(a) Instead of a service retirement annuity payable under Section 834.102, a retiring member may elect to receive an optional service retirement annuity, payable throughout the life of the retiree and actuarially reduced, under tables adopted by the board of trustees, from the annuity otherwise payable to its actuarial equivalent.
(b) Optional service retirement annuities available to a retiring member are those available to retiring members of the Employees Retirement System of Texas under Section 814.108(c).

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Terms Used In Texas Government Code 834.103

  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Month: means a calendar month. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(c) A person may apply for an optional service retirement annuity by filing an application for the annuity with the retirement system before the 31st day after the date of the person’s retirement.
(d) If a person who is nominated by a retiree in the written designation under Subsection (b) predeceases the retiree, the reduced annuity of a retiree who has elected an optional lifetime retirement annuity under Section 814.108(c) shall be increased to the standard service retirement annuity that the retiree would otherwise be entitled to receive if the retiree had not selected that annuity option. The standard service retirement annuity shall be adjusted as appropriate for:
(1) early retirement as permitted by law; and
(2) postretirement increases in retirement benefits authorized by law after the date of retirement.
(e) The increase in the annuity under Subsection (d) begins with the monthly payment made to the retiree for the month following the month in which the person nominated dies or the September 30, 1991, payment, whichever is later, and is payable to the retiree for the remainder of the retiree’s life.
(f) The computation of an optional service retirement annuity must include the ages of the retiring member and the member’s designated beneficiary at the time of the member’s retirement.