Q. When I retired five years ago I was then divorced and did not arrange for any spousal survivor benefits. If I elect to marry or remarry, how would my pension be affected?
A. If you were to marry, you would have two years to elect a survivor annuity for your new spouse. If you did, there would be two reductions in your annuity. The first would be the standard deduction to provide a survivor annuity, the amount to be determined by whether you elected a full or a partial survivor annuity. The second would be a permanent actuarial reduction. The deposit equals the difference between the new annuity rate and the annuity paid to you for each month since retirement, plus 6 percent interest. The amount is determined by dividing the amount of the deposit by an actuarial factor for your age on the date your annuity is reduced.
