When an applicant or an annuitant dies before being paid any annuities that may be due, the total of those annuities become payable to certain survivors in a lump-sum. Refer to § 234.31 through § 234.34 for information about when and to whom each type of unpaid annuity is payable. An application for an unpaid annuity must be filed within two years after the death of the person originally entitled to the annuity.

A regular employee retirement annuity or a supplemental annuity which is unpaid at the death of the employee is payable in the following order and amounts:

(a) A surviving spouse, who was “living with” (see § 234.21) the employee at the time of the employee's death, receives the full amount of the unpaid annuity.

(b) Each person who paid the employee's burial expenses receives a share of the unpaid annuities in the same proportion that he or she paid the burial expenses, but only to the extent that he or she is not reimbursed by the LSDP. If a payer of the employee's burial expenses dies before negotiating his or her check, that payment becomes payable to his or her estate.

(c) Surviving children of the employee receive equal shares.

(d) Surviving grandchildren of the employee receive equal shares.

(e) Surviving parents of the employee each receive equal shares.

(f) Surviving brothers and sisters of the employee receive equal shares. Half blood brothers and sisters share equally with full blood brothers and sisters.

A spouse annuity or divorced spouse annuity which is unpaid at the death of the spouse or divorced spouse is paid in the following order and amounts:

(a) The employee receives the full amount.

(b) If the employee died before negotiating the check in payment of the unpaid annuities, the unpaid spouse annuity or divorced spouse annuity is paid in the same order and amounts as described in § 234.31 (b) through (f).

Any survivor annuity which is unpaid at the death of the survivor is paid in the same order and amounts as described in § 234.31(a) and § 234.31(c) through § 234.31(f).

If a person, who is entitled to unpaid annuities based upon his or her relationship to the employee, dies before negotiating the check in payment of the unpaid annuities, the amount to which he or she was entitled becomes payable to other relatives of the employee in the same degree of relationship. If no relatives in that degree of relationship survive, the amount becomes payable to relatives in the next degree of relationship.