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• 90104
  

  My husband will be retiring in december 09 at the age of 66 turning 67 in jan. My two questions are I'am 55. When he retires will I be entiltled to a check from his pension after he retires or will I have to wait untill I retire? And what if I remarry will the checks stop? Thank you. dr.

  D. rubin Posted October 23, 2009 3:50 PM
• 54648
  

  My husband served in the army during the Vietnam war.He passed away in January 2008.I have filed and submitted all necessary paper work, 7 months later I have yet to recieve a pension check. I have spoken with the V.A. twice since his death and was told my application was still being processed. But in the meantime I'm behind on my mortgage payments,my utilities,and I'm disabled living on afixed income.Does anyone know how long this process takes? and any organization that may be able to help me mentally and spiritually? Sometimes I feel like just ending it all.

  shirley Posted July 21, 2008 10:13 AM
• 50930
  

  I plan to marry a woman who currently receives a survivor social security pension only because it is greater than the one she earned. Could she continue to receive that, or her own earned pension, as well as CSRS survivior benefits at my demise, after nine months of marriage?

  Walter Dietz Posted May 19, 2008 8:21 PM
• 49666
  

  My husband and I were married for 13 years and I never remarried. He was not married at death. He retired from the Army and Department of HUD. He recently passed away and I want to know if I am entitled to any spousal benefits.

  Virginia R. Dickerson Posted April 30, 2008 6:14 AM
• 47458
  

  My wife and I divorced 19 years ago, I have never remarried, she retired from FERS and she thinks I may be entitled to some benefits. I'm still working at age 62. Could you please inform me if there is anything like health insurance, or portion of her pension I am entitled to? Thanks for your help

  Guillermo Lucas Posted March 28, 2008 2:41 PM
• 46432
  

  If we get divorced prior to my retirement can my spouse receive her half of my TSP before I retire? If so how long do it usually take for this to happen and how do I go about setting it up? Thank you.

  dan Posted March 14, 2008 7:44 AM
• 44748
  

  I am 23 years older than my wife. My wife does not work yet. In case I die at anytime, what can she expect from the Social Security when she turns 62 years old? Do I need to be more than 85 years old for her to get my benefits?

  a. oliveir Posted March 1, 2008 1:57 PM
• 40568
  

  In Tammy's spousal benefits March 10, 2006 she states " Unlike in many private-sector plans, the annuity of the retiree can be restored if his or her spouse dies first". Does that mean if you elect to provide a survivor benefit for your spouse, and he or she precedes you in death, you can have your full annuity restored? I have asked other retirees about this statement and none of us have been able to find that in OPM retirement regulations.

  John Caviness Posted January 1, 2008 12:32 PM
• 35915
  

  if a spouse dies at age 56. His survivors are his present legal wife, plus 2 college age children. Does his legal wife get his benefits and does it start at time of his dealth.

  alberta ciani Posted October 25, 2007 12:23 PM
• 16865
  

  I didn't see this question answered in the "Spousal Benefits" article of March 10, and the answer to this question may be of interest to some of your readers. I plan to retire soon as a regular Civil Service (CSRS) (not offset) employee. As I contemplate providing a survivor benefit for my spouse, I want to know if a Social Security benefit earned by her might affect (decrease) a survivor pension she would get based on my CSRS service. Also, if I earn a Social Security benefit, I understand that it won't affect my CSRS pension, although my Social Security payment would be reduced by windfall and offset provisions, but would it affect a CSRS survivor benefit for my spouse? This question is similar to #15469 that I didn't see answered except my wife is not a FERS employee but works under Social Security.

  Thank you.

  GovExec.com reader Posted May 23, 2006 8:30 AM
• 16287
  

  Enjoyable to say the least: retirement

  Jake Landers Posted April 20, 2006 3:07 PM
• 16087
  

  In the column on "Spousal Benefits" under the "Points to Consider," you listed a few disadvantages to the spousal survivor annuity. The fourth bullet states, "If the retiree and the spouse both die within a short time of each other, there is nothing left to pay any remaining survivors, such as children." Could you further explain this please?

  Charmaine Franklin Posted April 11, 2006 12:00 PM
• 15747
  

  I would like to see more information on government employees who both will retire under CSRS. My husband will retire before me due to our age difference (six years). The two big decisions concerning retirement: 1. Life Insurance 2. Annuity for survivor. Do we really need both -- is the cost of both worth the benefits? Of course everyone has an opinion on these issues. A lot of people assume that in retirement couples no longer need two incomes (we have been used to the two incomes) so we don't need insurance and/or the annuity from the other person's retirement. These decisions are very hard to make --we need guidance.

  Deborah Beckner Posted March 30, 2006 6:41 AM
• 15573
  

  In your article under "Points to consider" you state: > "Unlike in many private-sector plans, the annuity of the retiree can be restored if his/her spouse dies first."

  Does that mean if you elect to provide a partial or max. survivor benefit for your spouse, and he or she precedes you in death, you can have your full annuity restored? I haven't been able to find that in OPM retirement regulations.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 21, 2006 2:39 PM
• 15511
  

  Here is another response to one of your comments:

  I'm 67 and will retire under CSRS in January. My wife is 62 and retired. Term life with no age limit or increase in premium would pay full amount to surviving spouse. Elect minimal survivor annuity and take what would have been survivor annuity and purchase term life. Payoff in death would be immediate, non-taxable and could be paid to any survivor. What do you think?

