Q. I am a retired federal employee who retired in 2002 under CSRS. I am 80 and single. If I marry a lady who is 70, how much will be taken from my retired pay, and how much will she receive when I pass away?
Browsing: Survivor benefits
Q. My husband is a FERS retiree. He may eventually have to go to a nursing home. Can the nursing home take my designated survivor benefits? He has been retired for more than five years.
Q. I retired in 2010 with 40 years of service, including four years of military service (1972-1976) that I did not pay back. While I am 62 and don’t qualify for Social Security yet, I recently received a notice that I now qualify for survivor benefits. Will this affect my CSRS annuity? Second, is the one-time Catch 62 check at age 62 in law or process? My concern is that if it is process, then it could easily be changed because of the budget situation to check every year after age 62 or when you start to draw Social Security…
Q. I am a CSRS employee. Upon retirement, I would like to know what minimum percentage/amount of survivor benefit has to be in effect for my husband to continue to receive health benefits if I pre-decease him. Does the annuity have to be enough to cover the premium? If so, what would happen if the insurance rates increased dramatically over time and the annuity no longer covered 100 percent of the premium? My husband is willing to provide a notarized “less than all” annuity base. The bottom line is that I want to carry only enough survivor benefit to ensure health…
Q. I worked in the civil service program for 34 years and retired in 1998. I named my wife as the survivor annuitant. In August 2005, she and I divorced. Even though the annuity was not mentioned in the divorce documents, I did not change the designation. Now I have been residing with a significant other for more than six years. I would like to marry this woman and name her as the annuitant for my federal retirement. With no mention of the annuity in the divorce documents, can I make this change? If so, and since I have continually…
Q. I’m trying to understand how my retirement income will be affected by the government pension offset and windfall elimination provision. I’m a CSRS Offset employee (55 years old) contemplating retirement in the next year with more than 32 years’ service. I also receive a monthly spousal annuity from my deceased wife’s CSRS service. I understand that when I turn 62, my own CSRS pension will be reduced by whatever Social Security amount I’m eligible for (should be more than 30 years of Social Security earnings), but I just read something indicating that my spousal annuity also might be reduced…
Q. I retired in 1997 with a survivor benefit for my wife. She passed away in 2007, and the survivor deduction stopped. I am going to remarry, and I know the first deduction will be the 10-plus percent so I can give my new wife health insurance, but how much of a payback will be deducted, and what percentage can I leave her? I am 71. My retirement is about $67,000. I am figuring that I will have about a $12,000 deduction when I remarry. I am thinking of getting a separate health insurance policy for my new wife plus…
Q. If I remarry, will I lose my husband’s civil service retirement? He passed away almost four years ago, and I receive spousal retirement from him. I am also a civil service retiree and get my own retirement. A. No, you won’t, unless you remarry before age 55. If you do, your survivor annuity will be terminated. It can be restored if your marriage is dissolved by death, annulment or divorce.
Q. My aunt retired from working with the VA in the dietary department. When she died a few years ago, everyone was notified and a death certificate was sent. Her senior-aged son received what he believed was her pension passed onto him for a few years until his death. Unfortunately, the bank has informed us that all finances have been frozen by the government because her now deceased son received money he should not have. I would like to know how we can verify this. Could his mother not have passed her pension onto her only child? We had an…
Q. My health insurance is carried by Rural Carrier Benefit Plan because my husband was a rural carrier for 26 years plus military time. He passed away seven years ago, and I receive a portion of his retirement pay. If I remarry, can I continue to carry the same insurance? I am 75. A. Yes.