Lump-sum benefits; designation of beneficiary; order of precedence
5 U.S.C. § 8342
in effect(a) Subject to subsection (j) of this section, an employee or Member who—(1)(A) is separated from the service for at least thirty-one consecutive days; or (B) is transferred to a position in which he is not subject to this subchapter, or chapter 84 of this title, and remains in such a position for at least thirty-one consecutive days; (2) files an application with the Office of Personnel Management for payment of the lump-sum credit; (3) is not reemployed in a position in which he is subject to this subchapter, or chapter 84 of this title, at the time he files the application; and (4) will not become eligible to receive an annuity within thirty-one days after filing the application, is entitled to be paid the lump-sum credit. Except as provided in section 8343a or 8334(d)(2) of this title, the receipt of the payment of the lump-sum credit by the employee or Member voids all annuity rights under this subchapter based on the service on which the lump-sum credit is based, until the employee or Member is reemployed in the service subject to this subchapter. In applying this subsection to an employee or Member who becomes subject to chapter 84 (other than by an election under title III of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986) and who, while subject to such chapter, files an application with the Office for a payment under this subsection— (i) entitlement to payment of the lump-sum credit shall be determined without regard to paragraph (1) or (3) if, or to the extent that, such lump-sum credit relates to service of a type described in clauses (i) through (iii) of section 302(a)(1)(C) of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986; and (ii) if, or to the extent that, the lump-sum credit so relates to service of a type referred to in clause (i), it shall (notwithstanding section 8331(8)) consist of—(I) the amount by which any unrefunded amount described in section 8331(8)(A) or (B) relating to such service, exceeds 1.3 percent of basic pay for such service; and (II) interest on the amount payable under subclause (I), computed in a manner consistent with applicable provisions of section 8331(8).
(b) Under regulations prescribed by the Office, a present or former employee or Member may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries for the purpose of this subchapter.
(c) Lump-sum benefits authorized by subsections (d)–(f) of this section shall be paid to the person or persons surviving the employee or Member and alive at the date title to the payment arises in the following order of precedence, and the payment bars recovery by any other person:First, to the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the employee or Member in a signed and witnessed writing received in the Office before his death. For this purpose, a designation, change, or cancellation of beneficiary in a will or other document not so executed and filed has no force or effect. Second, if there is no designated beneficiary, to the widow or widower of the employee or Member. Third, if none of the above, to the child or children of the employee or Member and descendants of deceased children by representation. Fourth, if none of the above, to the parents of the employee or Member or the survivor of them. Fifth, if none of the above, to the duly appointed executor or administrator of the estate of the employee or Member. Sixth, if none of the above, to such other next of kin of the employee or Member as the Office determines to be entitled under the laws of the domicile of the employee or Member at the date of his death. For the purpose of this subsection, “child” includes a natural child and an adopted child, but does not include a stepchild.
(d) If an employee or Member dies—(1) without a survivor; or (2) with a survivor or survivors and the right of all survivors terminates before a claim for survivor annuity is filed; or if a former employee or Member not retired dies, the lump-sum credit shall be paid.
(e) If all annuity rights under this subchapter based on the service of a deceased employee or Member terminate before the total annuity paid equals the lump-sum credit, the difference shall be paid.
(f) If an annuitant dies, annuity accrued and unpaid shall be paid.
(g) Annuity accrued and unpaid on the termination, except by death, of the annuity of an annuitant or survivor annuitant shall be paid to that individual. Annuity accrued and unpaid on the death of a survivor annuitant shall be paid in the following order of precedence, and the payment bars recovery by any other person:First, to the duly appointed executor or administrator of the estate of the survivor annuitant. Second, if there is no executor or administrator, payment may be made, after 30 days from the date of death of the survivor annuitant, to such next of kin of the survivor annuitant as the Office determines to be entitled under the laws of the domicile of the survivor annuitant at the date of his death.
(h) Amounts deducted and withheld from the basic pay of an employee or Member from the first day of the first month which begins after he has performed sufficient service (excluding service which the employee or Member elects to eliminate for the purpose of annuity computation under section 8339 of this title) to entitle him to the maximum annuity provided by section 8339 of this title, together with interest on the amounts at the rate of 3 percent a year compounded annually from the date of the deductions to the date of retirement or death, shall be applied toward any deposit due under section 8334 of this title, and any balance not so required is deemed a voluntary contribution for the purpose of section 8343 of this title.
(i) An employee who—(1) is separated from the service before July 12, 1960; and (2) continues in the service after July 12, 1960, without break in service of 1 workday or more; is entitled to the benefits of subsection (h) of this section.
(j)(1)(A) Payment of the lump-sum credit under subsection (a) may be made only if the spouse, if any, and any former spouse of the employee or Member are notified of the employee or Member’s application. (B) The Office shall prescribe regulations under which the lump-sum credit shall not be paid without the consent of a spouse or former spouse of the employee or Member where the Office has received such additional information and documentation as the Office may require that—(i) a court order bars payment of the lump-sum credit in order to preserve the court’s ability to award an annuity under section 8341(h) or section 8345(j); or (ii) payment of the lump-sum credit would extinguish the entitlement of the spouse or former spouse, under a court order on file with the Office, to a survivor annuity under section 8341(h) or to any portion of an annuity under section 8345(j). (2)(A) Notification of a spouse or former spouse under this subsection shall be made in accordance with such requirements as the Office shall by regulation prescribe. (B) Under the regulations, the Office may provide that paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection may be waived with respect to a spouse or former spouse if the employee or Member establishes to the satisfaction of the Office that the whereabouts of such spouse or former spouse cannot be determined. (3) The Office shall prescribe regulations under which this subsection shall be applied in any case in which the Office receives two or more such orders or decrees.
Source: OLRC USLMURL: https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/95/xml_usc05@119-95.zipFetched: 6/2/2026