Life Events and Your Retirement and Insurance Benefits (for Annuitants)

One Year Before Retirement
This is the point at which you need to take some of the more detailed necessary actions.

Since this pamphlet covers only the most common items, you should ask your agency for the "Checklist for Employees Preparing to Retire" and the "Checklist for Health Benefits and Life Insurance Coverage" because these checklists are more comprehensive than this pamphlet. Use these tools to be sure you do not forget to take a needed action or obtain needed information.

Confirm that nothing has changed that would affect your planning.

• You may want to attend another pre-retirement seminar, if available. Many agencies encourage employees to invite spouses.
  
  
• Request an updated retirement estimate. Since you are now very close to your planned retirement date, this estimate should be very close to your actual annuity amount.

Make an appointment with your servicing personnel office to go through everything and verify that any needed action to verify or document your service and insurance coverage has been done.

• If you have unpaid deposits or redeposits, review the whole topic of paying for service, including post-1956 military service.
  
  
• If you want to pay deposits or redeposits, you should already have asked for a billing.
  
  
• If you now need a billing, ask your personnel office for assistance.
  
  
• Remember that a deposit for post-1956 military service needs to be paid to your agency before separation.

Review your survivor benefit options -- the types of benefits that may be elected, the eligibility requirements for survivor benefits, their cost, and the necessity for your spouse to consent if you want to provide less than full benefits for him or her. Also, remember that if you do not provide any annuity for your spouse, he or she will not be able to continue Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage upon your death.

Obtain current information about expected income from other sources. Consider your thrift plan withdrawal options, estimate the relative monetary advantages of different ways of withdrawing thrift plan funds, and consider the tax effects of each. Also, if you have not already done so, obtain information about Federal and, if applicable, State taxation of your annuity and other income. See the list of publications at the end of this pamphlet for items that may be helpful to you.

If you are enrolled in the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, verify that you are eligible to continue your coverage as a retiree. Ask whether your personnel folder contains documentation that you have been enrolled in a plan under the program for the 5-year period before your retirement. If you will not meet the 5-year requirement as of your planned retirement date, you may want to delay retirement until you meet it. If your health insurance coverage will not continue into retirement, ask about the 31-day extension of coverage and Temporary Continuation of Coverage.

Note: If you are a military retiree, your Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) coverage counts toward the 5-year requirement. However, you must be enrolled in the health insurance program when you retire in order to have health insurance coverage after retirement.

If you are in the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program, verify that you will be able to continue your coverage into retirement, and ask how much the amount of insurance you want to keep as a retiree will cost you. If you were not enrolled in the program for the 5 years of service immediately preceding retirement or for all service since your first opportunity to enroll, you cannot continue your life insurance into retirement. This rule applies to all optional life insurance coverage, too. If you will not meet the 5-year requirement for some or all of your coverage as of your planned retirement date, you may want to delay your retirement. You are entitled to convert your life insurance coverage to a private policy whether or not you are eligible to continue it into retirement.

Check any designations of beneficiary you have on file to be sure that they reflect your current needs. If you have not filed designations of beneficiary, make sure that the normal order of precedence for payments will meet your needs.

If you have not already done so, inform your supervisor of your intended retirement date.

Six Months Before Retirement
Clear up any indebtedness to your agency -- for example, for an outstanding travel advance or advanced leave.

If you are a military retiree who wants to waive your military retired pay, you should notify the Retired Pay Operations Center from your branch of service in writing at least 90 days, but no later than 60 days, before your planned retirement date.

Two Months Before Retirement
Choose your exact retirement date, if you have not already done so. Remember that for voluntary retirements, Civil Service Retirement System annuities can begin on the first, second, or third day of the month. However, in the Federal Employees' Retirement System, voluntary retirements begin only on the first of a month.

Obtain all the necessary forms and complete them. Pay particular attention to the information in the application regarding Workers Compensation and payments from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Ask your servicing personnel office for assistance if you have any questions. Failure to complete any form or item of information that may be required in your case may cause your personnel office or OPM to delay the final processing of your application for retirement.

Submit all your forms to your supervisor or servicing personnel office. Keep a copy for your own records.

Notes:

1. If you have a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account, your agency will provide you with a TSP withdrawal package after you retire. The package contains information and forms you will need to withdraw your account. When you are ready to make a withdrawal election -- but not before you separate from service -- submit the Withdrawal Request (Form TSP-70) to the TSP Service Office in New Orleans, Louisiana.
   
