qualified joint and survivor annuity

qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA)

USA

The form of payment applicable to benefits under a defined benefit plan or a money purchase plan that are paid to a married participant.

A qualified joint and survivor annuity includes a series of monthly annuity payments to the participant during the participant's lifetime. If the participant has a surviving spouse on his death, then his surviving spouse receives monthly payments for the remainder of the surviving spouse's lifetime. Monthly payments to the surviving spouse are no less than half of the amount that the participant received but can be greater, depending on the participant's election and the terms of the plan.

If spousal consent requirements of the Internal Revenue Code are satisfied, a married participant may waive the QJSA as the form of payment and instead elect a different form available under the plan.