An unpaid retirement annuity is paid according to these priorities:
- Widow(er) if he or she was living with the annuitant at the time of death. If there is no qualified widow(er), the unpaid annuities can be paid to:
- the person(s) who paid the employee's burial expenses. If more than one person paid the burial expenses, each person will receive a share of the unpaid annuities in proportion to the burial expenses which each person paid. However, no person will receive more than the actual amount of burial expenses that the person paid.
Annuities unpaid at the employee's death cannot be paid to a funeral home. Therefore, unless there is a widow(er) entitled to receive the unpaid annuities, all burial expenses must be paid before the unpaid annuities can be paid.
If all the burial expenses have been paid, or if the amount of the unpaid annuities is greater than the amount of the unpaid burial expenses, the unpaid annuities (or whatever portion remains) can be paid to:
- the employee's children. If no children survive the employee, the unpaid annuities can be paid to:
- the employee's grandchildren. If no grandchildren survive the employee, the unpaid annuities can be paid to:
- the employee's parents. If no parents survive the employee, the unpaid annuities can be paid to:
- the brothers and sisters of the employee.
If there is more than one person in the category of people to whom the unpaid annuities are paid, the unpaid annuities will be split equally among all the qualified people in the category.