(a) Annuities and severance pay benefits

(1) An individual entitled to an annuity from the Fund may make allotments or assignments of amounts from such annuity for such purposes as the Secretary of State in his or her sole discretion considers appropriate.

Terms Used In 22 USC 4060

  • annuitant: means any individual, including a former participant or survivor, who meets all requirements for an annuity from the Fund under this chapter or any other Act and who has filed a claim for such annuity. See 22 USC 4044
  • 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.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • court: means any court of any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands, and any Indian court as defined by section 1301(3) of title 25. See 22 USC 4044
  • court order: means any court decree of divorce or annulment, or any court order or court approved property settlement agreement incident to any court decree of divorce or annulment. See 22 USC 4044
  • former spouse: means a former wife or husband of a participant or former participant who was married to such participant for not less than 10 years during periods of service by that participant which are creditable under section 4056 of this title. See 22 USC 4044
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • lump-sum credit: means the compulsory and special contributions to the credit of a participant or former participant in the Fund plus interest on such contributions at 4 percent a year compounded annually to December 31, 1976, and after such date, for a participant who separates from the Service after completing at least 1 year of civilian service and before completing 5 years of such service, at the rate of 3 percent per year to the date of separation (except that interest shall not be paid for a fractional part of a month in the total service or on compulsory and special contributions from an annuitant for recall service or other service performed after the date of separation which forms the basis for annuity). See 22 USC 4044
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of State, except that (subject to section 3921 of this title) with reference to the exercise of functions under this Act with respect to any agency authorized by law to utilize the Foreign Service personnel system, such term means the head of that agency. See 22 USC 3902
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • spousal agreement: means any written agreement between&mdash. See 22 USC 4044
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7

(2) Notwithstanding section 3727 of title 31 or any other law, a member of the Service who is entitled to receive benefits under section 4009(b)(1) of this title may assign to any person the whole or any part of those benefits. Any such assignment shall be on a form approved by the Secretary of the Treasury and a copy of such assignment form shall be deposited with the Secretary of the Treasury by the member executing the assignment.

(b) Participants or annuitants having former spouses

(1)(A) In the case of any participant or annuitant who has a former spouse who is covered by a court order or who is a party to a spousal agreement—

(i) any right of the former spouse to any annuity under section 4054(a) of this title in connection with any retirement or disability annuity of the participant, and the amount of any such annuity;

(ii) any right of the former spouse to a survivor annuity under section 4054(b) or (c) of this title, and the amount of any such annuity; and

(iii) any right of the former spouse to any payment of a lump-sum credit under section 4055(a) or (b) of this title;


shall be determined in accordance with that spousal agreement or court order, if and to the extent expressly provided for in the terms of that spousal agreement or court order.

(B) This paragraph shall not apply in the case of any spousal agreement or court order which, as determined by the Secretary of State—

(i) would provide for a survivor annuity for a spouse or any former spouse of a participant with respect to which there has not been an annuity reduction (or a salary reduction or payment under section 4054(c)(3) of this title); or

(ii) is otherwise inconsistent with the requirements of this part.


(2) Except with respect to obligations between participants and former spouses, payments under this part which would otherwise be made to a participant or annuitant based upon his or her service shall be paid (in whole or in part) by the Secretary of State to another individual to the extent expressly provided for in the terms of any order or any court decree of legal separation, or the terms of any court order or court-approved property settlement agreement incident to any court decree of legal separation.

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply only to payments made under this part for periods beginning after the date of receipt by the Secretary of State of written notice of such decree, order, or agreement, and such additional information and such documentation as the Secretary of State may require.

(4) Any payment under this subsection to an individual bars recovery by any other individual.

(5) The 10-year requirement of section 4044(b)(6) of this title, or any other provision of this part, shall not be construed to affect the rights any spouse or individual formerly married to a participant or annuitant may have, under any law or rule of law of any State or the District of Columbia, with respect to an annuity of a participant or annuitant under this part.

(c) Applicability of other provisions of law or remedies

None of the moneys mentioned in this part shall be assignable either in law or equity, except under subsection (a) or (b) of this section, or subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, except as otherwise may be provided by Federal law.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Part I Contents