Q. My wife is 65 and is retiring under FERS from federal service at age 66 (in one month). I resigned under FERS two years and three months ago while not old enough for Medicare but was self-employed for the past two years, now employed by a nongovernment contractor. I had Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage separate from my wife’s FEHB coverage while employed in federal government service. My wife had her own coverage until I quit federal employment, then she started FEHB family coverage to cover both of us. She had Medicare coverage simultaneously for part of the last…
Browsing: SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. I am a retired CSRS employee with survivor benefits for my wife. She is FERS and will retire this year. If I die, will my survivor benefits affect/reduce her FERS and/or Social Security benefits?
Q. I started working for the Postal Service in August or September 1977 and resigned in June or July 1997 without withdrawing my retirement money. I have been working as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District since July 1997. 1. Is there any way to get specific counseling on my benefits? 2. How could I calculate my pension since I don’t know the salary rates I earned? 3. If I fill out my retirement papers now and write my wife’s name as beneficiary, what would happen if I divorce before or after starting to receive my pension?
Q. In 1994, I received disability retirement from the Postal Service. I was married at that time and elected for no spousal entitlement. My husband signed off on it. I have since divorced and remarried. When they convert me to regular retirement, will my new husband have to sign off on it to not take spousal benefits?
Q. I have been employed with the Postal Service for 26 years. I am 64 years old and am eligible for retirement. I would like to work for another year. I have some health issues. If I should die while I am still working, would I lose all that I have paid in to my retirement, or would my wife get my retirement benefits? If so, how much? Or would she only get my life insurance benefit?
Q. My husband retired from the federal government a year and a half ago with 40 years of service. I am age 59 and employed by the commonwealth of Virginia. If I take early retirement through Virginia Retirement Service, can I draw on his retirement since I am not 62 and cannot draw Social Security?
Q. My grandfather worked as a postmaster in Boyle Heights, Calif., for more than 30 years. He remarried my grandmother after he retired. They were married in 1977, and he passed away in 2003. Is my grandmother able to get part of his retirement pension?
Q. I will be retiring in early 2014 under CSRS with a spouse and disabled son. I understand that, with proper approval from the Office of Personnel Management, my disabled son may be carried as a beneficiary for survivor benefits at no additional cost. I know that normally, if a dependent spouse predeceases the retiree, the cost of survivor benefits will no longer be deducted from the retirement annuity. Is this still true with the disabled dependent, or will I continue to pay the survivor’s benefit cost?
Q. I’ve been retired for four years and selected a full CSRS survivor annuity for my spouse. She is applying for her retirement this year from the state of California. Because her retirement is from another government agency pension plan, will that have any impact on the amount of CSRS survivor annuity she may receive upon my death?
Q. I have some questions regarding retirement under FERS: 1. They used to allow lump-sum withdrawal of your own contributions to your retirement so you could transfer to your own IRA. Is that still an option, or has that since been rescinded? 2. My wife and I are contemplating not taking survivor benefits because she will get my Thrift Savings Plan and Social Security payments. Also, I have provided enough life insurance to cover her income. The question was raised that she would then not be eligible for my Federal Employees Health Benefits for medical if I was deceased. What…