May a DRO specify that a member must elect a particular form of post-retirement survivor benefit?
Yes. The default form of a retirement benefit paid by the Fund to a retired member is an annuity payable for the life of the retired member only. (The single life annuity is commonly referred to as the Maximum benefit.) New York law, however, allows a Fund member to elect, in lieu of the Maximum benefit, an optional form of retirement benefit (an option) which involves the payment of a lower retirement benefit during the retired member’s lifetime but also provides some form of post-retirement survivor benefit upon the death of the retired member. If the election of a post-retirement survivor benefit in favor of the alternate payee is required as a result of the division of the member’s retirement benefit through equitable distribution, the DRO must clearly set forth that the member is required to elect that survivor benefit at the time of retirement. On the other hand, if there is no requirement that the member elect a post-retirement survivor benefit in favor of the alternate payee, t
