|
FEDERAL EMPLOYEE'S
SURVIVOR'S INFORMATION
Federal Civil
Service Survivor Planning and Guidance
Survivors must have access to
critical information to report deaths to OPM, process changes to their
benefits, cash in insurance policies, change asset registrations, and to
continue their annuity after a retiree passes on. This section is designed
to help survivors at this difficult time. This
section along with the Estate Planning section can
make this task much easier for all concerned. Proper planning can
dramatically reduce your estate costs considerably through easy to use
probate avoidance techniques. You will find he checklist on this page useful
and you can download a Word file so that you can tailor your checklist to
your unique needs. I used the book
"Plan Your
Estate" to guide me through this process and I highly recommend
this title to all who are either planning to retire or have retired from
federal service. I also suggest that you purchase a copy of
"The Executor's Guide" and keep this valuable
reference with your will and estate plan.
OPM publishes two informative booklets
for FERS and CSRS survivors. You can download the PDF files here and print
them out on your computer. I recommend
placing a copy of the booklet for the system you retired under in your
Survivor's Binder or store a copy with your will.
Prepared by:
___________________
Date Prepared: _________
This checklist will help survivors focus on key areas that
need to be addressed and to insure important forms are submitted so that your
spouse’s annuity will continue and assets are properly transferred.
Survivors, executors and/or co-executors should review the 6th edition of
“Plan Your Estate.” This book is located
_________________________________________. This book explains probate, wills and
trusts and other areas that you may need additional information and guidance
for. Our wills are located _________________________________________.
(Specify location)
r
Read letter of Instruction (See Sample)
r
Review a copy of The Executor's Guide (This
book will help you settle a loved one's estate and trust. Written in
plain-English it will help you read a will, transfer property, handle probate,
work with relatives, and make sense of it all.) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
r
Review Survivor’s Report (See Sample)
r
Review Financial reports (See Estate Planning Section)
r
Complete SF 2800 form. (You can print this form on your computer)
NOTE: Before submitting this
form call the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) at 1-888-767-6738 to report
my death and to check that you have the most current SF 2800 form. OPM will send
out the proper forms if needed with instructions. You can also submit a report
of death on OPM’s web site at http://www.opm.gov/retire. Select the tab titled “Contacting Us” then select
“Report the death of someone who gets benefits from us.”
This form will continue your
spouses’ annuity. Your spouse will receive 55% of what you received unless you
and spouse agreed to a reduced survivor’s annuity at the time you retired. Your
spouses’ medical coverage will continue. Complete instructions are included on
the web site mentioned above. You will need to do the following:
·
Attach a copy
of your marriage certificate (Make sure you have a copy
for your spouse to file with this document)
·
Attach a copy
of the retirees DD form 214 (For military service only)
·
Attach a
CERTIFIED copy of the death certificate
·
Mail to
address listed on the SF-2800 form
·
Send US Mail
Certified with return receipt
·
KEEP A COPY OF
EVERYTHING YOU SEND
NOTE: If you don’t hear back
from OPM within 2 weeks call 888-767-6738 to
follow-up. You can email them at retire@opm.gov.
r
Check to
confirm that your
Government Health Care Coverage was changed from “Family” to “Self.” This is
done automatically by OPM, however, sometimes it falls through the cracks. This will
save the surviving spouse several thousand dollars a year in health care
premiums. OPM should send out the
proper forms when you report a retiree's death to them. If you don't receive the
proper forms, call OPM immediately and request the forms to make this change.
r
Review Contact
Lists – (Attach a list of critical contact information)
o
Includes Login
IDs and Passwords lists for all online program and account information.
o
A print out of
your address books is located __________________________. This includes most of
the contact information that you will need.
r
Go through all
desk files to familiarize yourselves with what is there and where policies and
other data are located.
r
Register the
will with the court house. Many assets will transfer out of probate.
Note: Our jointly owned
assets such as checking and savings accounts, stocks and bonds, house and cars
go automatically to the surviving spouse in most states. Review
“Plan Your Estate” for detailed guidance.
Assets owned individually have designated beneficiaries, “Pay on Death” account
designations or are passed direct to our children or loved ones through “Living
Trusts” located __________________________. Living Trusts are not recorded like
the will. Read the instructions with the Living Trusts and use the book “Plan
Your Estate” for more guidance.
r
File insurance
claims – Survivor’s report lists ALL insurance contact information and you will
find insurance policies located in _______________________________. You will
need a death certificate for each policy. I have the following policies.
o
FEGLI (Federal
Employees Government Life Insurance) $________ until retirement, $_____________
after retirement.
o
Company Name:
___________________ for $________ Beneficiaries ________________________
o
Company Name:
___________________ for $ ________ Beneficiaries _______________________
o
Company Name:
___________________ for $ ________ Beneficiaries _______________________
r
Change
registration on all common assets:
o
Change name on
residence to “Spouse - or loved ones - Name” or to a “Living Trust” to avoid
probate. Use “WillMaker Plus” to draft a
“Living Trust” for “Surviving Spouse or loved ones.”
o
Change name on
all joint assets to “Surviving Spouse” or designated beneficiary. (Add “Pay on
Death (POD)” whenever possible when you register the documents to avoid probate
later.)
o
Some
assets/stocks, etc will go direct to “children or other loved ones” upon either
my or my “Spouse's” death. Designated beneficiaries must send in a certified
death certificate to the account/asset manager to change the registration to the
new owner.
Note: New
owners need to identify beneficiaries or add (Pay on Death) POD. Be sure to add
a beneficiary or POD designation for the new owner registration.
r
All of my
savings bonds are designated Pay on Death (POD) to _________________. All
the “Surviving Spouse” or beneficiary has to do is present a Certified Death Certificate to the bank when you cash the bonds in. the “Surviving Spouse”
or beneficiary will have to pay taxes on the bond interest. Make sure the bank
provides a statement of interest earned for income taxes the year they were
cashed.
r
All income tax
files for the past____ years are located ________________________________________________.
WillMaker
Plus software allows you to enter your date and generate detailed Survivor's Reports,
Caretaker Reports, Wills and Trusts. Quicken Deluxe also provides an emergency
records organizer for compiling this information. You can compile important
survivor's information by capturing the following data on a spreadsheet or simply
list the information in a Word or WordPerfect document for your heirs to use to
handle your estate. List as much information as possible, value, contact
numbers, addresses, account numbers, contacts, etc.
1. Adult's Emergency Contact
Information
-
Name, address, phone, and
relationship of family, friends and business acquaintances. Also list the
circumstance in which to contact.
2. Adult's Important Information
-
Family members birth dates, SSN,
drivers license numbers, religious affiliation, notes, military records,
employment, marriage data, etc.
3. Personal & Legal Documents
-
Location of wills, trusts, dates
completed, attorney, executors, birth certificate information and location.
4. Account Information
5. Income
-
Annuities, dividends, interest
earned, part time jobs, business, etc.
6. Investments & Retirement
-
Brokerage accounts, 401K, SEP/Keogh,
Stocks, IRAs, Bonds, Treasuries
7. Home/Auto/Property
-
List private residence, vacation
property, autos, recreational vehicles, home alarm codes and information, pets,
safe deposit box information, etc.
8. Insurance Information
-
Life, health, auto, home care,
umbrella policies. (List account numbers, addresses, amount of
coverage, agent's name and address, etc.)
9. Mortgages & Loans
-
Mortgage and auto loans, credit card
and debt, etc. Balances owed, loan company information and account numbers.
Return to Top of Page
Home | About | FAQ | Content | Search |
