When you apply for a service or disability retirement, you must select a benefit option. This option generally cannot be changed after you retire. (You are considered a retiree on the first of the month in which you retire.)
If you are married, the law requires that you provide the written consent of your spouse to the benefit option you choose. This consent must be in writing and must be witnessed by a notary. If consent is not provided, the law requires that an Option 3 benefit be paid with your spouse as beneficiary.
This option pays you a benefit for your lifetime. If you die before the total benefits you receive equal your contributions plus interest as of the date you retire, the balance will be paid in a lump sum to your designated beneficiary.
Under this option, you receive a reduced benefit. If your designated beneficiary survives you, the benefit amount remains the same and your beneficiary receives it for his or her lifetime.
This option provides a reduced benefit, but the reduction is smaller than in Option 2. If your designated beneficiary survives you, 50 percent of your benefit is paid to your beneficiary for his or her lifetime.
This provides a reduced benefit that is smaller than in Option 2, but larger than in Option 3. If your designated beneficiary survives you, 66.67 percent of your benefit is paid to your beneficiary for his or her lifetime.
On July 1 of every year following your first full year of retirement, your monthly benefit will be adjusted by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, Seattle), to a maximum of 3 percent per year.
Once you retire you may change your benefit option and beneficiary only by returning to active membership, except in the following circumstances: