(a) A member or nonmember spouse may elect to receive the retirement benefit as an annuity payable in monthly installments, provided the balance of credits in the member’s or nonmember spouse’s respective Defined Benefit Supplement account on the date the retirement benefit becomes payable equals at least three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) after any lump-sum payments have been made from the account.
(b) If the member elects to receive the retirement benefit as an annuity, the member shall elect one of the following forms of payment:
(1) A single life annuity without a cash refund feature. This form of payment is the actuarial equivalent of the amount that would be payable to the member if the member elected to receive the retirement benefit in a lump-sum payment. Upon the death of the member, no other benefit shall be payable to the member’s beneficiary under the Defined Benefit Supplement Program.
(2) A single life annuity with a cash refund feature. This form of payment is the actuarial equivalent of the amount that would be payable to the member if the member elected to receive the retirement benefit in a lump-sum payment. Upon the death of the member, an amount equal to the remaining balance, if any, of credits transferred from the member’s Defined Benefit Supplement account to the Annuitant Reserve shall be returned in a lump-sum payment to the member’s beneficiary.
(3) A 100-percent joint and survivor annuity with a “pop-up” feature. This form of payment is the actuarial equivalent of the lump-sum payment modified to be payable over the combined lives of the member and the member’s annuity beneficiary. Upon the death of the member, the same monthly amount that was payable to the member shall be paid monthly to the member’s surviving annuity beneficiary. However, if the annuity beneficiary predeceases the member, the annuity payable to the member shall be the single life annuity with a cash refund feature that would have been payable had the member elected that form of payment at the commencement of the benefit. That single life annuity shall be payable as of the day following the date of the annuity beneficiary’s death upon receipt by the system of proof of the annuity beneficiary’s death. If the annuity beneficiary predeceases the member and the member designates a new option beneficiary pursuant to Section 24300, the new option beneficiary shall be the new annuity beneficiary. The effective date shall be six months following the date notification, on a properly executed form, is received by the board, provided both the member and the new annuity beneficiary are then living. The new annuity beneficiary under this paragraph is subject to an actuarial modification of the single life annuity with a cash refund feature and may not result in any additional liability to the fund. The new annuity beneficiary may not be an existing annuity beneficiary.
(4) A 50-percent joint and survivor annuity with a “pop-up” feature. This form of payment is the actuarial equivalent of the lump-sum payment modified to be payable over the combined lives of the member and the member’s annuity beneficiary. Upon the death of the member, one-half of the monthly amount that was payable to the member shall be paid monthly to the member’s surviving annuity beneficiary. However, if the annuity beneficiary predeceases the member, the annuity payable to the member shall be the single life annuity with a cash refund feature that would have been payable had the member elected that form of payment at the commencement of the benefit. That single life annuity shall be payable as of the day following the date of the annuity beneficiary’s death upon receipt by the system of proof of the annuity beneficiary’s death. If the annuity beneficiary predeceases the member and the member designates a new option beneficiary pursuant to Section 24300, the new option beneficiary shall be the new annuity beneficiary. The effective date shall be six months following the date notification, on a properly executed form, is received by the board, provided both the member and the new annuity beneficiary are then living. The new annuity beneficiary under this paragraph is subject to an actuarial modification of the single life annuity with a cash refund feature and may not result in any additional liability to the fund. The new annuity beneficiary may not be an existing annuity beneficiary.
(5) A period certain annuity. This form of payment is an annuity equal to the actuarial equivalent of the balance of credits in the member’s Defined Benefit Supplement account on the date the retirement benefit becomes payable. The annuity shall be payable in whole year increments over a period of years specified by the member, from a minimum of three years to a maximum of 10 years subject to life expectancy tables promulgated pursuant to Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code. If the member’s death occurs prior to the end of the period certain, the remaining balance of payments shall be paid to the member’s beneficiary pursuant to Section 25022.
(c) If a nonmember spouse elects to receive the retirement benefit as an annuity, the nonmember spouse shall elect the form of payment specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (5) of subdivision (b) and, in those paragraphs, references to a “member” shall apply to the nonmember spouse.
(d) On or after January 1, 2007, a member may not make a new election of a joint and survivor annuity described in subdivision (b), except as provided by subdivision (e) of Section 25011.1.
(e) Any member with a retirement effective on or after January 1, 2007, shall elect an annuity from the annuities described in Section 25011.1.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 298, Sec. 16. (AB 1325) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018