Q: My father retired several years ago under the Civil Service Retirement System. At the time of his retirement, he elected to reduce his benefits to provide my mother with spousal survivor benefits. She died a number of years before him, but it does not appear that he ever adjusted his benefits after her death. He recently passed away, and I am the executor of his estate. Does the estate have a claim to the difference between the benefits he actually received and what he was entitled to receive in the years after her death? A: You’ll need to notify…
Browsing: Survivor benefits
Q: Can a surviving spouse receive more than one survivor annuity? For example, if a man receives a survivor annuity from his deceased wife, who was a federal employee, then marries another government employee after he turns 55, could he possibly collect a second survivor annuity? A: Generally, a surviving spouse can receive more than one survivor annuity based on the service of more that one employee. However, that can’t happen if the marriage occurred after the employee retired, or if the survivor annuity was reinstated after the surviving spouse remarried before age 55. In either of the latter cases,…
Q: If you are the retiree with survivor benefits and the survivor dies first, what forms do you need to fill out? Do you inform Medicare? Do you change health benefits from family to single? What form do you fill out to remove the survivor benefits? A: All you need to do is call the Office of Personnel Managment at 888-767-6738 to report the death of your spouse. A benefits specialist will guide you through the process and provide the forms your need.
Q: My ex-husband is a CSRS employee and is eligible to retire. I know that I am entitled to a survivor annuity whether he dies before or after he retires. Will my survivor annuity be reduced by any Social Security that I receive? A: Your survivor annuity would not be reduced, and you would be able to receive the full amount of any Social Security to which you are entitled based on your own work record.
Q: My husband retired under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program and had a 55 percent survivor benefit for me. I am Federal Employees Retirement System employee, and I will be retiring in three years with the maximum survivor benefit for him. Whoever dies first, will the other one receive survivor benefits and will the survivor’s other federal benefits be reduced by how much they receive from the deceased? A: There wouldn’t be any reduction. You would be able to receive both your own annuity and the survivor benefit provided by your deceased spouse.
Q: I am covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System and plan to retire at age 56 (my minimum retirement age) with 34 years of service. I will have met the five-year qualification for the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. I intend to keep a family FEHB plan in retirement to cover myself, my wife and my daughter. At my retirement, I will elect survivor benefits for my wife so she can continue to use my FEHB plan if I die before her. When I turn 65, my wife will be 56 and my daughter will be 19. I understand…
Q: My 76-year-old mother got married last year to a 76-year-old man. After they got married, they were getting about $5,000 a month from his Civil Service Retirement System annuity and about $1,500 a month from her Social Security. Sadly, he had a massive heart attack two weeks ago and passed away. They had been married 11 months. This gentleman had told my mother that he had named her as the beneficiary of his survivor annuity and that she would receive about $3,000 a month if he died first. Will my mother’s $1,500-per-month Social Security be affected by this annuity?…
Q: For my spouse to continue to be covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program after I retire from federal service and after my death, which type of annuity should I select? My spouse does not want to receive a survivor annuity and will consent to sign an attachment to SF 2801-2, Spouse’s Consent to Survivor Election, but he needs the FEHB coverage. A: He can’t be covered under the FEHB program unless he is receiving a survivor annuity. However, as a Civil Service Retirement System employee, with your husband’s written consent, you could elect to give him any…
Q: My uncle’s ex-wife has been receiving half of my uncle’s retirement annuity since he retired. She never remarried and is now claiming that she can pass on her portion of the annuity when she dies. She wants to leave the annuity to her church. Can she do this? A: No, she can’t. Her survivor annuity will end with her death.
Q. I plan to retire in July of this year. In order for my spouse to continue to receive FEHB if I die before him, do I have to elect survivor benefits or can he pay monthly for the payments? What is the minimum survivor benefit if I select it? A. You are required by law to provide a full survivor benefit for your spouse unless he or she agrees in writing to a lesser amount or none at all. If you are covered by CSRS, a full survivor annuity is 55 percent of your basic annuity before any deductions.…