Q. My wife, who is terminally ill, is covered by FERS and is an employee of the Postal Service. She is running out of sick and annual leave. If she goes on leave without pay and passes away while on leave without pay, will I, as her current husband (25 years +) still be eligible for the basic employee death benefit (50 percent of final salary plus $15,000)? A. If your wife had more than 18 months service but less than 10 years, you’d receive a lump-sum payment of $31,316.46 plus a lump-sum of the higher of 50 percent on…
Browsing: survivor annuity
Q. If I die after retirement and have my annuity reduced to get a full survivor annuity benefit for my husband, I understand my husband will get 55 percent of what my regular retirement annuity would have been. What if I am retired and my annuity is reduced to cover full survivor benefits for my husband (survivor) and he dies before I do? I understand my annuity check will be returned to full value, but what happens to all the money taken out for him? Do I get a lump sum refund or does it go to the estate? A.…
Q. My father worked for the post office for 15 to 18 years before taking early disability retirement around 1994 or ’95. He passed away in 1998. My mother receives an annuity each month. She recently became unemployed. We were discussing her drawing Social Security in a few years and getting my father’s. I was unaware that he did not pay in while employed with the Postal Service because he paid into retirement there. Is my mother able to draw his retirement pension, or is the annuity all she gets? A. Because your father was a Civil Service Retirement System…
Q. My father was a federal employee for more than 40 years. When he died, he had the highest civil servant rank possible. My mom died 15 months ago, and my dad died in September at the age of 86 after being retired for 24 years. He was receiving monthly annuity payments of over $6,000 a month until he died. We just received paperwork about a possible lump sum that would be whatever was left in his annuity that was not paid out in monthly payments. What is the likelihood that there is a lump sum left? Typically, do federal…
Q. I am my sister’s only surviving relative. I have filled out and submitted the required paperwork to FERS. How long will it be before I receive payment from FERS? I have received payment from the Thrift Savings Plan. A. Only the Office of Personnel Management can answer your question. Call them at 888-767-6738 or 724-794-2005.
Q. My husband, a federal retiree, died. OPM send me letter stating I do not appear to be eligible for a survivor annuity because he did not choose a reduced retirement. I cannot believe it. I married him after he retired. I did not know what my rights were; he did not ask me what I wanted, and OPM did not inform me. How could OPM and my husband decide if I would receive a survivor annuity or not without my knowledge? A. While the outcome is unfortunate for you, by law, a retiree’s decision about whether to provide a…
Q. I retired from the federal government Oct. 3 at age 59. My husband, age 67, receives Social Security benefits. Since I carry him under my Federal Employees Health Benefits, he did not elect Medicare Part B when he began receiving the Social Security benefits. However, now that I am retired, does he have to sign up for Part B? I’ve also provided for a spousal annuity for him should I pass. My human resources office advised that if he does sign up, because I just retired, any penalty, etc., will be waived. I’ve been researching to try and understand…
Q. I am a FERS retiree with premium deductions from my annuity for Federal Employees Health Benefits family coverage. My wife is not a federal retiree. 1. If I change to single during open season, can I change back to family coverage the next year? 2. When I die, I assume FEHB coverage will halt for her, correct? A. Yes, you can change from self-and-family coverage to self-only during any open season and change back during any open season. If you provided a survivor annuity for your wife, and you are covered by the self-and-family option when you die, she…
Q. My husband will be retiring from the federal government under CSRS. I, his wife, am a permanent alien resident. I have heard that because I am not a citizen, I would receive only 55 percent of the survivor annuity. Is that true? Do I need to become a citizen before he retires? A. No. You would receive 55 percent of his unreduced annuity if he were to die.
Q. I am a CSRS employee with more than 30 years’ service and plan on retiring in a few months. What is the minimal amount I need to put on Form 2801-110 in Section F (Annuity Election), Number 2, which states, “I choose a reduced annuity with a partial survivor annuity (equal to 55% of $_____________ a year) for my spouse named in Section E”? I saw in a related question someone had asked if all they need to put here was $1 of survivor benefit for their spouse to be covered by the FEHB insurance and the answer was…