Missouri Laws 57.979 – Options that may be elected in lieu of normal annuity — surviving spouse to ..
1. The normal annuity of a member shall be paid to a member during his lifetime. Upon his death no further payments will be made.
2. In lieu of the normal annuity otherwise payable to a member, the member may elect in the member’s application for retirement to receive his choice of the following options:
Option 1.
The actuarial equivalent of the member’s normal annuity in reduced monthly payments for life during retirement with the provision that upon the member’s death, fifty percent of the reduced normal annuity shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to the member’s spouse; or
Option 2.
Some other option approved by the board which shall be the actuarial equivalent of the annuity to which the member is entitled under this system.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 57.979
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
3. The election may be made only in the application for retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date on which the retirement of the member is to be effective unless otherwise provided. If, after the reduced normal annuity begins under option 1, the spouse predeceases the retired member, the reduced normal annuity continues to the retired member during the member’s lifetime; but, when a member dies any time after December 21, 1983, who is eligible for retirement prior to retiring and receiving retirement benefits, the surviving spouse of such member of the retirement system coming under the provisions of sections 57.949 to 57.997 shall, upon application, be appointed and employed as a special consultant by the retirement system for the remainder of the spouse’s life, and upon request shall give oral or written opinions on the benefits of the retirement system, and shall be entitled to receive benefits under option 1, and shall be eligible for all other benefits that other spouses are entitled to receive.