Retirement FAQs Post-Retirement

Use Services Online to view your monthly annuity statement. This statement shows your current annuity payment, including the gross amount, up to 35 possible deductions or additions, and the net amount. The online statement reflects changes you made through the previous business day, unless the changes were made after the date for updating the monthly payment. Any changes you made after that date will be reflected in the statement for the next month's payment, when the change would be effective. Please refer to our payment schedule for information on the dates by which changes must be made in each month's payment. Your statement will also show required payment adjustments we make such as cost-of-living adjustments, health benefit premium changes, Federal income tax withholding table changes, and life insurance premium changes.

OPM provides a federal tax calculator on our website, www.opm.gov/retire, that may assist you in determining the amount of Federal income tax to withhold. Please be advised that changing the amount of your Federal income tax withholding will not reduce your tax liability at the end of the tax year.

The survivor benefit you elected at retirement is no longer payable. A monthly survivor benefit would be payable to your former spouse after death if one is provided by court order or your new election. The following conditions must exist for your former spouse to receive a benefit:

• You were married to your former spouse for at least nine months;
• You performed at least 18 months of creditable civilian service;
• Your former spouse to whom you were married less than 30 years has not remarried before age 55.

Your annuity may be reduced if your former spouse was awarded a survivor annuity by a qualifying court order. If you retired on or after May 7, 1985, we will honor the terms of a court order that requires you to provide a survivor annuity for an eligible former spouse for a marriage dissolved on or after May 7, 1985. If you are divorced after retirement from a spouse to whom you were married at retirement, we will honor the court order to the extent that your annuity was reduced at retirement. If you did not elect a survivor annuity for that person at retirement, your annuity will not be reduced. If you retired before May 7, 1985, we will honor the terms of a qualifying court order that requires you to provide a survivor annuity for an eligible former spouse in connection with a marriage that was dissolved on or after May 7, 1985, but only if you were married to that person at retirement and elected to provide a survivor annuity at that time or your were married to that person at retirement and elected to provide a survivor annuity before May 7, 1985.

Use Services Online to sign up for direct deposit, or to change the account or bank where your payment is sent. You will need your claim number and Personal Identification Number (PIN) to use the self-service website. You will be asked whether your account is a savings or checking account and to provide your account number and the routing number for your financial institution (found next to your account number on the bottom of your check). You should contact your financial institution for assistance in getting the routing number if you are not sure. When you make a change, we will mail you confirmation of the change. You can also call us or write us to sign up for direct deposit or change your account or bank. If you write, your letter should include your claim number. You can also use this form to sign up for direct deposit. Or, you can submit a Standard Form 1199A, "Direct Deposit Sign Up Form," which is available at your bank. When you change the account you use for direct deposit, keep the old account open until a payment is posted to the new account. This will prevent having the payment returned if there is a problem with the new account.

For more information regarding Federal income taxes, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov or call the IRS on 1-800-829-1040.

You can use Retirement Services Online at https://www.servicesonline.opm.gov/Default.aspx.  You will need your claim number and Personal Identification Number (PIN) to use the self-service website.   If you forgot your PIN, you can request a new one by mail here: https://www.servicesonline.opm.gov/RequestPassword.aspx.  Alternatively, you can call the Retirement Operations Center at 1-888-767-6738 and request a new PIN.  The phone lines are open from 7:30 am to 7:45 pm (Eastern Standard Time). It is a busy phone number so we encourage you to call early in the morning or after 5:00 pm when the phone lines are less busy.

