Q. Can a widower purchase quarters and have them applied to his deceased wife’s benefits so he can start drawing her Social Security? A. No.
Browsing: Survivor benefits
Q. I plan to leave government employment within the next year, at age 50, with about 15 years accrued service. I will defer my pension until I am 62. Everything I read discusses elections for survivor benefits as the pension payments begin. What if I were to die before the annuity begins? What benefit will be provided to my surviving spouse and minor child while I have deferred my pension payments? A. Because you have at least five years of service, if you left your retirement contributions in the fund when you resigned and later died, your spouse would be…
Q. I am revisiting my life insurance needs and want to ensure I understand FERS survivor benefits. I have more than 20 years of 1811 experience, but I won’t turn 50 until next year. If I die before I turn 50, will the survivor annuity be calculated at 10 percent for my first 20 years of 1811 experience or at 17 percent for those years? If I die after I turn 50 but am still employed by the federal government, will the survivor annuity be calculated at 10 percent for my first 20 years of 1811 experience or at 17…
Q. I have been a federal employee for 28 years and can retire in two years. My husband has been a federal employee for six years and will not reach retirement age (62) for 12 more years. I have been carrying FEHB benefits for our family. We have structured life insurance (outside of FEGLI) so that neither of us will have to rely on survivor benefits for income. I am trying to decide whether to elect the reduced survivor benefit so I can retire with the FEHB benefits for the family or whether we should switch FEHB benefits to my…
Q. A little over three years ago, I retired under FERS. I was a widower at the time, so no survivor benefit was being withheld from my pay. I now intend to remarry a French citizen and will reside here in the states for a time, then move to France. I would like her covered by my Federal Employees Health Benefits, at least while we are in the U.S. Can I sign up now for a full survivor benefit for her? How much will it cost me? I read somewhere that it costs 10 percent of my current annuity plus…
Q. After 25 years of service, I was approved for OWCP disability. Now, 15 years later and at age 68, I am still receiving the annuity. If I die still receiving OWCP benefits, will my wife receive survivor benefits from my CSRS service? Should I leave the money in the CSRS or draw it out?
Q. My entrance on-duty date is May 1971, and I was reading that employees stop getting the government contribution to their retirement at 41 years one month. Would this apply for part-time employees? If not (being optimistic), would they factor in the part-time years of service and add on the years to equate to this timeline? For example, for someone who worked 10 years at 20 hours a week, deduct five years and continue contribution till the total 41 years one month are completed. Also, is there a ratio of how many retirees elect to take out an insurance policy…
Q. I retired from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Jan. 3, 2007, after working there for 33½ years plus 1½ years of credit for accumulated sick leave. I elected to provide full survivor’s benefits to my wife. Can I determine what my annuity would have been had I not elected to provide full survivor’s benefits to my wife? I know this information was provided to me before I decided to retire, but I cannot locate those documents.
Q. I am a CSRS retiree. I retired in 2007 and remarried in 2008. I have no obligations to any former spouse, etc. I never thought about getting my new wife survivor benefits. Can I still acquire survivor benefits for my wife after all this time? I get nowhere with OPM; either they do not know or they go get me an answer and say they’ll get back to me and I never hear from them again.
Q. I have been an 1811 status (federal agent) federal employee for 16 years. I have been on leave without pay and receiving workers’ compensation for the past year due to an on-the-job injury. I have received little if any guidance from my agency’s HR, as the representatives admit they have little or no experience with workers’ comp. What should I do to maintain the best possible benefits for me and my family if this becomes a long-term/permanent situation and I am not able to return to work? And if I can return to work, how would the time on…