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Will Your Spouse Get a Survivor's Benefit?

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

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Federal workers who are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) may not realize that, if they leave the federal government to work in the private sector and they die before applying for their CSRS pensions, their spouses and ex-spouses will not get a survivor's benefit.

In a letter sent to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Pension Rights Center urged Acting Director Kathie Ann Whipple to notify all CSRS participants of this little-known provision.

"Over the years we have heard from widows [of former federal employees] who learned that they have no survivor annuity only after the death of their spouses," reads the letter. "Because participants in CSRS are not covered by Social Security, these pension benefits are, for many of these women, the primary or only source of retirement income."

The letter continues, "While the law is clear that there is no pre-retirement survivor annuity from CSRS for former employees, OPM can ensure that CSRS workers and their spouses are aware of this rule…It is essential that CSRS employees have this information when making decisions that could have such a significant impact on their families."

In the 110th Congress, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced a bill that included a provision to grant spouses and former spouses of CSRS participants survivor benefits regardless of when the employee left federal service. The provision would have ensured that CSRS participants would have the same protections as participants in the newer Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), and in private sector pension plans. The Center is hopeful that similar legislation will be introduced in the new Congress.

The Pension Rights Center is a nonprofit consumer organization committed to protecting and promoting retirement security. The Women's Pension Project focuses specifically on the retirement security of women.

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Readers' Comments

  • Our law office has sent several "Orders Acceptable for Processing" to the OPM and have gotten HORRIBLE service. One of the Orders was received by the OPM on 5/8/2007. That's two years ago! Our clients ex-husband retired over a year ago and the OPM has not done a thing about processing that Court ...
    Posted: May 7, 2009 3:26 PM
  • What kind a retirement program is CSRS when it won't even provide for such basic benefits? Then too it won't matter what laws Congress passes if there is no enforcement and oversight. And the Court Ordered Benefits Branch at OPM is just going to require a $2000.00 court order that must have langua...
    Posted: March 30, 2009 1:54 AM
  • This section is referring to someone who leaves the retirement system before they are eligible to receive an immediate annuity. (Usually - quitting - but would also include being fired.) Your choice when you are in this category is to either take a lump sum refund of what you have paid into the re...
    Posted: February 24, 2009 9:36 AM

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