RI 20-63A, Information on Electing a Survivor Annuity for Your Spouse

CSRS

Civil Service
Retirement System

Information
on
Electing
a
Survivor
Annuity
for
Your
Spouse

United States
Office of
Personnel
Management

Retirement
and
Insurance
Service

RI 20-63A
August 1999

We provide retirement information on the Internet.
You will find retirement brochures, forms, and other
information at:
http://www.opm.gov/retire
You may also communicate with us using email at:
[email protected]

Table of Contents
Page
I.

Introduction ....................................................1

II.

Conditions You and Your
Spouse Must Meet ..........................................1

III.

How Your Annuity Will Be Affected
If You Make an Election ..................................2

IV.

If You Elect the Maximum Available
Survivor Benefit ..............................................3

V.

Electing Less than the Maximum
Available Survivor Benefit ...............................4

VI.

Federal Health Benefits Coverage
For Your Spouse.............................................4

VII. If Your Marriage Ends After You
Make This Election .........................................4
VIII. How to Apply .................................................5
IX.

If You Decide Not to Provide a
Survivor Benefit ..............................................6

X.

How to Contact Us ........................................6

i

I. Introduction
This pamphlet provides information you need to
know to provide a survivor annuity benefit for your
spouse. A survivor annuity is a monthly payment that
begins after your death. The information provided
applies to annuitants who —
1. Retired after May 6, 1985, or who married after
February 26, 1986, and
2. Do not have a former spouse who is entitled to a
survivor annuity benefit based on a court order or
the annuitant’s election.
This information applies only to persons who retired
under the Civil Service Retirement System, and not
to persons who are under the Federal Employees
Retirement System.
This pamphlet explains:
r how your annuity will be adjusted to provide survivor benefits,
r when we can stop the reduction in your
annuity to provide survivor benefits, and
r how your spouse can receive Federal health
benefits coverage.
Please do not complete the accompanying election letter until you read this pamphlet.

II. Conditions You and Your Spouse
Must Meet
You can provide a survivor annuity benefit if your
election is timely (see Part VIII). If you provide a survivor annuity, your spouse must be married to you
for a total of at least 9 months to be eligible for benefits. However, this requirement does not apply if
your death is accidental or your spouse is the parent
1

of your child. A death is accidental if it results from
homicide or from bodily injury incurred solely
through violent, external, and accidental means as
defined in OPM regulations.
If you die and your surviving spouse remarries before
age 55, his or her survivor benefit stops. However,
the benefit can be reinstated if the remarriage ends.
If You Retired After May 6, 1985, and This Election Is for the Same Person You Were Married to
at Retirement: You cannot provide a survivor annuity that is greater than the survivor benefit you both
agreed to in writing when you retired.

III. How Your Annuity Will Be Affected
if You Make an Election
If Your Annuity Has Not Been Reduced for Survivor Benefits Since Retirement: Your annuity will
be adjusted based on the amount of the survivor
benefit you elect. There will be two reductions in
your annuity. The first reduction is for the regular
cost of the survivor benefit. This reduction may stop
if your spouse loses entitlement to the benefit. (See
Part VII.)
The second reduction is permanent even if your
spouse loses entitlement. This reduction is based on
the accumulated survivor reduction owed, plus 6
percent interest compounded annually. The total
amount owed and your age are used to determine an
actuarial reduction for the survivor benefit. We refer
to this as an actuarial reduction because it is designed
to pay back the total amount owed over the average
life expectancy of a person your age.
The difference in your annuity rates is generally computed from the date of your retirement. However,
you will not be charged for any period where your
annuity was reduced at a rate equal to or greater
than the total reduction required by your new election. For example, if your annuity was previously
reduced for the maximum survivor benefit, you will
2

not be charged for the period that the maximum survivor reduction was in effect.
The above annuity reductions are effective on the
first day of the second month after we receive your
election.
If Your Annuity Has Been Reduced for Survivor
Benefits Since Retirement: If your annuity has
been reduced ever since retirement for survivor
benefits, no additional reduction in your annuity is
required to provide the same benefit to your spouse.
If you provide a smaller benefit for your spouse, your
annuity may be increased by the difference between
the current and the new reduction. This adjustment
will be retroactive to the first day of the month following the date on which your previous marriage
terminated.

IV. If You Elect the Maximum Available
Survivor Benefit
Part B on the front side of the enclosed election
letter shows how much you and your spouse will
receive if you provide the maximum available survivor benefit. If the permanent actuarial reduction
applies in your case, it was tentatively computed
through the date shown in item 2 of Part B. If we do
not receive your election by that date, the amount of
the reduction may increase.
If you do not provide the maximum available survivor
benefit, your annuity will be reduced in rough proportion to the reduced benefit you elect. If you want
information on the exact cost of providing a smaller
survivor annuity benefit, please see page 4.

