Pennsylvania Statutes Title 24 Pa.C.S.A. Education § 8533.5. Irrevocable successor payee

(a) Condition.--Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, a domestic relations order pertaining to a participant may provide for an irrevocable successor payee only if the participant is receiving a payment under a payment option provided by the board that allows for a successor payee.

(b) Determination.--A domestic relations order requiring the designation of an irrevocable successor payee shall be deemed to be one that requires a participant who is receiving payments from an annuity or other distribution option to designate an alternate payee as a successor payee and that prohibits the removal or change of that successor payee without approval of a court of competent jurisdiction, except by operation of law.

(c) Certification.--A domestic relations order under subsection (b) may be certified as an approved domestic relations order by the secretary of the board, or his designated representative, in which case the irrevocable successor payee so ordered by the court cannot be changed by the participant without approval by the court.

(d) Ineligibility.--A person ineligible to be designated as a successor payee may not be designated as an irrevocable successor payee. A court may not name an irrevocable successor payee if the alternate payee is eligible to receive a lump sum distribution of the alternate payee's portion of the marital portion of the pension benefit.