9 annuity will be paid to your beneficiary (which may be your spouse). You may designate a non - spouse beneficiary as to the portion of your account not payable as a qualified annuity wi thout your spouse's consent. IF YOU WISH TO WAIVE THE QUALIFIED ANNUITY BENEFIT, YOUR SPOUSE MUST IRREVOCABLY CONSENT TO WAIVE THE ANNUITY AND TO YOUR DESIGNATION OF ANY NON - SPOUSE BENEFICIARY. YOUR SPOUSE'S CONSENT MUST BE IN WRITING, BE WITNESSED BY A NO TARY OR A PLAN REPRESENTATIVE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE SPECIFIC NON - SPOUSE BENEFICIARY. If you are married and you change your designation, then your spouse must again consent to the change. In addition, you may e lect a beneficiary other than your spouse witho ut your spouse's consent if your spouse cannot be located. Unmarried Participant. If you are not married, you may designate a beneficiary of your choosing. Divorce. If you have designated your spouse as your beneficiary for all or a part of your death be nefit, then upon your divorce, the designation is no longer valid. This means that if you do not select a new beneficiary after your divorce, then you are treat ed as not having a beneficiary for that portion of the death benefit (unless you have remarried, in which case the prior provisions of this section apply to your new spouse) . No beneficiary designation. Subject to the terms of the investment a rrangements, at the time of your death, if you have not designated a beneficiary or your beneficiary is not alive, then 50% of your death benefit will be paid to your surviving spouse and 50% will be paid to your estate. If you are unmarried or have no sur viving spouse, your entire death benefit will be paid to your estate. How will the death benefit be paid to my beneficiary? Mandatory annuity distribution (subject to waiver). If the death benefit does not exceed $5,000, then the benefit may only be paid as a lump - sum. If you are married at the time of your death and the death benefit exceeds $5,000, then the death benefit will be paid to your spouse in the form of a qualified annuity as described above under "Who is the beneficiary of my death benefit?", unless you and your spouse waive the qualified annuity. If the qualified annuity applies, the Plan will purchase, using 50% of your account, an annuity contract providing for p ayments over the life of your spouse. The size of the monthly payments will depend on the value of your vested account at the time of your death. Waiver of annuity. You and your spouse may waive the qualified annuity form of distribution. Generally, the p eriod during which you and your spouse may waive the annuity begins as of the first day of the Plan Year in which you reach age 35 and ends when you die. The Plan Administrator must provide you with a detailed explanation of the annuity. This explanation m ust generally be given to you during the period of time beginning on the first day of the Plan Year in which you will reach age 32 and ending on the first day of the Plan Year in which you reach age 35. It is important that you inform the Plan Administrato r when you reach age 32 so that you may receive this information. Under a special rule, you and your spouse may waive the survivor annuity form of payment any time before you turn age 35. However, any waiver will become invalid at the beginning of the Pla n Year in which you turn age 35, and you and your spouse will be required to make another waiver. Distribution method/annuity waived. If you and your spouse waive the qualified annuity, and the death benefit exceeds $5,000, the benefit may be paid to your spouse in the methods described above under "How will my benefits be paid to me?" provided the methods are permitted under your investment arrangements . When must payment s be made to my beneficiary (required minimum distributions)? If your designated beneficiary is a person (other than your estate or most trusts) then minimum distributions of your death b enefit must generally begin within one year of your death and must be paid over a period not extending beyond your beneficiary's life expectancy. If your spouse is the beneficiary, the start of payments may be delayed until the year in which you would have attained age 7 0 1/2. Generally, if you die before you are re quired to begin minimum distributions (which for most people is shortly after the later of age 70 1/2 or retirement) and your beneficiary is not a person, then your entire death benefit must be paid within five years after your death. Some investment produ cts may allow a person to use this five - year rule. See the Plan Administrator for further details. Since a spouse has certain rights in the death benefit, you should immediately report any change in your marital status to th e Plan Administrator. What hap pens if I terminate employment, commence required minimum distribution payments and then die before receiving all of my benefits? If you are married at the time of death, the form of payment will be a life annuity to your surviving spouse as described abo ve under "Mandatory annuity distribution (subject to waiver)," unless you and your spouse had waived the q ualified annuity. In the event you had waived the qualified annuity, your beneficiary will be entitled to your remaining vested interest in the Plan at the time of your death. See the Plan Administrator for more information regarding the timing and method of payments that apply to your beneficiary.