If it is within 30 days of your first regular annuity payment, you may file a new election in writing. You should send the election to:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management Retirement Operations Center Post Office Box 45 Boyers, PA 16017  

Your first regular monthly payment is the first one paid in an amount other than the estimated amount or the adjustment payment after we have computed your regular annuity amount. If you change your election to anything other than the maximum, you must obtain your spouse's consent or a waiver of the consent requirement. After the 30 day period has passed, you can change your election only under the following circumstances. If it is more than 30 days from the date of your first regular monthly payment, but less than 18 months from the beginning date of your annuity, you may change your decision not to provide a survivor annuity or you can increase the survivor annuity amount. You must request the change in writing at:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management Retirement Operations Center Post Office Box 45 Boyers, PA 16017

You must also pay a one-time payment representing the difference between the old and new election amounts. This one-time payment also includes a percentage of your annual benefit. The percentage is 24.5 percent of your annual benefit if you are changing from no survivor benefit to a full survivor benefit or 12.25 percent if you are changing from no survivor benefit to a partial one. Interest is also charged at the rates shown in this table. Your written election should include your claim number, the amount of your new survivor election, and your spouse's name, social security number, date of birth, and a copy of your marriage certificate

Use our calculator to figure the tax-free portion of your annuity payment. Use our calculator to figure the amount of your monthly federal income tax withholding. Then, use Services Online to change the federal tax withheld from your annuity payment.

Use Services Online to:

• start, change, or stop Federal and State income tax withholdings;
• request a duplicate tax-filing statement (1099R);
• change your Personal Identification Number (PIN) for accessing our automated systems;
• establish, change, or stop an allotment to an organization;
• change your mailing address;
• start direct deposit of your payment or change the account or financial institution to which your payment is sent;
• establish, change, or stop a checking or savings allotment; and
• view a statement describing your annuity payment.

You can also call our toll-free number 1 (888) 767-6738 , for these and many of your voluntary withholdings. When using our self-service systems, you need your claim number, Personal Identification Number (PIN), and social security number. If you do not have a PIN, call us. If you do not have a touchtone telephone, you can speak to a Customer Service Specialist. Generally, in the middle of month, we authorize payments that are due for the first business day of the following month. Therefore, if you want your change to be reflected in your next payment, you should submit your request as early in the month as possible. See our payment schedule for the last date you can change your next monthly payment.

If you retired before December 9, 1980, your Basic life insurance will begin to reduce by 2 percent of the face value each month beginning with the second month after your 65th birthday or your retirement date, whichever is later. This reduction continues until your Basic life insurance reaches 25 percent of the face value. This coverage is free. If you retired on or after December 9, 1980, and before January 1, 1990, you elected one of the following reduction schedules for your Basic life insurance:

• 75 percent reduction - If you elected this reduction schedule, your Basic life insurance will begin to reduce by 2 percent of the face value each month beginning with the second month after your 65th birthday or your retirement date, whichever is later. This reduction continues until your Basic life insurance reaches 25 percent of the face value. This coverage is free.
• 50 percent reduction - If you elected this reduction schedule, your Basic life insurance will begin to reduce by 1 percent of the face value each month beginning with the second month after your 65th birthday or your retirement date, whichever is later. This reduction continues until your Basic life insurance reaches 50 percent of the face value. We withhold premiums for this coverage from your annuity beginning at retirement and continuing for life.
• No Reduction - If you elected this reduction schedule, the full amount of your Basic life insurance remains in force after you reach age 65. We withhold premiums for this additional coverage from your annuity beginning at retirement and continuing for life.

