§2093 Payment of Benefits

Summary

Annuities are figured as a yearly amount. Each monthly check is one‑twelfth of that amount, rounded down to the next dollar, and paid on the first business day after the month it covers. For most participants, payments start on the first day of the month after they leave the Agency or stop getting pay and meet the age and service rules. If a participant is involuntarily separated, retires for disability under section 2051, or worked 3 days or less in the retirement month, the annuity starts the day after separation or pay stops. Other annuities begin on the first day of the month after the event that triggers payment. A retired participant’s annuity ends on the day of death or another ending event; a former spouse’s or survivor’s annuity ends the last day of the month before death or another ending event. A survivor must apply and give proof before any survivor annuity is paid; if no application is filed while the survivor is alive, nothing is payable to the estate. An annuitant can refuse all or part of an annuity by signing a waiver and can cancel that waiver in writing at any time; no money is paid for any period covered by the waiver. No benefit is paid unless an application based on the participant’s service is filed before the participant’s 115th birthday. After a participant dies, claims must be filed within 30 years of the death or other qualifying event. For state income tax withholding, the Director must make an agreement with any State within 120 days of a state’s request so the Director can withhold tax if an annuitant asks in writing; withheld amounts are held in the fund and sent to the State after each quarter. An annuitant may have only one withholding request active at a time and no more than two requests in a calendar year. An annuitant may change or cancel the State for withholding; the change or cancellation takes effect the first day of the month after it is processed, but no later than the first day of the second month after the Director receives it. The Director cannot accept pay from a State to do withholding, and States must repay any amounts withheld in error. “State” includes the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.