Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity – QJSA

Qualified joint and survivor annuity is an annuity payment from a qualified plan or 403(b) account that provides a life annuity to the participant and a survivor annuity for the spouse after the participant’s death. QJSA rules apply to money-purchase pension plans, defined-benefit plans and target benefits. They can also apply to profit-sharing and 401(k) plans, but only if so elected under the plan.

It is an annuity that pays out at one level for the duration of the holder's life and then another level, between 50% and 100% of the original, for the duration of the holder's spouse's life. The plan document usually provides the annuity percentage, but the general requirement is that the survivor annuity must be 50-100% of the annuity paid to the participant. If the participant is unmarried, the annuity is over his or her life expectancy.

Participants can waive the QJSA payment and receive lump-sum or ad-hoc distributions instead, provided the participant's spouse consents to the waiver and the spousal waiver is witnessed by a plan representative or notary public.

There are some rules regarding to qualified joint and survivor annuity like:-

A joint and survivor annuity is not a QJSA unless the plan permits the participant to start receiving a distribution in the form of a QJSA immediately after the participant has attained the earliest retirement age under the plan.

A plan may also have more than one joint and survivor annuity which is actuarially equivalent. In such a case the plan must designate which one is the QJSA and therefore the automatic form of payment.
A plan may allow a participant to elect out of the QJSA to an actuarially equivalent joint and survivor annuity that meets the QJSA requirements without spousal consent. However, a participant does need spousal consent to elect a joint and survivor annuity which is not actuarially equivalent to the automatic QJSA.