Browsing: divorce

Q: I am a letter carrier with the Postal Service and am under CSRS. In 2006 I received a divorce and as part of the settlement my ex-wife will receive a portion of my retirement. I became eligible to retire at the end of 2008 when I reached 55 years of age. However, for financial reasons I cannot afford to retire at this time. Can my ex receive her share of my retirement now even though I continue to work and am not retired? A: As a rule, we’re not qualified to answer questions about divorce; however, I can tell you that your…

Q: If an widow is receiving survivor benefits through the Civil Service Retirement System and she remarries, do her benefits stop? A: Yes, if she remarries before age 55. However, if that marriage ends in annulment or divorce, the survivor annuity can be reinstated.

Q: My husband recently turned 62 and applied for Social Security benefits. He is a previous Civil Service Retirement System employee, so we know that his Social Security benefit will be reduced. The problem is that he was previously married and must pay his ex-spouse a large portion of his CSRS retirement. Yet when his retirement income from CSRS was taken into account in order to offset his benefits, the Social Security Administration used his gross benefit amount and did not subtract the annuity for his former spouse. This reduced his benefits by a large portion. Why is it that…

Q: Is there a place at the Office of Personnel Management where I can forward a copy of my divorce decree and request an estimate of how much of my annuity will go to my former spouse? I have the retirement estimate from my human resources office and can provide them an amount of my total annuity. A: You can forward your divorce decree to the Office of Personnel Management, Retirement and Benefits Service, Court Orders Section, 1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20415. However, OPM won’t provide you with an estimate.

Q: I have a friend who retired from the Civil Service Retirement System in 2002 and was divorced at the time. His ex-wife will not receive a survivor annuity per his divorce decree. He is going to get remarried this summer and will elect full survivor annuity for his new wife. He knows his monthly annuity will be reduced but he is curious to know if the reduction would be the same as if he had been married all these years, or will there be an additional amount deducted to make up for the years since he retired?  I hope…