If you retire after December 31, 1989, you must elect one of the three reduction schedules described above when you retire. Regardless of which reduction schedule you elect, if you separate before age 65, until you are 65 you must also pay the same premium as employees for the Basic life insurance you continue into retirement. The amount of Option A - Standard insurance (formerly known as "Optional insurance") is $10,000 at retirement. If you retired before October 30, 1998, your Option A insurance may have been higher than $10,000. If you have this coverage, it will begin to reduce by 2 percent per month or $200, beginning the second month after your 65th birthday or your retirement date, whichever is later, until it reaches 25 percent of the face value or $2,500. We will withhold premiums for Option A insurance from your annuity through the end of the month in which you are 65, unless you elect to cancel this coverage. All annuitants with Option B - Additional insurance as of April 24, 1999, or later, are eligible to make an Option B reduction election. Those who are 65 or older at retirement will hear from us shortly after retirement. We will contact annuitants who retired before age 65 shortly before their 65th birthday. At that time, the annuitant may elect either Full Reduction or No Reduction for each separate multiple of Option B. For example, a person with five multiples may elect No Reduction on two multiples, while the three remaining multiples reduce fully. If you elect Full Reduction, effective the first day of the second month after your 65th birthday or your retirement date, whichever is later, your Option B full-reduction multiples will reduce by 2 percent of the face value per month for 50 months, at which time this coverage will end. We will withhold premiums for this coverage from your annuity through the month in which you reach age 65. If you elect to continue some or all of your Option B multiples with No Reduction, when you are 65 or at retirement, whichever is later, we will adjust the withholding for your Option B coverage to reflect the number of multiples you decided to retain at No Reduction. Any other multiples will start to reduce as described above. All annuitants who have Option C - Family insurance, and whose annuity commencing dates are April 24, 1999, or later, are eligible to make an Option C reduction election. Those who are 65 or older at retirement will hear from us shortly after retirement. We will contact annuitants who retired before age 65 shortly before their 65th birthday. At that time, the annuitant may elect either Full Reduction or No Reduction for each separate multiple of Option C. For example, a person with five multiples may elect No Reduction on two multiples, while the three remaining multiples reduce fully. If you elect Full Reduction, or if you separated for retirement before April 24, 1999, effective the first day of the second month after you reach age 65 or your retirement date, whichever is later, your Option C full-reduction multiples will reduce by 2 percent of the face value per month for 50 months, at which time this coverage will end. We will withhold premiums for this coverage from your annuity through the month in which you reach age 65. If you elect to continue some or all of your Option C multiples with No Reduction we will adjust the withholding for your Option C coverage to reflect the number of multiples you decided to retain at No Reduction. Any other multiples will start to reduce as described above. For more complete information about life insurance coverage as an annuitant, please check the life insurance pamphlet, Information for Retirees and Their Families: Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, RI 76-12.

You may receive a CSRS survivor annuity and social security payments. You may receive a FERS survivor annuity and social security payments.  However, if you are the survivor of a FERS retiree, you cannot receive the FERS survivor supplement if you are eligible for social security mother, father or disability benefits based on the deceased annuitant’s account.  Please contact the local office of the Social Security Administration for information about social security benefits. If you receive social security benefits based on your own employment, there may be a reduction in the social security benefit you receive based on your deceased spouse's service. Contact the Social Security Administration for more information about the Government Pension Offset at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10007.html. See the information below about benefits which may be payable to the surviving spouse of a deceased annuitant who was covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Offset program. Under these circumstances, a survivor may be eligible for both a CSRS annuity and social security benefits.

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act was passed by the United States Congress on December 16, 2010 and signed into law on December 17, 2010. As a result, the IRS published the tax withholding tables later than usual for 2011. OPM applied the tax tables as quickly as possible but there was not enough time to apply these tables to the January 3, 2011 annuity payments.

The withholding changes affect the February 1, 2011 payment and subsequent annuity payments.

To report a death of someone who receives benefits from us, you can:

• Contact us online:  Report a Death
• Call us: 1-88USOPMRET — 1 (888)767-6738
• Write to us at:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management Retirement Services Program Post Office Box 45 Boyers, PA 16017-0045

If you are reporting the death of someone who receives benefits from us, please provide us with the full name of the deceased and date of death, as well as the retirement claim number, if known, and social security number. You should also include your name, address, and telephone number. When we receive the report that someone who receives benefits from us has died, we will stop annuity payments and ask survivors who may be eligible for benefits to apply. In many cases, we can start monthly payments to an eligible surviving spouse based on the records on file. Payments made to a retiree after the date of his or her death are not negotiable. In addition, survivors may not be eligible for the full amount of such payments. Therefore, the Department of the Treasury will reclaim all direct deposit payments made after the date of death from the financial institution to which they were disbursed. The financial institution will debit the account to which the payments were previously credited. The annuitant's account should remain open until reclamation of any payments is completed. Uncashed checks payable to the deceased must be returned to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. You should void any uncashed checks by noting the annuitant's date of death on them before returning them. Voided checks should be returned to the following address: U.S. Department of the Treasury P.O. Box 24720 Oakland, CA 94623-1720 In addition, Benefit Officers can use our website to report the death of an employee and help us expedite payments to family members.