married time was at least 9 months. A former spouse is defined by marriage length and service: for divorces on or before December 4, 1991, the couple must have been married at least 10 years during the participant’s creditable service, with at least 5 of those years spent outside the United States; for divorces after December 4, 1991, the 5 years must be time the participant spent outside the United States or in a qualifying Agency position (see section 2013). Creditable service means times counted under sections 2081–2083. A previous spouse is someone married at least 9 months to a participant who had at least 18 months of creditable service. A spousal agreement must be written, signed, notarized, unchanged by court order, and authenticated by the Director. A court order means a divorce, annulment, or legal separation decree or a related property settlement. “Court” includes state and territorial courts and Indian courts. For benefits in sections 2031 and 2052, “child” covers three groups: unmarried dependent minors under 18 (including adopted children, natural children, and stepchildren who lived in a parent-child relationship, plus certain pending-adoption cases), unmarried dependent disabled adults of any age who became disabled before age 18, and unmarried dependent students aged 18 to 22 who are full-time, in-residence students. If a student’s 22nd birthday falls before July 1 or after August 31, and they are in school, they are treated as turning 22 on the following July 1. Short breaks between school years of up to 5 months do not end student status if the child intends to return. “Dependent” means the participant was living with or supporting the child at the participant’s death, as the rules say. For one-time lump-sum payments under section 2071(c), “child” includes adopted and natural children but not stepchildren.