Q. I worked in the civil service program for 34 years and retired in 1998. I named my wife as the survivor annuitant. In August 2005, she and I divorced. Even though the annuity was not mentioned in the divorce documents, I did not change the designation. Now I have been residing with a significant other for more than six years. I would like to marry this woman and name her as the annuitant for my federal retirement. With no mention of the annuity in the divorce documents, can I make this change? If so, and since I have continually…
Browsing: remarriage
Q. If I remarry, will I lose my husband’s civil service retirement? He passed away almost four years ago, and I receive spousal retirement from him. I am also a civil service retiree and get my own retirement. A. No, you won’t, unless you remarry before age 55. If you do, your survivor annuity will be terminated. It can be restored if your marriage is dissolved by death, annulment or divorce.
Q. I will be retiring this summer, and my ex-husband has remarried, so he has no claim to my annuity when I die. Can I choose to leave my annuity to my children? A. No. However, if you designate them as your beneficiaries and die before your contributions to the retirement fund have been returned to you in your annuity payments, any remaining amount would be paid to them.
Q. I have been a CSRS retiree for six years. I am getting remarried shortly. I want to ensure my Federal Employees Health Benefits continue to be available to my spouse after my death. I understand I have two years from date of marriage to elect a survivor annuity. May I select either a full survivor benefit or a reduced survivor benefit and still retain the FEHB from my surviving spouse? If reduced is an option, how much can it be reduced and still retain the FEHB? A. Because you are a CSRS retiree, with your spouse’s written and notarized…
Q. I am a 77-year-old widow of a postmaster with 30-plus years’ service who passed away in 1993. I have since received spousal benefits plus insurance coverage. I do not receive Social Security. I have not remarried. However, if I marry a widower who retired from military service (Marine officer and FBI) after 30-plus years, how will my benefits and insurance be affected? A. They won’t be affected.
Q. My 93-year-old father has been retired from the federal government since he was 62. My mother passed away 22 years ago. He wants to marry a very young woman so she can get his pension. I can’t imagine the government would allow this. He is adamant that she will receive his pension if he marries her. A. Yes, he can elect a survivor annuity for a new wife. However, he needs to keep two things in mind. First, she wouldn’t be entitled to anything unless the marriage lasted for nine months before he died. Second, the cost of such…
Q. My father left my mom and me many years ago and remarried. He passed away a number of years ago. He was a federal employee, and his second wife got his benefits. Am I as his daughter able to receive benefits from his pension? He stopped sending us a check of $50 when I was 16. A. No.
Q. I am an 82-year-old CSRS retiree who wants to know what benefits would be available to a new spouse age 19 if a man my age were to marry that age woman. Would she receive an annuity, and what percentage, based on my annuity? A. There would be two reductions in your annuity to pay for the survivor benefit. One would be the standard reduction to provide a survivor annuity (approximately 10 percent of your unreduced annuity). Second would be a permanent actuarial reduction to pay the survivor benefit deposit. That deposit equals the difference between the new annuity…
Q. I have worked for the federal government for 26 years, and will be eligible to retire next year at age 56. I have family coverage with Blue Cross/Blue Shield for myself and my children but not my ex-husband. If I remarry, I assume I can add my new husband to my family policy. Will my new husband be eligible for health care coverage under my policy in retirement if I retire within the next two to five years? A. As long as your husband is covered by your self-and-family enrollment on the day you retire, he will remain covered as…
Q. I am a CSRS retiree and also draw a CSRS annuity on my deceased husband. I have been widowed for seven years and plan to remarry this year. I am 67. Am I secure to keep receiving my survivor annuity after I remarry? I do not want to lose it, and your answer will affect my decision. I think the rule is that you must be 55 to continue the survivor annuity. A. There is no bar to your remarrying and receiving the survivor annuity based on your late husband’s election of a survivor annuity. The criterion you refer…