Changes

A portion of the annuity, since it was paid from post-tax earnings, is not taxable, and will be shown on the annuity statements.  The non-taxable portion is very small, as the government provides the bulk of the payments needed for the annuity; however, the non-taxable portion must be pro-rated over the expected life of the retiree in accordance with tax code.

A portion of the annuity, since it was paid from post-tax earnings, is not taxable, and will be shown on the annuity statements.  The non-taxable portion is very small, as the government provides the bulk of the payments needed for the annuity; however, the non-taxable portion must be pro-rated over the expected life of the retiree in accordance with tax code.

If an employee/retiree dies and a survivor benefit was not chosen, then any unpaid balance of employee contributions (but not government matching contributions) is paid to the beneficiary(ies) designated.<ref>As the employee pays a very small portion of the annuity, payments are made only if the employee dies before retirement or shortly thereafter (even though, for tax purposes, a retiree must pro-rate the employee contribution over a longer period.</ref>  If the employee/retiree did not designate any beneficiary(ies), then the "statutory order of precedence"<ref>The order of precedence is also used for payment of insurance benefits under the [[FEGLI]], any balance under the [[Thrift Savings Plan]], and unpaid compensation.</ref> is used, as follows:

If an employee/retiree dies and a survivor benefit was not chosen, then any unpaid balance of employee contributions (but not government matching contributions) is paid to the beneficiary(ies) designated.<ref>As the employee pays a very small portion of the annuity, payments are made only if the employee dies before retirement or shortly thereafter (even though, for tax purposes, a retiree must pro-rate the employee contribution over a longer period based on his/her age and the age of his/her spouse or other survivor, where applicable).</ref>  If the employee/retiree did not designate any beneficiary(ies), then the "statutory order of precedence"<ref>The order of precedence is also used for payment of insurance benefits under the [[FEGLI]], any balance under the [[Thrift Savings Plan]], and unpaid compensation.</ref> is used, as follows:

*To the widow or widower,

*To the widow or widower,

*To any surviving children (in equal shares) or their descendants,

*To any surviving children (in equal shares) or their descendants,