republic-os/legal/us/code/title-31/chapter-7/section-774.md

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LegalText	31 U.S.C. § 774	Survivor annuities	us	united_states_code	code_section	31	MONEY AND FINANCE	7	GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE	774	31 U.S.C. § 774	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc31@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t31/s774	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-31/usc31.xml	d70297a0641e0410806082d59320710dbecfc19f3450015684bd64ce9b1e57e5	94d3fba324cbbc12277242f872f8f47cff5250dbcdc0057fe857212764e4b704	d88b492d9b98a1727e6d2b5f31415453bb9bc36d8f246f28584ca8c8a9b0ac01	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

31 U.S.C. § 774 - Survivor annuities

Text

(a) In this section—

(1) “allowable military service” means honorable active service of not more than 5 years in an armed force (including service in the National Guard when ordered to active duty for the United States Government), when the service is not creditable in computing another annuity.

(2) “other prior allowable service” means civilian service as an officer or employee of the Government or District of Columbia government not covered by subsection (d)(1) of this section.

(3) “congressional employee” has the same meaning given that term in section 2107 of title 5.

(b) A survivor annuity shall be paid under this subchapter when a Comptroller General—

(1) makes an election under section 773 of this title;

(2) dies in office or while receiving an annuity under section 772 of this title;

(3) had at least 18 months of civilian service at death computed under subsections (a) and (d) of this section; and

(4) had deductions or deposits under section 773 of this title made for the last 18 months of civilian service.

(c) If the Comptroller General or retired Comptroller General is survived—

(1) only by a spouse, the surviving spouse shall receive an annuity computed under subsection (d) of this section beginning on the death of the Comptroller General or retired Comptroller General or when the spouse is 50 years of age, whichever is later;

(2) by a spouse and a dependent child, the surviving spouse shall receive an immediate annuity computed under subsection (d) of this section and each dependent child shall receive an immediate annuity equal to the smaller of—

(A) 10 percent of the average annual pay computed under subsection (d)(1) of this section; or

(B) 20 percent of the average annual pay computed under subsection (d)(1) of this section, divided by the number of dependent children; or

(3) only by a dependent child, each dependent child shall receive an immediate annuity equal to the smaller of—

(A) the annuity a surviving spouse would be entitled to receive under clause (2) of this subsection, divided by the number of dependent children;

(B) 20 percent of the average annual pay computed under subsection (d)(1) of this section; or

(C) 40 percent of the average annual pay computed under subsection (d)(1) of this section, divided by the number of dependent children.

(d) The annuity of a surviving spouse is equal to—

(1) 1.5 percent of the average annual pay (based on the 3 years of highest pay received as Comptroller General and other prior allowable service) times—

(A) the number of years of—

(i) service as Comptroller General or a member of Congress; and

(ii) prior allowable military service; and

(B) not more than 15 years of prior allowable service as a congressional employee; plus

(2) .75 percent of the average pay computed under clause (1) of this subsection times the number of years of other allowable service.

(e) A surviving spouse’s annuity may not be more than 50 percent nor less than 25 percent of the average annual pay computed under subsection (d)(1) of this section. If a Comptroller General does not make the deposit under section 773(b) of this title, a surviving spouse’s annuity shall be credited with the service during which a deposit was not made, unless the spouse elects not to have the service credited. However, the annuity shall be reduced by 10 percent of the amount of the unpaid deposit, computed on the date the Comptroller General or retired Comptroller General dies.

(Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 904; Pub. L. 100–426, title II, § 205, Sept. 9, 1988, 102 Stat. 1600.)

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 774(a)31:43b(o).June 10, 1921, ch. 18, 42 Stat. 20, § 319(d), (o); added July 13, 1959, Pub. L. 86–87, 73 Stat. 197, 200. 774(b), (c)31:43b(e).June 10, 1921, ch. 18, 42 Stat. 20, § 319(e), (n); added July 13, 1959, Pub. L. 86–87, 73 Stat. 197, 200; Oct. 25, 1978, Pub. L. 95–512, § 2(2)–(4), 92 Stat. 1799. 774(d)31:43b(n)(less words after last comma). 774(e)31:43b(d). 31:43b(n)(words after last comma). In subsection (a)(1), the words “in an armed force” are substituted for “in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard” for consistency with title 10. The word “only” is omitted as surplus. The word “Government” is added for consistency. The word “computing” is added for clarity. The word “annuity” is substituted for “retirement or retired pay” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. The words “under any other provision of law” are omitted as surplus. Subsection (a)(3) is substituted for 31:43b(o)(1st sentence) for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. In subsection (b), before clause (1), the words “A survivor annuity shall be paid under this subchapter when” are added for clarity. The words “or retired Comptroller General” are omitted as executed. In clause (1), the words “made an election under section 733 of this title” are substituted for “has elected to bring himself within the purview of this section” for clarity. In clause (2), the word “annuity” is substituted for “retirement pay” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. In clause (4), the words “salary” and “actually” are omitted as surplus. In subsection (c)(1), the words “only by a spouse” are substituted for “by a widow but not by a dependent child” to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (c)(2), before subclause (A), the words “or children” and “in an amount” are omitted as surplus. In subsection (c)(3), before subclause (A), the words “only by a dependent child” are substituted for “no surviving widow but leaves a surviving dependent child or children” to eliminate unnecessary words. In subclause (A), the words “the amount of” are omitted as surplus. The words “a surviving spouse” are substituted for “such widow . . . had she survived” to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (d), before clause (1), the words “of a Comptroller General or retired Comptroller General who has elected to bring himself within the purview of this section” are omitted as surplus. In clauses (1) and (2), the word “pay” is substituted for “salary” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. In clause (1), before subclause (A), the words “by him for service . . . service in which his” are omitted as surplus. In subclause (A)(i), the words “member of Congress” are substituted for “Senator, Representative, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner in the Congress of the United States” for consistency and to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “his years of service as” and “of the United States” are omitted as surplus. In subsection (e), the words “and shall be further reduced in accordance with subsection (d) of this section if applicable” are omitted because of the restatement. The words “or a retired Comptroller General” are omitted as executed. The words “during which a deposit was not made” are substituted for “rendered” for clarity. The word “unpaid” is added for clarity.

Editorial Notes

Amendments1988—Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 100–426, § 205(1), substituted “18 months” for “5 years”. Subsec. (c)(2), (3). Pub. L. 100–426, § 205(2), amended pars. (2) and (3) generally. Prior to amendment, pars. (2) and (3) read as follows: “(2) by a spouse and a dependent child, the surviving spouse shall receive an immediate annuity under subsection (d) of this section and each dependent child shall receive an immediate annuity equal to the smaller of— “(A) $1,548; or “(B) $4,644 divided by the number of dependent children; or “(3) only by a dependent child, each dependent child shall receive an immediate annuity equal to the smaller of— “(A) the annuity a surviving spouse would be entitled to receive under clause (2) of this subsection divided by the number of dependent children; “(B) $1,860; or “(C) $5,580 divided by the number of dependent children.” Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 100–426, § 205(3), substituted “1.5 percent” for “1.25 percent” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–426, § 205(4), substituted “more than 50 percent nor less than 25 percent” for “more than 40 percent”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–426 effective after end of 60-day period beginning Sept. 9, 1988, with certain exceptions, see section 208 of Pub. L. 100–426, set out as a note under section 772 of this title.