Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 386-54 (2026)

  Commutation of periodic payments

✓ current as of July 2026
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     §386-54  Commutation of periodic payments.  Upon application of the disabled employee, the employee's dependents or the employer, the director of labor and industrial relations may order that the periodic benefit payments be commuted to one or more lump sum payments equal to the present value at the time when the lump sum payments are due of the future benefit payments, computed at four per cent true discount compounded annually, if the director finds that such commutation is in the best interest of the employee or the employee's dependents and does not impose undue hardship upon the employer.

     The probability of the death of the disabled employee or of a dependent entitled to benefits before the expiration of the period during which the employee or dependent is entitled to receive such payments and the probability of the remarriage of the spouse shall be determined in accordance with the latest United States Life Tables and the American Remarriage Tables, respectively, as adjusted and corrected on the basis of the most recent available experience, or in accordance with any other appropriate actuarial tables selected by the director, upon advice of the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration.  The probability of the happening of any other contingency affecting the amount or duration of the benefit payments shall not be considered.

     Payment of the lump sums shall discharge the employer of the employer's liability for the corresponding income and indemnity benefits. [L 1963, c 116, pt of §1; Supp, §97-53; HRS §386-54; am L 1974, c 157, §1; gen ch 1985]

 

Law Journals and Reviews

 

  Administering Justice or Just Administration:  The Hawaii Supreme Court and the Intermediate Court of Appeals.  14 UH L. Rev. 271 (1992).

 

Case Notes

 

  Board may make lump sum payments not less than the present worth of installments.  31 H. 672 (1930).

 

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1982–2022 · leading case: Treloar v. Swinerton & Walberg Co., 653 P.2d 420 (Haw. 1982).
Treloar v. Swinerton & Walberg Co., 653 P.2d 420 (Haw. 1982). · cites it 21× “The claimant, however, immediately sought the Director’s approval of a commutation of the then unpaid periodic benefit payments into a lump sum pursuant to HRS § 386-54. The application, also filed on November 21, 1975, was submitted on a form, WC-12, specifically prepared by…”
Gillan v. Gov't Employees Ins. Co., 194 P.3d 1071 (Haw. 2008). · cites it 4× “2d 420, 424, 426-27 (1982) (deferring to the department of labor and industrial relations’ construction of an ambiguous provision in HRS § 386-54, which the department enunciated in an administrative ruling, because the department was charged with carrying out the workers’…”
Waltrip v. TS Enter., Inc., 398 P.3d 815 (Haw. 2016). “This subsection shall not apply when the employer’s liability for compensation has been discharged in whole by the payment of a lump sum in accordance with section 386-54. HRS § 386-89(c). . Reconsideration or reopening of decision or order.”
In re Attorney's Fees to McLaren v. Paradise Inn Hawaii, Inc., 321 P.3d 671 (Haw. 2014). “This subsection shall not apply when the employer’s liability for compensation has been discharged in whole by the payment of a lump sum in accordance with section 386-54. 7 . HRS § 386-87 provides: (a) A decision of the director shall be final and conclusive between the…”
Treloar v. Swinerton & Walberg Co., 641 P.2d 327 (Haw. App. 1982). · cites it 4× “The unpaid balance of these benefits was commuted pursuant to § 386-54, HRS, into a lump sum at the claimant’s request.”
Rames v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 515 P.3d 231 (Haw. App. 2022). “This subsection shall not apply when the employer's liability for compensation has been discharged in whole by the payment of a lump sum in accordance with section 386-54 [(concerning commutation of periodic payments)].”
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