PUBLIC LAW 98-397—AUG. 23, 1984
98 STAT. 1431
preretirement survivor annuity comparable to that required under subparagraph (A). "(4)(A) The requirements of this subsection shall not apply with respect to the qualified joint and survivor annuity form of benefit or the qualified preretirement survivor annuity form of benefit, as the case may be, if the plan fully subsidizes the costs of such benefit. "(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), a plan fully subsidizes the costs of a benefit if under the plan the failure to waive such benefit by a participant would not result in a decrease in any plan benefits with respect to such participant and would not result in increased contributions from such participant. "(5) If a plan fiduciary acts in accordance with part 4 of this subtitle in— 29 USC 1101. "(A) relying on a consent or revocation referred to in paragraph dXA), or "(B) making a determination under paragraph (2), then such consent, revocation, or determination shall be treated as valid for purposes of discharging the plan from liability to the extent of payments made pursuant to such act. "(6) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'applicable election period' means— "(A) in the case of an election to waive the qualified joint and survivor annuity form of benefit, the 90-day period ending on the annuity starting date, or "(B) in the case of an election to waive the qualified preretirement survivor annuity, the period which begins on the first day of the plan year in which the participant attains age 35 and ends on the date of the participant's death. In the case of a participant who is separated from service, the applicable election period under subparagraph (B) with respect to benefits accrued before the date of such separation from service shall not begin later than such date. "(d) For purposes of this section, the term 'qualified joint and survivor annuity' means an annuity— "(1) for the life of the participant with a survivor annuity for the life of the spouse which is not less than 50 percent of (and is not greater than 100 percent of) the amount of the annuity which is payable during the joint lives of the participant and the spouse, and "(2) which is the actuarial equivalent of a single annuity for the life of the participant. Such term also includes any annuity in a form having the effect of an annuity described in the preceding sentence. "(e) For purposes of this section— "(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term 'qualified preretirement survivor annuity' means a survivor annuity for the life of the surviving spouse of the participant if— "(A) the payments to the surviving spouse under such annuity are not less than the amounts which would be payable as a survivor annuity under the qualified joint and survivor annuity under the plan (or the actuarial equivalent thereof) if— "(i) in the case of a participant who dies after the date on which the participant attained the earliest retirement age, such participant had retired with an immediate qualified joint and survivor annuity on the day before the participant's date of death, or
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