Q. My father is very ill and might not make it. I have no idea what his finances are. I know he served in the military for two years and retired from the Postal Service with over 20 years. Is there any way to get information about his benefits, if he has any? I don’t know if he was with FERS or CSRS.
A. If he was receiving an annuity, that fact should be noted in his personal records and in his bank statements. You might check his wallet to see if he’s carrying an identification card issued by the Office of Personnel Management. On it would be a string of numbers preceded by the letters CSA. With that information, his full name and date of birth, you could call OPM’s Retirement Information Office at 888-767-6738 and find out if he is on their annuity roll. You could also find out if he has any Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance and is enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program.
