5 U.S.C. § 8424 - Lump-sum benefits; designation of beneficiary; order of precedence

• Cite as: 5 U.S.C. § 8424

(a) Subject to subsection (b), an employee or Member who-

(1)

(A) is separated from the service for at least 31 consecutive days; or

(B) is transferred to a position in which the individual is not subject to this chapter and remains in such a position for at least 31 consecutive days;

(2) files an application with the Office for payment of the lump-sum credit;

(3) is not reemployed in a position in which the individual is subject to this chapter at the time of filing the application; and

(4) will not become eligible to receive an annuity within 31 days after filing the application;

is entitled to be paid the lump-sum credit. Except as provided in section 8420a, payment of the lump-sum credit to an employee or Member voids all annuity rights under this subchapter, and subchapters IV and V of this chapter, 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 chapter.

(b)

(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 or 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 8445 or 8467; 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 8445 or to any portion of an annuity under section 8467.

(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) 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 orders or decrees referred to in paragraph (1)(B)(i).