Information for Annuitants

Waiver of Annuity

You can waive all or part of your benefit by writing to:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Program Integrity Section
P.O. Box 7174
Washington, DC 20044-7174.

No special form is necessary. You merely state in dollars the portion of your monthly annuity that you want to waive and the effective date, which cannot be earlier than the first of the month following the month in which we receive your letter. You cannot reimburse us for annuity you already received to make a waiver take effect earlier.

You can cancel your waiver at any time by writing to the above address, but only for future payments that are due after you write to cancel the waiver. You will not be able to recover the annuity amounts previously waived.

Government Claims

Your annuity may be subject to legal process to enforce any obligation you may have to pay, e.g., alimony, child support, or separate maintenance. Also, your annuity may be reduced to comply with a state court order, decree, or community property settlement dealing with apportionment of retirement benefits in connection with a divorce, annulment, or legal separation. We will also honor an attachment of your annuity by a trustee in bankruptcy. Except in these circumstances, the annuity is not generally assignable either in law or equity, or subject to execution, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process.

If you owe money to the U.S. Government, we can settle by withholding it from your annuity. If you owe the Civil Service Retirement System due to an overpayment of benefits, we will send you an explanation of the amount you owe, the reason for it, and how much we will withhold from your monthly annuity payments until we have collected the overpayment. We will also give you specific information about your rights in connection with this collection. If you owe another Federal agency, that agency will give you an explanation of the amount and any rights available to you before asking us to withhold it from your annuity payments.

Powers of Attorney

Annuity checks made out to you cannot be cashed by an individual using a general power of attorney. A specific power of attorney - Standard Form(SF) 232, Power of Attorney by Individual for the Collection of a Specified Check Drawn on the United States Treasury, which must be executed after the issuance of each check and describe it in full - may be used to authorize an annuity check endorsement. To use a foreign bank, you must complete SF 233, Power of Attorney by Individual to a Bank for the Collection of Checks Drawn on the United States Treasury. (Both forms may be available at your bank.)

Representative Payees

If you are mentally competent but physically unable to write your name legibly and are paid by check, we will accept an "X" as your legal signature. We require the signatures and addresses of two witnesses who saw you make the "X." Of course, if your payment is deposited in your account, you avoid this situation.

If you are mentally incompetent to take care of your own financial affairs, your check cannot be signed, cashed, or deposited in a bank by anyone else. Instead, a family member or other person acting on your behalf must return the check with an explanation to the U.S. Treasury Department. This individual also must notify the:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Retirement Operations Center
P.O. Box 45
Boyers, PA 16017-0045.

The notice must include your full name and retirement claim number (CSA number). We will then send information about making your annuity payments to a court-appointed fiduciary or to the person who wrote in on your behalf. The preferred payee is a court-appointed individual. In the absence of a court appointment, we will pay an individual who will serve as your "representative payee."

Designations of Beneficiary

You can choose any person to receive any lump-sum benefit as discussed on page 18. If you do not have a Designation of Beneficiary on file, we will pay the first person(s) listed below who is alive on the date the payment becomes due:

1. Your widow or widower,
2. Your child or children (descendants of a deceased child may qualify),
3. Your parents in equal shares or all to the surviving parent,
4. The administrator or executor of your estate (a court order naming the administrator or executor of the estate must be sent with the application), or
5. If none of the above, your next of kin as determined under the laws of the State in which you live.

If you are satisfied with the payment order shown above, there is no need for you to have a Designation of Beneficiary. Remember that unless you change or cancel your designation, the person named - such as a former spouse - will receive the lump-sum benefit. For an SF 2808, Designation of Beneficiary (CSRS), call or write to us at:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Retirement Operations Center
P.O. Box 45
Boyers, PA 16017-0045.

After you complete and return this form in duplicate to the above address, we will certify it and return the duplicate copy to you.

Actions Needed When You Die

In the event of your death, your survivors should notify us immediately by calling toll-free our automatic answering system at 1-888-767-6738. Within the local Washington, DC, area, dial 202-606-0500. The system guides callers through a menu that allows them to report a death without having to speak to a Customer Service Specialist. Between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, callers may stay on the line and speak to a Specialist. The person who reports the death should be prepared to give us your full name, retirement claim number (CSA number), and date of death. We ask that the caller leave his name, address, and telephone number so we can call back if we have any questions.

To report a death in writing, your survivors should address correspondence to the:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Retirement Operations Center
P.O. Box 45
Boyers, PA 16017-0045.

The letter should include your full name, retirement claim number (CSA number), date of death, and a death certificate, if possible. The letter also should include the writer's name, address, and telephone number.

As soon as we hear of your death, we will stop your annuity payments and send an Application for Death Benefits to the person(s) who appears to be entitled to death benefits. If Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance is payable, we also will send an application for that benefit.

To avoid any violation of law, all checks you did not cash before you died must be returned to the U.S. Treasury Department.

A statement reporting the date of your death should be included or written across the returned checks. If your annuity payments are being deposited directly into a financial institution, your survivors should immediately notify the institution of your death. It is a violation of law for anyone to withdraw any payments that were deposited after you died.

Survivor Annuities

Generally, your spouse will receive a survivor annuity if you elected at retirement to receive a reduced annuity with survivor benefits and your spouse was married to you for at least 9 months preceding your death. If your spouse is the parent of your child or your death is accidental, the 9-month marriage requirement does not apply. If you have a former spouse who is entitled to a full survivor annuity based on a court order or an election you made, your current spouse will be eligible, but no payments will be made as long as your former spouse is receiving the survivor annuity.

Any spouse you married after retirement may not simultaneously receive one survivor annuity based on your Federal service and another under the Civil Service or any other Federal employee retirement system. (This does not apply to social security or survivor benefits based solely on military service.) We will allow your spouse to choose which benefit to receive.

A survivor annuity is payable to each of your children, as long as they are unmarried, under age 18, and were dependent on you when you died. Unmarried sons and daughters over age 18 may also receive an annuity if they (1) are incapable of self-support because of a disability that began before age 18, or (2) are under age 22 and full-time students at a recognized educational institution. Your stepchildren or adopted children are eligible for an annuity if they meet the conditions stated above. In addition, your stepchildren also must be living with you in a regular parent-child relationship at the time of your death.

If a child born out of wedlock meets the conditions stated above and you recognized the child as your own, the child is eligible for an annuity. (Proof that you recognized the child as your own will be required.)

Note: We consider a child born out of wedlock to be dependent on you if: (1) the child lived with you in a regular parent-child relationship at the time of your death, or (2) a judicial determination of support was made, or (3) you made regular and substantial contributions to his or her support.

RI 20-59
Revised April 1999
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