22 U.S.C. § 4047 — Payment of annuity

Page 1489 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 4047 date of enactment of this title [Jan. 8, 1988] in accord- ance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of State. ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, the terms ‘participant’ and ‘surviving spouse’ have the same meaning given such terms in subchapter I of chapter 8 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 [this part].’’ § 4047. Payment of annuity (a) Commencement of annuity (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2), the annuity of a participant who has met the eligibility requirements for an annuity shall commence on the first day of the month after— (A) separation from the Service occurs; or (B) pay ceases and the service and age re- quirements for entitlement to annuity are met. (2) The annuity of— (A) a participant who is retired and is eligi- ble for benefits under section 4009(a) of this title or a participant who is retired under sec- tion 4053 of this title or is otherwise involun- tarily separated from the Service, except by removal for cause on charges of misconduct or delinquency, (B) a participant retiring under section 4048 of this title due to a disability, and (C) a participant who serves 3 days or less in the month of retirement— shall commence on the day after separation from the Service or the day after pay ceases and the requirements for entitlement to annuity are met. (b) Survivor’s annuity; application; proof of eligi- bility; payment to estate The annuity to a survivor shall become effec- tive as otherwise specified but shall not be paid until the survivor submits an application for such annuity, supported by such proof of eligi- bility as the Secretary of State may require. If such application or proof of eligibility is not submitted during the lifetime of an otherwise el- igible individual, no annuity shall be due or pay- able to his or her estate. (c) Waiver An individual entitled to annuity from the Fund may decline to accept all or any part of the annuity by submitting a signed waiver to the Secretary of State. The waiver may be re- voked in writing at any time. Payment of the annuity waived may not be made for the period during which the waiver was in effect. (d) Recovery of overpayment Recovery of overpayments under this part may not be made from an individual when, in the judgment of the Secretary of State, the indi- vidual is without fault and recovery would be against equity and good conscience or adminis- tratively infeasible. (e) Alternate forms of annuities (1) The Secretary of State shall prescribe regu- lations under which any participant who has a life-threatening affliction or other critical med- ical condition may, at the time of retiring under this part (other than under section 4048 of this title), elect annuity benefits under this section instead of any other benefits under this part (in- cluding survivor benefits) based on the service of the participant. (2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State shall by regulation provide for such alter- native forms of annuities as the Secretary con- siders appropriate, except that among the alter- natives offered shall be— (A) an alternative which provides for— (i) payment of the lump-sum credit (ex- cluding interest) to the participant; and (ii) payment of an annuity to the partici- pant for life; and (B) in the case of a participant who is mar- ried at the time of retirement, an alternative which provides for— (i) payment of the lump-sum credit (ex- cluding interest) to the participant; and (ii) payment of an annuity to the partici- pant for life, with a survivor annuity pay- able for the life of a surviving spouse. (3) Each alternative provided for under para- graph (2) shall, to the extent practicable, be de- signed such that the total value of the benefits provided under such alternative (including any lump-sum credit) is actuarially equivalent to the value of the annuity which would otherwise be provided the participant under this part, as computed under section 4046(a) of this title. (4) A participant who, at the time of retiring under this part— (A) is married, shall be ineligible to make an election under this section unless a waiver is made under section 4046(b)(1)(B) of this title; or (B) has a former spouse, shall be ineligible to make an election under this section if the former spouse is entitled to benefits under this part (based on the service of the participant) unless a waiver has been made under section 4046(b)(1)(C) of this title. (5) A participant who is married at the time of retiring under this part and who makes an elec- tion under this section may, during the 18- month period beginning on the date of retire- ment, make the election provided for under sec- tion 4046(n) of this title, subject to the deposit requirement thereunder. (6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any lump-sum credit provided pursuant to an election under this subsection shall not pre- clude an individual from receiving any other benefits under this subsection. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 807, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2109; Ex. Ord. No. 12446, § 3(a), Oct. 17, 1983, 48 F.R. 48443; Pub. L. 99–335, title IV, §§ 402(a)(2), 408, June 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 609, 612; Pub. L. 103–66, title XI, § 11002(b), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 409.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1993—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 103–66 substituted ‘‘any participant who has a life-threatening affliction or other critical medical condition’’ for ‘‘a participant’’. 1986—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–335, § 402(a)(2), sub- stituted ‘‘part’’ for ‘‘subchapter’’. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 99–335, § 408, added subsec. (e). 