Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 100 Part 1.djvu/575

 PUBLIC LAW 99-335—JUNE 6, 1986

100 STAT. 539

"§ 8424. Lump-sum benefits; designation of beneficiary; order of 5 USC 8424. precedence "(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. "(b)(1) Payment of the lump-sum credit under subsection (a)— "(A) may be made only if any current spouse and any former spouse of the employee or Member are notified of the application by the employee or Member; and "(B) in any case in which there is a former spouse, shall be subject to the terms of a court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation issued with respect to such former spouse if— "(i) the decree expressly relates to any portion of the lump-sum credit involved; and "(ii) payment of the lump-sum credit would affect any right or interest of the former spouse with respect 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 subsec- Regulations. tion 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 Regulations. subsection shall be applied in any case in which the Office receives two or more orders or decrees referred to in paragraph (l)(B)(i). "(c) Under regulations prescribed by the Office, an employee or Member, or a former employee or Member, may designate one or more beneficiaries under this section. "(d) Lump-sum benefits authorized by subsections (e) through (g) shall be paid to the individual or individuals 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 individual: "First, to the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the employee or Member in a signed and witnessed writing received in the Office before the death of such employee or Member. For this purpose, a designation, change, or cancellation of bene-

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