Q. My mom retired from the federal government and elected a survivor benefit for my dad. He recently passed away. She was told that she could not name a replacement survivor. Is this so?
A. Only a spouse (or a former spouse under a court order) can receive a survivor benefit. When your dad passed, she should have informed the Office of Personnel Management. At that point, the reduction she took in her annuity to provide for a survivor benefit would have been eliminated and her annuity restored to what it would have been without that election.