1983—Subsec. (a). Ex. Ord. No. 12446 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as Page 1490 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 4048 1 See References in Text note below. follows: ‘‘Except as otherwise provided, the annuity of a former participant who has met the eligibility re- quirements for an annuity shall commence on the day after separation from the Service or on the day after pay ceases. The annuity of a former participant who is entitled to a deferred annuity under this chapter shall become effective on the day he or she attains age 60.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1993 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 103–66 effective Oct. 1, 1994, and applicable with respect to any annuity com- mencing on or after that date, see section 11002(d) of Pub. L. 103–66, set out as a note under section 8343a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1986 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 99–335 effective Jan. 1, 1987, see section 702(a) of Pub. L. 99–335, set out as an Effec- tive Date note under section 8401 of Title 5, Govern- ment Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1983 AMENDMENT Amendment by Ex. Ord. No. 12446 effective 30 days after Oct. 17, 1983, see section 3(b) of Ex. Ord. No. 12446, set out under section 4067 of this title. § 4048. Retirement for disability or incapacity (a) Causes; service credit Any participant who has at least 5 years of service credit toward retirement under the Sys- tem (excluding military and naval service) and who becomes totally disabled or incapacitated for useful and efficient service by reason of dis- ease, illness, or injury (not due to vicious hab- its, intemperance, or willful conduct of the par- ticipant) shall, upon his or her own application or upon order of the Secretary, be retired on an annuity computed as prescribed in section 4046 of this title. If the disabled or incapacitated par- ticipant has less than 20 years of service credit toward retirement under the System at the time of retirement, his or her annuity shall be com- puted on the assumption that the participant has had 20 years of service, except that the addi- tional service credit that may accrue to a par- ticipant under this sentence shall in no case ex- ceed the difference between his or her age at the time of retirement and age 60. However, if a participant retiring under this section is receiving retired pay or retainer pay for military service (except that specified in sec- tion 8332(c)(1) or (2) of title 5) or Department of Veterans Affairs pension or compensation in lieu of such retired or retainer pay, the annuity of that participant shall be computed under this part excluding extra credit authorized by this subsection and excluding credit for military service from that computation. If the amount of the annuity so computed, plus the retired or re- tainer pay which is received, or which would be received but for the application of the limita- tion in section 5532 1 of title 5 or the Department of Veterans Affairs pension or compensation in lieu of such retired pay or retainer pay, is less than the annuity that would be payable under this part in the absence of the previous sen- tence, an amount equal to the difference shall be added to the annuity computed under this part. (b) Physical examination; reinstatement or re- appointment upon recovery; fees and ex- penses; duration and suspension of annuity Before being retired under this section, the participant shall be given a physical examina- tion by one or more duly qualified physicians or surgeons designated by the Secretary of State to conduct examinations. Disability or incapacity shall be determined by the Secretary of State on the basis of the advice of such physicians or sur- geons. Unless the disability or incapacity is per- manent, like examinations shall be made annu- ally until the annuitant has attained age 60. If the Secretary of State determines on the basis of the advice of one or more duly qualified phy- sicians or surgeons conducting such examina- tions that an annuitant has recovered to the ex- tent that he or she can return to duty, the annu- itant may apply for reinstatement or reappoint- ment in the Service within 1 year from the date recovery is determined. Upon application, the Secretary shall reinstate such recovered annu- itant in the class in which the annuitant was serving at time of retirement, or the Secretary may, taking into consideration the age, quali- fications, and experience of such annuitant, and the present class of his or her contemporaries in the Service, appoint or recommend that the President appoint the annuitant to a higher class. Payment of the annuity shall continue until a date 6 months after the date of the exam- ination showing recovery or until the date of re- instatement or reappointment in the Service, whichever is earlier. Fees for examinations under this section, together with reasonable traveling and other expenses incurred in order to submit to examination, shall be paid out of the Fund. If the annuitant fails to submit to ex- amination as required under this subsection, payment of the annuity shall be suspended until continuance of the disability or incapacity is satisfactorily established. (c) Benefits upon discontinuance of annuity If a recovered annuitant whose annuity is dis- continued is for any reason not reinstated or re- appointed in the Service, he or she shall be con- sidered to have been separated within the mean- ing of section 4050 of this title as of the date of retirement for disability or incapacity and shall, after the discontinuance of the annuity, be enti- tled to the benefits of that section or of section 4055 of this title, except that he or she may elect voluntary retirement if eligible under section 4051 of this title. (d) Election of benefits; concurrent benefits al- lowed No participant shall be entitled to receive an annuity under this part and compensation for injury or disability to himself or herself under subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, covering the same period of time, except that a participant may simultaneously receive both an annuity under this section and scheduled disability pay- ments under section 8107 of title 5. This sub- section shall not bar the right of any claimant to the greater benefit conferred by either this