Annuity Options

Before the date your first annuity payment becomes due (your retirement effective date), you can elect to receive your annuity as a straight life annuity or elect to have your annuity reduced to nominate a beneficiary under an annuity option.

What are the available annuity options under APERS?

Straight Life
Option A60
Option A120
Option B50
Option B75

Straight Life

If you choose the Straight Life option, your monthly annuity will be paid for your lifetime only. When you die, no benefit is payable to a beneficiary. However, if you die within 12 months of retirement, your surviving spouse may be eligible to receive an Option B75 annuity. Otherwise, any balance of employee contributions not paid to you will be refunded to your named contributions beneficiary. If no balance remains, nothing will be payable.

Option A60 and Option A120

Under these annuity options, a monthly annuity will be paid for your lifetime. If you die before receiving 60 (for Option A60) or 120 (for Option A120) monthly payments, your beneficiary will receive the remaining monthly annuity payments, less the temporary annuity (if applicable).

You may name anyone you choose as an Option A60 or Option A120 beneficiary. If you name multiple beneficiaries, the benefit will be divided among them. Please note that a beneficiary cannot be removed except for death or divorce.

Under Option A60, you will receive 98% of the Straight Life annuity amount. Under Option A120, you will receive 94% of the Straight Life annuity amount.

Example: a member selected Option A120 at retirement and died after receiving 47 monthly payments. The beneficiary(ies) will be eligible to receive the remaining 73 monthly payments (less the temporary annuity, if applicable).

Option B50 and Option B75

Under these annuity options, a monthly annuity will be paid for your lifetime. When you die, your beneficiary will receive 50% (Option B50) or 75% (Option B75) of your monthly annuity, less the temporary annuity (if applicable), for the beneficiary’s lifetime.

For these options, your beneficiary must be either your spouse (to whom you have been married for at least six months) or a dependent child 40 years of age or older whom you claimed on your previous year’s federal tax return.

Under Option B50, you will receive 88% of the Straight Life annuity amount, adjusted upward or downward 0.5% for each year difference in age between you and your beneficiary. Under Option B75, you will receive 83% of the Straight Life annuity amount, adjusted upward or downward 0.7% for each year difference in age between you and your beneficiary.

Example: a member selected Option B50. The beneficiary will be eligible to receive 50% of what the member was receiving monthly (less the temporary annuity, if applicable) for the beneficiary’s lifetime. If the member was receiving $1,000.00 monthly, then the beneficiary would receive $500.00 monthly.

	Straight Life	Option A60	Option A120	Option B50	Option B75
Beneficiary	None	Any Person	Any Person	Spouse or Dependent Child Aged 40 or Older	Spouse or Dependent Child Aged 40 or Older
Payment Duration	None	Remainder of the 60 months	The remainder of the 120 Months	Beneficiary Lifetime	Beneficiary Lifetime
Retiree Benefit	100% of Straight Life Annuity	98% of Straight Life Annuity	94% of Straight Life Annuity	88% of Straight Line Annuity¹	83% of Straight Life Annuity¹
Beneficiary Benefit	None	100% of Retiree Benefit²	100% of Retiree Benefit²	50% of Retiree Benefit²	75% of Retiree Benefit²

¹Adjusted for the difference between the retiree’s and beneficiary’s age
²The temporary annuity for non-contributory members is not included.

How-To

To choose an annuity option, you will make the election on your retirement application. You will also list beneficiary information if you choose an option with a beneficiary provision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you explain the temporary annuity?

The temporary annuity is a benefit payable to non-contributory members who retire prior to the age of 62. It is payable only to the member and expires when the member turns age 62 or dies.

Can I change my annuity option after retirement?

In some cases, you may be eligible to change your annuity option. You can change your annuity option in the following situations:

Event	Description
Marriage	If you marry and had elected Straight Life, Option A60, or Option A120 at retirement, you may change your annuity option to Option B50 or Option B75, starting six months after your marriage date and ending 12 months after your marriage date.
Death of Spouse or Divorce	If your beneficiary dies or you experience a divorce and had elected Option B50 or Option B75, you may change your annuity option to Straight Life, Option A60 or Option A120.

-OR-

Event	Election at Retirement	Option Change
Marriage	Straight Life, Option A60, or Option A120	Option B50 or Option B75
Death of Spouse or Divorce	Option B50 or Option B75	Straight Life, Option A60, or Option A120

Considerations:

Selecting an annuity option requires that you balance the needs of your personal income with your concern for payment to a beneficiary or beneficiaries after your death. Straight Life offers the highest benefit payable to you, but it does not have a beneficiary provision. Option A60 and Option A120 also allow you to name multiple beneficiaries, whereas Option B50 and Option B75 allow only one beneficiary.

You should consider how long your beneficiary will receive payments after your death. Only Option B50 and Option B75 offer a beneficiary benefit for the recipient’s lifetime.

Online Training Seminars

The online seminars offered through APERS are designed to educate members about their retirement benefits and help them make informed decisions. These seminars cover topics such as retirement planning, benefit options, and financial planning.

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Disclaimer on Benefits and Rights

Disclaimer Concerning Benefit Calculations, Benefit Projections, Counseling, and Certain Conditions Regarding APERS Benefits and Rights

The purpose of this Disclaimer is to summarize, in plain language, existing APERS policy concerning benefit calculations, benefit projections, counseling, and certain conditions regarding APERS benefits and rights. This Disclaimer does not reflect any alteration or amendment of existing APERS policy. This site includes general information about APERS programs and benefits and may not represent or include completely the law and/or rules that govern APERS. Arkansas law and/or administrative rules will supersede any information in conflict.

APERS strives to provide accurate information and assistance to plan participants who have questions regarding their APERS benefits. All information and calculations concerning benefits are based upon current law and policy, even though information often concerns future benefits. Likewise, laws and policies affecting plan participants are subject to change from time to time. The Arkansas General Assembly, U. S. Congress, federal agencies, and the APERS Board of Trustees may change how benefits are calculated and change other rights of plan participants. Any benefit projection or information provided by APERS is subject to future law or policy that is applicable to APERS.

APERS staff depends upon information provided by the plan participants and offers counseling and projects future benefit estimates based upon that information. Such estimates can vary materially from actual results. Calculations concerning benefits, as well as the information APERS provides during counseling, can be materially affected if the plan participant provides inaccurate or incomplete information, or omits material facts. Plan participants are presumed to have knowledge of all publicly available laws and policies that affect their APERS benefits and rights. APERS is under no duty to ensure that plan participants are specifically informed of a new law or policy unless required within the law or policy itself. If APERS attempts to notify plan participants who may be affected by a change of a law or policy, the failure to notify a specific plan participant does not create any right or cause of action for the plan participant.

APERS does not provide plan participants with specific recommendations regarding retirement options, tax advice, or legal advice. Each plan participant is solely responsible for determining whether benefit calculations, benefit projections, benefit estimates, and retirement plan options are suitable for the plan participant based upon his or her specific retirement objectives and personal and financial situation. APERS encourages plan participants to consult their own lawyer, accountant, tax professional, or other retirement adviser before making a decision that affects their benefits and rights regarding APERS.

Federal law and policy, state law and policy, APERS records and documents, and accurate data always govern the final determination of plan participant benefits and rights. An error by APERS does not create any common law rights on behalf of the plan participant. The rights of a plan participant are solely governed by the rights set forth in law and policy applicable to APERS.