Browsing: surviving spouse

Q. Can a reduced annuity election for a spouse of a retired CSRS annuity recipient be changed if the retiree dies three months after the election was made? A. Yes, but only if the spouse was married to the annuitant for less than nine months before he died. If the spouse had been married to the annuitant for at least nine months, it cannot be changed. It also can’t be changed if there is a child of the marriage, even if the marriage’s duration was less than nine months.

Q: I am retiring soon under the Federal Employees Retirement System and my spouse is already retired under the Civil Service Retirement System. Should I die before her, will she be able to collect unreduced Social Security survivor’s benefits?   A: No, she won’t. Her survivor benefit will be subject to the government pension offset provision of the law, which will reduce that benefit by $2 for every $3 she receives in her CSRS annuity.