Q. I have been retired with CSRS for 15 years. I remarried very shortly after retirement. My first wife had died several years earlier. I added my second wife for full survivor benefit soon after retirement and well within the two years of marriage. Is it simple to remove my second wife’s survivor benefit to save money and receive more pension each month now? I understand it’s a 10 percent reduction to have a full survivor, so would we receive 10 percent more now? Would we receive a benefit of the equivalent of the permanent actuarial reduction that one pays…
Browsing: Survivor benefits
Q. My mother is 62 and just filed for her survivor benefit. My father passed away when she was 60. We did not know that she could have filed for survivor benefits at that time. Is there any way that we can obtain the money lost during those two years as it is from my father’s earnings? A. She will receive all the survivor annuity payments that were due her from the first month in which she was eligible.
Q. If I die after retirement and have my annuity reduced to get a full survivor annuity benefit for my wife, I understand my wife would 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 wife (survivor) and she dies before I do? Do I then start to receive my regular retirement benefits without a deduction for full survivor annuity? In other words, once a deduction from retirement pay for survivor annuity starts, can it be reversed and returned to…
Q. My husband and I are both 61 and considering retiring next year. I’m a CSRS Offset employee with approximately 32 years of service (complicated by a break in service for which I withdrew my retirement and never repaid it). My husband worked 41 years for the railroad. If I die, and he gets a survivor annuity, will it be subject to the windfall provisions of a reduced benefit of $2 for every $3 because he never paid into Social Security? If so, would it be better for me to take my full annuity and not have it reduced for…
Q. I am a single CSRS annuitant, age 69. My wife passed away before I retired. I may remarry. According to my research, I have two years after marriage to request a survivor benefit for my new wife. Also, I must be married nine months before my new wife can receive a survivor benefit. What occurs if I were to have requested a survivor’s benefit for her within the two years after marriage, but I passed away before the nine months occurred? A. If you had been married for nine months before you passed away, she would be entitled to…
Q. My father was a retired (1979) federal employee receiving monthly retirement payments via direct deposit. He died last week. 1. What do I need to do? 2. Who do I notify to stop his monthly retired pay and to initiate the process for obtaining his government life insurance? A. You need to call the Office of Personnel Management’s Retirement Information Office at 888-767-6738. Make sure to have your father’s full name, Social Security number, date of birth and Civil Service Annuity number at hand when you do that. The benefits specialist will send you the paperwork you need to…
Q. Under FERS, if I have a prenuptial agreement that my retirement benefits are my sole assets and I do not elect survivor benefits, will I be required to have my new spouse sign and agree to decline the survivor benefits? A. Absolutely. Regardless of what it says in your prenuptial agreement, you are required by law to elect a full survivor annuity for your spouse, unless your spouse agrees in writing to a lesser amount or none at all.
Q. I am 60 years old and had emergency major open heart surgery May 16, 2011. The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., installed a left ventricular assist device. I had to stay away from my home in Georgia and stay close to the Mayo Clinic following this procedure for several months, which put a strain on my savings. I was forced to have to retire with approximately 37 years of government service. My retirement date was Sept. 2, 2011. I put in for an alternate retirement annuity because of my qualifying medical condition to help me pay my medical bills…
Q. My father was a civilian employee for the Army Corps of Engineers. He passed away recently. He was single for many years but remarried three years ago. Since he married, am I still entitled to any benefit since his death? If so, what benefit am I entitled to since I am his only child? A. You aren’t entitled to anything, unless he named you as the beneficiary of any Federal Employees Group Life Insurance policy he still had when he died.
Q. My aunt has been retired since 1995 and has received her monthly pension since then. She has never married, and she does not know if she listed any beneficiaries to her pension after she passes on. How would we know? Does the pension extend to her siblings or nieces or nephews? She is 89 years old, and the siblings are 94 and 87. What will happen to her pension when she is gone? A. Her annuity ends with her death. When she dies and her death is reported to the Office of Personnel Management, they will let you know if…