Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity (QJSA)

Jasz

VIP Contributor
Qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA) is an annuity that two persons, almost always a married couple, open in order to provide for both in retirement. A joint life annuity is responsible for making payments to the party in concern, provided that one of the spouses remains alive. Based on the agreement, the amount in the payments may reduce when the first spouse passes away.

A qualified survivor annuity is also a type of joint and survivor annuity that pays out to a designated beneficiary during one person's lifetime and then continues to pay benefits to that person's surviving spouse (or other beneficiary) after his or her death. If a married couple decides to start a qualified survivor annuity together, they must take steps now so that their designated beneficiaries will not be subject to taxes on their earnings until they die.

QJSA is sometimes used by employers to provide retirement benefits to their employees. The employer makes contributions towards employee's retirement accounts, and then pays into a QJSA account for each employee who elects this type of plan. The employer can then use these funds to make monthly payments to each employee on a continuing basis until they reach age 70 or retire from employment.
 
Top