Q. I have decided to retire June 1. I’m in CSRS Offset, will have 36½ years of actual service, and 2,200-plus hours of unused sick leave, for 37½ years of credited service time. This is my 35th year of credited Social Security earnings. I’m aware of the offset reduction. I’m a widower and my retirement forms have been sent in as such. If I were to remarry after the effective date of my retirement but before I were to receive the first full annuity payment, and sent in a revised retirement form, marriage certificate, beneficiary forms, etc., to the Office…
Browsing: marriage
Q. I am considering getting married before I retire. Is there a time frame you have to be married for your spouse to receive survivor benefits? A. Not if you marry before you retire. However, if you marry after retiring, there is a nine-month waiting period before the election of a survivor annuity is effective.
Q. I’m a 79-year-old single federal retiree in CSRS. If I marry a woman 10 years younger, what percentage of my retirement will she receive when I die? I also am a military retiree with Medicare and Tricare for Life, so I wouldn’t need the civilian health insurance. A. As a CSRS retiree, you could elect any amount of annuity for your spouse, from $1 a year to 55 percent of your annuity. To pay for it, there would be two reductions in your annuity. The first would be the standard reduction to provide for the survivor benefit. The second…
Q. I’m getting married, and my husband is already 65. Can I still put him under my health insurance, or does he have to stay with Medicare? A. Yes, you can change your coverage from self only to self and family. If you are an employee, you can do that within 60 days after your change in family status under code 1C in the Table of Permissible Changes. If you are a retiree, you can do it from 31 days before through 60 days after the change under code 2B.
Q. I am a CSRS employee with 30 years of service. If I marry a retired federal employee, will this reduce my monthly retirement benefits? Also, in the event of death, are we entitled to each other’s benefits? A. Marrying either a federal employee or retiree would not affect your retirement annuity. Whether you would be eligible for each other’s survivor benefit would depend entirely on whether you elected to provide such a benefit and accepted the reduction in your own annuity to pay for it.
Q. After working for approximately 11 years in the private sector and paying into Social Security, I joined the Foreign Service in March 1979. I resigned in July 1983 to get married and start a family. I got back the $4,000 I paid into my retirement. In June 1985, I rejoined the Foreign Service and because my original separation was for the purpose of marriage, I was brought back on at the same grade and step level I was at, my leave balances at the time of my separation were reinstated, and I continued to earn annual and sick leave at the same…
Q. I retired last year after 30 years in CSRS. I was single, so I had self-only health insurance coverage. If I get married, could I include my wife in my health coverage plan? A. Under Code 2B of OPM’s Table of Permissible Changes, you could switch from self only to self and family coverage from 31 days before through 60 days after you married.
Q. I’m employed under FERS and plan to retire soon unmarried. After I am retired, I will still be covered with the FEHB single plan. If I should decide to get married later, is it possible to add my spouse to my FEHB plan and change to a family plan to bring her under my coverage? Are there any prerequisites or approval steps for her in order to add her to give her coverage, as well? A. Yes, you could change from self-only coverage to self and family under code 2B in the Office of Personnel Management’s Table of Permissible Changes…
Q: If you are single at retirement and later get married, can you immediately add your new spouse to your FEHB? If not, how long do you have to wait? And, are there any additional costs for adding someone to your plan after retirement? A: If you marry after retirement, you can change you FEHB enrollment from self only to self and family from 31 days before the event through 60 days after the event. After you do that, your premiums will be those for self and family coverage rather than self only.
Q: My wife died 13 years ago. How do I assign my survivor benefits to my common-law wife? A: You can submit new designation-of-beneficiary forms: SF 2823 for Federal Employees Group Life Insurance; SF 2808 for the Civil Service Retirement System or SF 3102 for the Federal Employees Retirement System survivor annuity; and TSP-3 for your Thrift Savings Plan investments (available on the TSP website). Some of these benefits may only be available in a state that recognizes common-law marriages. Check with an attorney to make sure that your state is one of them.