Information for Survivor Annuitants

Federal Income Taxes and Your Annuity  

Your payments are subject to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. For a detailed explanation, request IRS Publication 721, "Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement Benefits." We do not provide tax advice or supply IRS publications. We report your payments to the IRS. If you do not file the required tax returns, you could be subject to penalties, interest, and potentially a levy against your survivor annuity. Unless we are told otherwise, we will withhold Federal income tax as if you are a married person claiming three withholding allowances. You can change your Federal tax withholding at any time by using a touch-tone phone to call our toll-free number or by writing to the

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

State Income Taxes and Your Annuity  

To start, stop, or change the amount of state income tax we withhold from your payments, use a touch-tone phone to call our toll-free number or write to us at the address shown for Federal tax changes. If your state does not participate in our State Income Tax Withholding Program, the computer system will not accept a request to withhold state tax.

Military Service and Military Retired Pay

If you are the survivor of a deceased Federal retiree receiving military retired pay at death, credit for the military service cannot be included in your survivor annuity unless the retired pay was:

1. Based on a disability incurred in combat with an enemy of the U.S. or caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during war, or
2. Granted under provisions of Chapter 1223, title 10, United States Code (reserve retirement). (Formerly under Chapter 67, title 10.)

However, if you are the survivor of a Federal civilian employee and he or she was receiving military retired pay at the time of death, credit for the military service will be included in your survivor annuity unless you elect otherwise. If the military service is included in your survivor annuity, your annuity will be reduced by the amount of any survivor's benefit (other than a child's survivor benefit) payable from the military retirement system.

Military service performed before January 1, 1957, may be used under the Civil Service Retirement System or applied toward the social security benefit, whichever is more advantageous to you.

A deceased employee's or retiree's military service performed on and after January 1, 1957, must be applied toward your social security benefit. However, depending on several factors, post-1956 military service may also be used under the Civil Service Retirement System. If your survivor annuity is based on Federal service that ended before September 9, 1982, and you are eligible (or would be eligible upon proper application) for social security, you will receive the greater of the following: (1) an annuity reduced by eliminating credit for the post-1956 military service or (2) an annuity reduced by the amount of the social security benefit attributable to the post-1956 military service. (If you are not eligible for social security benefits, your civil service survivor annuity will not be reduced.)

If your survivor annuity is based on Federal service that ended after September 8, 1982, use of post-1956 military service for civil service benefits depends on when the deceased employee or retiree was first hired in a position subject to the Civil Service Retirement System and whether a deposit was paid to cover the military service. If the deceased employee or retiree was first employed in a position under the Civil Service Retirement System before October 1, 1982, and no deposit was made, we cannot use the post-1956 military service if you are eligible (or would be eligible upon proper application) for social security benefits. If the deceased employee was first employed in a position under the Civil Service Retirement System after September 30, 1982, and no deposit was paid, we cannot use the post-1956 military service regardless of whether you are eligible for social security benefits.

The deposit for post-1956 military service must be made by the employee to the employing agency before he or she retires. If the employee dies in service, you must make the deposit to the employing agency.

Waiver of Annuity

You can waive all or part of your benefit by writing to us. Merely state in a dollar amount the portion of your monthly annuity that you want to waive and the effective date (the date cannot be before the first of the month following the month in which we receive your letter). If you have already cashed your annuity check, you cannot return any part of it for waiver purposes.

You may cancel your waiver at any time through a written request, but only for payments that are due after we receive your written request to cancel the waiver. No retroactive payment of annuity can be made covering the period during which your waiver was in effect.

Government Claims and Your Annuity

Your annuity may be subject to attachment for certain legal obligations you may have, such as alimony, child support, or separate maintenance. Also, if you owe money to the Federal government or were party to a transaction with the deceased employee or retiree (i.e., as a co-signer of a Federal home loan or joint tax return), we can settle the account by withholding annuity funds. We can withhold any amount payable as a lump sum death benefit to settle the amount you owe, or the deceased former employee owed, to the Federal government. We will not start withholding from your monthly annuity payments until after the government agency involved certifies that it has explained to you the amount you owe and your rights in its collection. Except in these circumstances, the annuity is not generally assignable either in law or equity, nor is it subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process.

Powers of Attorney, Representative Payees, and Your Annuity

Your annuity checks cannot be cashed by an individual using a general power of attorney. A specific power of attorney - SF 232, Power of Attorney by Individual for the Collection of a Specified Check Drawn on the United States Treasury (executed after the issuance of each check and describing it in full) - may be used to authorize an annuity check endorsement. However, you can enroll in the Direct Deposit Program to have your payments deposited in your account. To use a foreign financial institution, you must complete SF 233, Power of Attorney by Individual to a Bank for Collection of Checks Drawn on the United States Treasury. (Both forms may be available at your financial institution.)

If you are paid by check and are mentally competent but physically unable to write your name legibly, ask your financial institution for advice on how to deposit or cash your check. We will accept an "X" as your signature if two people sign beside the "X" to witness that you, indeed, made the "X." If the illness continues, you should have your payments sent to your financial institution each month through the Direct Deposit Program.

If you ever are unable to take care of your own financial affairs, no one else can sign, cash, or deposit your check. In the event of your incapacitation, a family member or other individual should call us or write to the:

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

He or she should give your full name, survivor annuity claim number (CSF number), and the full name and date of birth of the deceased Federal employee or retiree on whose service your annuity is based. We will send instructions to either your mailing address or the person who wrote on your behalf explaining how to have your annuity paid to a person who acts as your representative.

If a court has appointed a guardian or conservator to be your representative, that individual should return any checks made out to you to the Treasury Department with an explanation of why they are being returned. In addition, he or she should write to us, provide a copy of the court order, and ask to be made the payee. This person must state the address to which the payments are to be made and authorize Direct Deposit. We will take the steps necessary to pay your annuity to your guardian or conservator. We will pay all returned annuities to the court-appointed payee.

RI 25-26
Revised April 2001
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