  First of all ... where are you going to find "term" life insurance that doesn't have a limited "term?" Even renewable term insurance will require you to pay significantly higher premiums if you will be renewing the policy 10 -20 - 30 years after you originally bought the coverage. Also ... you must pass medical underwriting to purchase life insurance... not everyone is able to pass this Medicare requirement. Keep in mind the reduction to your retirement also reduces your taxable income, but the premiums you would pay for the insurance would be paid with "after tax" dollars. Then... the problem is how much insurance will you need to take the place of a lifetime, unlimited survivor annuity that is adjusted annually for inflation? This is a hard question to answer considering you won't know your date of death, your spouse's date of death or the rate of inflation over your lifetimes. If your spouse inherits the proceeds of a life insurance policy, you are correct that she would receive this tax-free, but in order to make the money last the rest of her life, she will need to wisely invest the money and the earnings will be taxable. My advice ... be careful! People don't all live according to the life expectancy tables!

  Tammy Flanagan Posted March 17, 2006 6:37 PM
• 15510
  

  Here is a response to another one of your questions:

  Under CSRS, why isn't it to your economic advantage to use all your annual leave and not only be paid for it but also earn retirement credit? I know conventional wisdom is to grab the biggest lump sum you can while minimizing taxes because who knows when OPM will get you that first annuity check. But are they really that bad?

  There are two reasons:
  1: Civilian federal employees are discouraged from taking "terminal" leave at the end of your career. Since annual leave requires approval, this type of request can and usually would be denied.

  2: If you are under CSRS, your retirement benefit is probably replacing at least half of your salary. If you begin using your annual leave instead of being paid for it, you are giving up a few months that you could have been receiving a retirement check as well as getting paid full-time salary for your annual leave. This is better than only getting paid salary for the leave. I did consider the additional leave and retirement benefit that would be accrued, but for CSRS employees ... I stand by my advice: take the lump sum payment!!

  For FERS employees, I agree that using the leave instead of being paid for it would make more sense in cases where the employee has a relatively low amount of service (20 years or less). They could not only get more in their FERS retirement, but they would also add to their TSP and their Social Security earning record. Plus ... the FERS basic retirement is half as generous as the CSRS annuity, so that trade off would make more sense. However, go back to reason number 1 as to why even FERS employees wouldn't usually take advantage of this!

  Tammy Flanagan Posted March 17, 2006 6:29 PM
• 15509
  

  Here is a response to the following question: My husband also works for the federal government. I will be eligible to retire in four years under CSRS, but he won't be eligible to retire (FERS) until approximately 10 or more years from now. So, would it be necessary for me to elect the spousal benefit?

  Yes ... the law requires that if you are married at retirement you must elect a survivor benefit for your spouse. If your spouse doesn't need the money (or the health insurance in the case of a non-federal spouse), "he" can waive his right to this benefit or he can accept a partial survivor benefit. He needs to determine how dependent he is on your retirement income.

  Since my spouse is a federal employee, I have also wondered about health insurance and other benefits once I retire. We currently have the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Family Plan. When I retire, should we enroll in individual plans?

  You and your husband have the option to have one family coverage or two self only plans since you are both entitled to federal benefits through your own employment (or retirement). The benefit of having two self only plans can be less expensive premiums for two single plans as opposed to one family coverage. But ... out of pocket limits can be higher ... if you are both in good health, you may consider two self only plans. Also... if you like one style of coverage (i.e. HMO) and he likes another (i.e. traditional fee for service), then two self only plans will let you choose the type of plan best suited to your needs.

  Tammy Flanagan Posted March 17, 2006 6:23 PM
• 15469
  

  I too am in CSRS and will be eligible to retire before my husband who is under FERS. I too, would like some of those issues to be addressed.

  One thing I to have to wonder is that if I retire and get full survivorship, and kick the bucket before my husband does, would he lose his social security because he draws a check from me?

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 16, 2006 8:15 PM
• 15412
  

  My husband also works for the federal government. I will be eligible to retire in four years under CSRS, but he won't be eligible to retire (FERS) until approximately 10 or more years from now. So, would it be necessary for me to elect the spousal benefit? Since my spouse is a federal employee, I have also wondered about health insurance and other benefits once I retire. We currently have the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Family Plan. When I retire, should we enroll in individual plans?

  I would appreciate if Ms. Flanagan would address retirement issues that impact couples who are both federal employees. Also, I just want her to know that I have learned a lot since receiving the "Retirement Planning" articles via GovExec.com. This has been a valuable resource in helping me to start preparing for retirement.

  Thank you so much.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 14, 2006 9:28 AM
• 15404
  

  1. Compliment -- Great job, keep it up. I'm saving them all.

  2. Apology -- Should have asked sooner re: Great Date. Hope I'm not too late.

  3. Question -- Under CSRS, why isn't it to your economic advantage to use all your annual leave and not only be paid for it but also earn retirement credit? I know conventional wisdom is to grab the biggest lump sum you can while minimizing taxes because who knows when OPM will get you that first annuity check. But are they really that bad? Thanks

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 13, 2006 3:23 PM
• 15372
  

  I'm 67 and will retire under CSRS in January. My wife is 62 and retired. Term life with no age limit or increase in premium would pay full amount to surviving spouse. Elect minimal survivor annuity and take what would have been survivor annuity and purchase term life. Payoff in death would be immediate, non-taxable and could be paid to any survivor. What do you think?

  Herman A Scott, III Posted March 10, 2006 7:28 AM