2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 06 - Local Government, Public Employees, Elections › Chapter 238 - Public Employees Retirement System › Section 238.462 - Spousal consent required for certain optional forms of retirement allowance.

(1) A member of the Public Employees Retirement System who is married on the effective date of the member’s retirement shall receive a service retirement allowance in the form provided for in Option 3 under ORS 238.305 (1) or a disability retirement allowance in the form provided for in Option 3 under ORS 238.325 (1) unless the member provides proof of spousal consent to receiving an allowance in the form provided by ORS 238.300 or 238.320, or in one of the optional forms provided for in ORS 238.305 and 238.325 other than Option 3.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a member of the system who is married on the effective date of the member’s retirement may not change the form in which a retirement allowance is paid after an election has been made as to the form of the retirement allowance unless the member provides proof of spousal consent.
(3) A member of the system who is married on the effective date of the member’s retirement is not required to provide spousal consent to a change in the form in which a retirement allowance is paid if the spouse of the member dies after the effective date of the member’s retirement or disability and the change in the form of the allowance is made within the time periods provided by ORS 238.305 and 238.325. A member seeking to change the form of a retirement allowance without spousal consent under the provisions of this subsection must provide a notarized statement to the Public Employees Retirement Board that certifies to the board that the spouse of the member is deceased.
(4) Any member of the system who is not married on the effective date of the member’s retirement must provide a notarized statement to the Public Employees Retirement Board that certifies to the board that the member is not married. No retirement allowance may be paid to a member of the system who is not married until the statement required by this subsection is provided to the board.
(5) A member of the system who is married on the effective date of the member’s retirement must provide proof of spousal consent for the purposes of this section by submitting a statement to the board that:
(a) Contains the notarized signature of the member’s spouse;
(b) Indicates the form in which the retirement allowance is to be paid; and
(c) Contains a statement that the member’s spouse consents to the payment of the retirement allowance in the specified form.
(6) If a member of the system who is married on the effective date of the member’s retirement fails to provide proof of spousal consent as required by this section, the board shall calculate and pay to the member a retirement allowance in the form provided for in Option 3 under ORS 238.305 (1) if the retirement is for service, or a retirement allowance in the form provided for in Option 3 under ORS 238.325 (1) if the retirement is for disability. The allowance will be calculated based on the ages of the member and the spouse, and the spouse will be designated as the beneficiary for any survivor benefits that may thereafter become payable.
(7) Proof of spousal consent under this section is not required for, and cannot alter, the designation of any form of a retirement allowance that is required under the terms of any judgment of annulment or dissolution of marriage or of separation, or the terms of any court order or court-approved property settlement agreement incident to any judgment of annulment or dissolution of marriage or of separation, that has been received by the board in compliance with the requirements prescribed by ORS 238.465. [1997 c.476 §2; 1999 c.407 §5; 2003 c.576 §404; 2005 c.22 §178]