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Maryland Code, State Personnel and Pensions § 21-404

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) This section does not apply to the Judges' Retirement System.

(b) To change a designated beneficiary, a retiree shall:

(1) complete the appropriate form that the Board of Trustees provides; and

(2) file the form with the Board of Trustees.

(c) Subject to subsections (d) and (e) of this section, if a retiree changes a designated beneficiary, the Board of Trustees shall recompute the allowance for the election based on the value of the balance in the retiree's annuity reserve and pension reserve when the change is made.

(d)(1) This subsection applies only to a retiree who elected the optional form of allowance payable under § 21-403(b) (Option 2), § 21-403(c) (Option 3), § 21-403(e) (Option 5), or § 21-403(f) (Option 6) of this subtitle.

(2) A retiree may rescind a request to change the designated beneficiary and restore the retiree's prior designation of beneficiary by sending written notice to the State Retirement Agency that is received by the State Retirement Agency before the second allowance payment normally becomes due after the change of beneficiary.

(3) A retiree who rescinds a change of designated beneficiary in a timely manner under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall receive, after the rescission, the allowance payable prior to the change of designated beneficiary, without retroactive adjustment of any allowance payment made while the rescinded designation of beneficiary was in effect.

(e)(1) This subsection applies to a retiree if:

(i) the retiree elected the optional form of allowance payable under § 21-403(e) (Option 5) or § 21-403(f) (Option 6) of this subtitle;

(ii) the retiree's designated beneficiary dies before the retiree; and

(iii) after the death of the designated beneficiary, the retiree elects to change the designated beneficiary.

(2) The Board of Trustees shall recompute the reduced allowance payable to a retiree and the retiree's new designated beneficiary using:

(i) the retiree's basic allowance at the time of the new beneficiary designation;

(ii) the retiree's age at the time of the new beneficiary designation; and

(iii) the age of the new designated beneficiary.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Maryland Code, State Personnel and Pensions § 21-404 - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/md/state-personnel-and-pensions/md-code-st-pers-and-pens-sect-21-404/

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