what is a qualified joint and survivor annuity qjsa 
a qualified joint and survivor annuity qjsa provides a lifetime payment to an annuitant and spouse child or dependent from a qualified plan qjsa rules apply to money purchase pension plans defined benefit plans and target benefits they can also apply to profit sharing and 401 k and 403 b plans but only if so elected under the plan understanding a qualified joint and survivor annuity qjsa the plan document of a qualified qjsa plan usually provides the annuity payout percentage but the general requirement is that the survivor annuity must be at least 50 and no more than 100 of the annuity paid to the participant if the participant is unmarried the annuity is paid under the incidental benefit rule or follows the minimum distribution requirements 1according to the internal revenue service irs a qualified plan like a defined benefit plan money purchase plan or target benefit plan must provide a qjsa to all married participants as the only form of benefit unless the participant and spouse if applicable consent in writing to another form of benefit payment 1 for more on qjsa rules the irs provides an information page rules governing qjsas can be found in title 26 chapter i subchapter a section 1 401 a 20 on the federal register qualified joint and survivor annuity features and considerationsqualified joint and survivor annuities for married participants have the following features like many annuities a qjsa provides a lifetime benefit to a primary participant and spouse via monthly payments as such they should be factored into any financial planning and retirement income and expense scenarios such a product is not subject to diminishing payments due to poor stock market performance qjsa distributions once initiated are not changeable also distributions in addition to the regular monthly payment are not allowed if the participant is in poor health a qjsa like an annuity may not be a good investment of the assets required to fund such an investment vehicle payments may also lose purchasing power over time unless adjusted for a cost of living increase qualified joint and survivor annuity examplean individual s employer sponsored 401 k plan offers a qjsa that provides a monthly 1 500 retirement income at age 65 it also provides for a 1 000 monthly retirement benefit for the spouse when that individual dies that benefit is paid until the surviving spouse dies the individual may choose to receive a lump sum distribution of benefits but only with the written consent of their spouse witnessed by a notary public or a plan representative one exception is that a plan may pay a lump sum distribution to a participant without first obtaining their and their spouse s permission if that sum is 5 000 or less 3 if a participant gets divorced they may be required to treat their former spouse as a current spouse as part of a qualified domestic relations order or according to the terms of the divorce if a divorced participant wants to change their beneficiary of survivor benefits they have to contact a plan administrator 4