You may elect an optional form of payment at retirement.  If you are married, you will need your spouse’s written consent, witnessed by a notary public or a representative of the Plan Administrator, in order to elect a form of payment other than the 50% joint and survivor benefit.

You may revoke or change your election at any time before benefits begin, subject to your spouse’s written and witnessed consent.

Life Annuity Option for Married Employees
This option for married employees is the same as the normal form of payment for single employees.  Under this form of payment, you receive your full pension benefits for your lifetime only.  No benefits are paid to anyone after your death.

Survivor Benefit Option
You can elect a reduced pension in order to provide continuing income to an unmarried dependent child (or unmarried dependent children) under age 23, or a dependent parent (or dependent parents), but not to both dependent children and parents.  A dependent parent will receive the benefit for life.  A dependent child will receive the benefit until the earliest of: loss of dependent status, attainment of age 23, (or a child ceases to be totally and permanently disabled) or the dependent child dies.

The amount of reduction in your pension depends on your age and the age of your named survivor.  Examples of survivor factors are shown in Tables 4 and 5 at the end of this section.

The terms “Dependent Child” and “Dependent Parent” are defined in the Glossary.

After your death, 50% of your reduced benefit will continue to your dependent child until age 23 (or as long as the child remains totally and permanently disabled), or your dependent parent for the rest of his or her life.

If you die before your pension benefits start, your named survivor will receive 50% of the reduced pension you would have received had it begun on the date of your death.

Your election of a survivor benefit cannot be changed after your pension begins.  If your named survivor should die before you, this payment form will automatically “pop-up” to the amount paid to a single employee.

Level Income Option
If you retire before age 62 and choose to have your pension benefits begin before you are eligible to receive Social Security benefits, you may elect the level income option.  Under this option, your plan income is increased until age 62 and is decreased after that time so that your combined income from the pension plan and Social Security is approximately level throughout your retirement.

The Social Security amount used in the level income calculation is not your actual Social Security amount but is an estimate based on your average straight­ time monthly earnings for the calendar year immediately preceding your retirement date.

If you elect the level income option, the survivor’s benefit will be based on the pension amount before adjustment for this option.