   
2. If you are within 3 months of age 62 or older, you must contact the Social Security Administration directly to apply for any Social Security retirement benefit you are eligible for. You can apply for benefits by going to any Social Security office or by calling (800) 772-1213.
   
   
3. If you are within 3 months of age 65 or older, you should contact the Social Security Administration to apply for Medicare, in addition to the Social Security retirement benefit.
   
   
4. If you have a voluntary contributions (VC) account, you should be aware that interest stops accruing when you separate for retirement. If you plan to request a refund of your account, you should complete form RI 38-124, Voluntary Contributions Election, and send it to OPM now so that you avoid having a gap between the date interest stops accruing and the date you receive a refund of the money in the account.

Section II: How Your Agency Processes Your Application for Retirement

Your Personnel Office
The processing of your retirement application begins at your personnel office. The appropriate official in your personnel office will check your personnel folder to ensure that you meet the age and service requirements for retirement and for continuing any insurance coverages you may have. He or she will also prepare a Certified Summary of Federal Service which lists your verified Federal civilian and military service. You will then be given an opportunity to review and sign the Certified Summary for completeness and accuracy. Your personnel office will also take the following actions, if applicable in your case:

• Certify your Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance coverage to OPM, if you appear eligible to continue this coverage into retirement.
  
  
• Forward any current designations of beneficiary that are in your personnel folder.
  
  
• Process the Personnel Action necessary to separate you from the Federal service for retirement.
  
  
• Complete and certify the personnel office portion of your retirement application and the Agency Checklist of Immediate Retirement Procedures.

After your personnel office completes all of its actions, your application and related records are sent to your payroll office.

If you need to contact your servicing personnel office concerning retirement matters, the telephone number can be found on the front cover of this pamphlet.

Your Payroll Office
Your payroll office will authorize your final salary payment after you separate for retirement and a lump sum payment for any unused annual leave you may have. The payroll office will then certify and close out your Individual Retirement Record, which is the official record of your Federal service history. It reflects your retirement deductions for your current service, pay rates, unused sick leave credit for retirement purposes, last day of pay, date and type of separation, and other data that is necessary for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to determine your retirement benefits. Because this record reflects your total retirement deductions for your last period of service, it cannot be closed out until your final salary check has been issued.

Your payroll office will also:

• Complete its portion of the Agency Checklist of Immediate Retirement Procedures, and
  
  
• Certify your annual basic pay for life insurance purposes, if applicable.

After completing all actions necessary in your case your payroll office will forward your retirement package on a "Register of Separation and Transfers" to OPM, Retirement Operations Center, Boyers, PA 16017.

Some Federal agencies transmit retirement information to OPM via computer tape. The information transmitted includes the Federal income tax withholding on file with the agency and any Direct Deposit instructions your agency uses to deposit your pay electronically. Generally, OPM is able to continue taking the actions the separating payroll office was taking. The actual application for retirement and your Individual Retirement Record accompany the computer tapes to OPM and confirm the information transmitted by tape. OPM is often able to authorize the interim payments described in Section III based on the computer tapes.

Depending on your agency's procedures, your payroll office may then send you a letter which provides you with information about the Register on which your retirement package was sent to OPM. This information includes the Register number, the transmittal and mailing dates, and your payroll office number. Do not contact OPM unless your retirement package has been sent to them. OPM will not be able to assist you until they have received your retirement package. If your agency has not given you information about the Register on which your retirement package was sent to OPM, contact your payroll office for this information before you contact OPM. Your payroll office telephone number should be found on page i of this pamphlet.

Under OPM's current standards, your agency is expected to complete its personnel office and payroll office processing actions and forward your retirement package to OPM so that it is received within 30 days after you separate. However, this processing standard is not met in all cases.

Note: Applications for disability retirement are not processed as described above. If you are applying to retire on disability, your agency will normally send your retirement application, evidence supporting your disability claims and preliminary retirement records to OPM. OPM will review the records and determine if you qualify for disability retirement. If you are eligible, OPM will notify your agency to separate you from their rolls. The final records showing your separation for disability retirement will then be sent to OPM.

RI 83-11
Revised December 1997
The October 1996 edition is still usable