Texas Government Code 824.103 – Absence of Beneficiary
(a) Benefits payable on the death of a member or annuitant, except an optional retirement annuity under § 824.204(c)(1), (c)(2), or (c)(5), are payable, and rights to elect survivor benefits, if applicable, are available, to one of the classes of persons described in Subsection (b), if:
(1) the member or annuitant fails to designate a beneficiary before death;
(2) a designated beneficiary does not survive the member or annuitant;
(3) a designated beneficiary, under § 824.004, waives claims to benefits payable on the death of the member or annuitant;
(4) a beneficiary designation is revoked under § 824.101(g); or
(5) a person is not eligible to receive a benefit under § 824.105.
(b) The following classes of persons, in descending order of precedence, are eligible to receive benefits in a situation described in Subsection (a):
(1) any surviving joint designated beneficiaries;
(2) any alternate beneficiaries;
(3) the surviving spouse of the decedent;
(4) any children of the decedent or their descendants by representation;
(5) the parents of the decedent;
(6) the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate; or
(7) the persons entitled by law to distribution of the decedent’s estate.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 824.103
- 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.
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005