New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 2 - PUBLIC FINANCE
Chapter 80 - PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT
Part 1100 - RETIRED MEMBERS
Section 2.80.1100.11 - POST-RETIREMENT SELECTION OF NEW BENEFICIARY OR CHANGE TO FORM OF PAYMENT A

A. To exercise his or her one-time irrevocable option to change the beneficiary designated at retirement to another survivor beneficiary under the same form of payment or to have future payments made under form of payment A pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-11-116(D), the retired member shall submit the request in writing to PERA, including a statement that the beneficiary designated at retirement is still living.

B. If the retired member requests a beneficiary change, he or she shall provide a copy of the new beneficiary's certificate of birth with the written request.

C. If the retired member was married at the time of retirement and is still married to the same person at the time of the request, he or she shall provide a new signed notarized statement of consent by the member's spouse to the new beneficiary or to the election of form of payment A.

D. If the retired member has been divorced, he or she shall provide PERA with complete endorsed copies of all court documents necessary to ascertain the current marital status of the member and whether any ex-spouse of the member is entitled to any portion of the member's benefits. Such documents shall include the final decrees and marital property settlements for all marriages during the member's employment with an affiliated public employer. If the member's only divorce was prior to becoming a PERA member, then the final divorce decree is required, but no marital property settlement is required. If the member was divorced more than once before becoming a PERA member, then only the most recent final decree is required. The requirement for providing a copy of a final decree may be waived, in PERA's discretion, when PERA can establish through online court records that a divorce decree was entered on a specific date and no further documentation is deemed necessary to administer benefits.

E. A retired member who was divorced prior to retirement and named his or her former spouse as survivor beneficiary may exercise his one-time irrevocable option to deselect his or her former spouse as survivor beneficiary in accordance with NMSA 1978, Section 10-11-116(E) provided that there is no court order requiring the election of a specific form of payment or designation of a specific survivor pension beneficiary.

F. PERA shall provide the retired member with a new benefit estimate and an agreement for selection of new beneficiary or change to form of payment A after retirement in the form required by PERA within a reasonable time of receipt of the written request and required information and documents.

G. If the signed notarized agreement is received at PERA by the ninth day of the month, the requested change shall be effective for the pension payment for that month. Agreements received after the ninth day of the month shall be effective for the following month's pension payment.