3

V. Electing Less than the Maximum
Available Survivor Benefit
To obtain information on the exact cost of providing
a smaller survivor benefit, please specify the amount
you want your spouse to receive in Part D of the
election letter. Provide your signature and the date.
After we receive your request, we will send you
another election letter showing the cost of the
smaller survivor annuity.

VI. Federal Health Benefits Coverage
For Your Spouse
If you have self-and-family health benefits coverage
under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB)
Program, your spouse is covered under your enrollment. If you are enrolled for yourself only, you may
change to family coverage up to 60 days after your
marriage, or during any health benefits open season.

VII. If Your Marriage Ends After You
Make This Election
If you provide a survivor annuity and your marriage
ends because of divorce, annulment, or death, please
notify us immediately. Send proof of the terminating
event (court order or death certificate) so we can
adjust your annuity, if applicable. However, any actuarial reduction that is made in your annuity to provide survivor benefit protection will NOT be eliminated, even if your marriage ends.
Generally, the reduction for the regular cost of a current spouse survivor annuity benefit stops the first of
the month after your marriage ends. However, this
reduction will continue if a qualifying court order
requires you to provide a former spouse survivor
annuity. If your marriage ends due to divorce, you
also may elect to continue the reduction to provide a
former spouse survivor annuity. If you retired before
4

May 7, 1985, you cannot elect a survivor annuity for a
former spouse unless he or she was entitled to a
survivor annuity as your spouse prior to May 7, 1985,
and the marriage ended on or after that date. To
make a former spouse survivor annuity election, you
must notify us in writing within two years after the
divorce.

VIII. How to Apply
Two-Year Filing Deadline: If you decide to provide
a survivor annuity benefit for your spouse, please
complete the accompanying election letter. It must
be received by the Office of Personnel Management
within (a) 2 years after the date of your marriage or
(b) within 2 years after the date a former spouse lost
entitlement to a survivor annuity benefit for which
your annuity was reduced (see below for exception).
Exception: If you retired before May 7, 1985, you
cannot make an election under (b) above, if the survivor annuity for your spouse was based on an election
you made before September 9, 1987.
Mailing Address: Send your completed election to:
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Retirement Operations Center
ATTN: PRM-STOP
P.O. Box 45
Boyers, PA 16017-0045
Please read all of the information on the front of the
election letter and the information in this pamphlet
before making your election.
Important: After we have received a valid election from you to provide a survivor annuity benefit
for your spouse, you cannot revoke your election
or reduce the amount of the benefit.
Documents You May Need to Provide: If you have
not already submitted them, please include the following with your election.
5

1. If you are eligible to apply because you married
within the last 2 years, please provide a copy of
your marriage certificate.
2. If you are eligible to apply because a former
spouse lost entitlement within the last 2 years to
a survivor annuity benefit for which your annuity
was reduced, please provide proof of the event
that terminated your former spouse’s entitlement
to benefits (marriage or death certificate).

IX. If You Decide Not to Provide a
Survivor Benefit
If you decide not to provide a survivor benefit for
your spouse, please provide his or her name, your
signature, and the date in Part E of the election
letter.
Please note that you may change your mind and elect
to provide a survivor benefit for your spouse only if
you again notify us in a signed notification that is
received within 2 years after the date of your marriage. Or, it must be received within 2 years
after the date a former spouse lost entitlement to a
survivor annuity benefit for which your annuity was
reduced.

X. How to Contact Us
If this pamphlet does not answer your questions
about this survivor annuity election, telephone the
person who signed the election letter you received
with this booklet. The telephone number is at the
bottom of the letter under the signature block.
For general information about your benefits, call the
Retirement Information Office at 1-888-767-6738.
Customers within local calling distance to Washington, D.C., must contact us on 202-606-0500.

6

When you call on a touchtone telephone, you will be
greeted by an automatic answering system which will
guide you through a menu of most frequently
requested topics. The automated telephone system
is available seven days a week, even after business
hours. If you call between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.,
Eastern time, you also have the option of talking to a
Customer Service Specialist. The Specialists are not
available on weekends and Federal holidays.
If you do not have a touchtone telephone, you will
need to call during the hours shown. After you have
heard the recording, stay on the line and you will be
able to speak to a Customer Service Specialist.
Persons who have TDD equipment should call
1-800-878-5707.

7

Retirement & Insurance Service

Serving over 10 million customers, Federal employees,
annuitants, and their families.