Life Insurance For Survivor Widows: What Opm Offers

The death of a loved one is a difficult time, and the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers a range of benefits to support survivors. These include a monthly annuity, a one-time lump sum benefit, and continued health insurance coverage. The Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB) is payable to a surviving spouse or former spouse if the deceased was a federal employee with at least 18 months of creditable civilian service. The BEDB is equal to 50% of the employee's final salary, plus a fixed amount adjusted for cost-of-living increases. Monthly survivor annuities may also be payable to a current or former spouse, as well as dependent children, under certain conditions. To apply for death benefits, survivors should report the death and submit relevant documentation, including a death certificate and proof of relationship, to OPM.

Monthly survivor benefits

• Elected to provide a maximum survivor annuity
• Elected to provide a partial survivor annuity
• Elected to provide a combination of a full or partial annuity for a spouse and a former spouse

Basic employee death benefit

The Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB) is a benefit offered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to the spouse of a deceased employee. To be eligible, the deceased employee must have had at least 18 months of creditable civilian service and been covered by FERS at the time of their death. The surviving spouse must have been married to the employee for at least nine months, unless the employee's death was accidental or there was a child born of the marriage, in which case the nine-month requirement is waived.

The BEDB is a lump-sum payment of 50% of the employee's final salary (or 50% of their average salary, if that amount is higher), plus $15,000. This amount has been increased over time to account for cost-of-living adjustments—for deaths on or after December 1, 2016, the total is $32,423.56.

The BEDB may also be payable to a former spouse if there is a qualifying court order on file and the former spouse was married to the deceased for at least nine months total and did not remarry before the age of 55.

In addition to the BEDB, if the deceased employee had at least 10 years of creditable service (with 18 months of civilian service), the surviving spouse may also be entitled to a monthly survivor benefit of 50% of the employee's earned annuity based on their length of service and high-three salary at the time of death.

Survivor annuity for a new spouse

If you marry or remarry after retirement, you can elect a reduced annuity to provide a survivor annuity for your new spouse. You must make this election within 2 years of the date of your marriage.

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)

Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), a full benefit is 50% of your unreduced annual basic annuity and a partial benefit is 25% of your unreduced annual basic annuity.

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)

Under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), you can elect any portion of your annuity (from 55% of $22.00, which results in a $1.00 per month survivor annuity, up to 55% of your unreduced annuity) as a basis for the survivor benefit payable in the event of your death.

Two reductions in your annuity

The election of a survivor annuity for a post-retirement spouse will result in two reductions in your annuity. One reduction will be the regular reduction to your annuity to pay for the cost of the survivor benefit after your election becomes effective. The other reduction is the deposit you must also pay to make this election. The deposit represents the amount your annuity would have been reduced had your survivor election been in place from your annuity commencing date to the date your survivor annuity election becomes effective, plus interest. The law requires OPM to collect the deposit by applying a permanent actuarial reduction to your annuity. When you contact OPM, they will send you a statement describing these costs.

Health benefits for surviving spouse

A surviving spouse can continue Federal health benefits coverage if there is a monthly survivor benefit or a Basic Employee Death Benefit payable to them, and the Federal employee or retiree was enrolled in a self and family or self plus one health benefits plan on the date of death.

A former spouse of a deceased Federal employee/retiree can receive Federal health benefits coverage under certain conditions. Generally, a former spouse may apply for health benefits coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program if:

• They are currently receiving or have future entitlement to a former spouse survivor annuity or a portion of the former employee’s retirement benefits; and
• They were covered as a family member in a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan at any time during the 18 months preceding the termination of their marriage; and
• Their marriage terminated while their former spouse was employed by or retired from the Federal government; and
• They have not remarried before age 55.

A child of a deceased employee/retiree can receive Federal health benefits coverage if the following conditions are met:

• The child must have been an eligible family member of the deceased; and
• The child must be under the age of 26 (unless the child is incapable of self-support because of a disability that occurred before age 26); and
• The deceased employee or retiree must have been enrolled in a self and family or self plus one health benefits plan at the time of death (or the child is covered under a self and family enrollment of a former spouse); and
• There must be a survivor entitled to monthly recurring survivor annuity benefits or the Basic Employee Death Benefit.

Lump-sum benefit

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers a one-time lump-sum benefit to the survivors of a deceased retiree. This is paid to the first person eligible under the following order of precedence:

• The beneficiary designated by the deceased in writing, signed, and witnessed, and received by the employing agency prior to death.
• The spouse of the deceased.
• Children of the deceased (or descendants of deceased children).
• Parents of the deceased.
• Court-appointed executor or administrator of the deceased's estate.
• Next of kin of the deceased according to the laws in the deceased person's state of domicile.

The lump-sum benefit is the balance of any remaining retirement deductions made by the retiree, plus any applicable interest.

If the retiree was covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the lump-sum benefit is payable if there is no survivor annuity payable based on the retiree's death.

If the retiree was covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), a lump-sum benefit is payable if there is no monthly survivor annuity payable to a surviving spouse upon the death of a former employee.

The lump-sum benefit is paid via hard copy check or direct deposit.

Frequently asked questions