A Petition for Membership is required. Normally, these are completed by the petitioner and returned either on paper or electronically. In rare cases, Staff may create a petition when one is not submitted. These are usually not accompanied by payment.
Staff will then notify the petitioner of the amount of Life Dues. This is done by multiplying the current annual dues by the petitioner's life expectancy according to the most recent US government Actuarial Life Table, such as [http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html this from the Social Security Administration]>. Use whichever gender has the longer life expectancy -- — no bias based on gender is to be employed.
A Life Dues Account may be set up, provided that dues must be paid each year and an amount equal to the greater of one tenth of the the-current life dues and the current annual dues is also deposited. Should a member fail to make any year's deposit, the amount on deposit will be converted to a credit.