Divorce & Federal
Benefits Forum.

Ann Ozuna is a retired CSRS Personnel Management Specialist who founded Personnel Solutions Federal Benefits Counseling upon her own retirement from federal service in 1996. She holds an MBA from Gonzaga University and two advanced professional designations: the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from SHRM and the Chartered Federal Employee Benefits Consultant (ChFEBC).

Ann became involved in how federal benefits are handled in divorces when one of her clients became — in her words — "worth more dead than alive in retirement" because of a court's fundamental misunderstanding of how survivor benefits worked. That case changed the direction of her practice. Since then she has taught Continuing Legal Education (CLE) classes for attorneys and mediators, testified as an expert witness, and worked directly with individuals, attorneys, and their staffs to ensure an accurate understanding of how Federal Civilian Retirement benefits differ from private sector pension law.

Federal retirement benefits are not governed by ERISA. Most attorneys don't know this — and the consequences for a divorcing federal employee who works with a general practice divorce attorney can be catastrophic.

Ann began her federal career with Civilian Personnel in 1977 after 10 years in the federal administrative field. She worked in position classification, staffing, HR Information Systems, Non-Appropriated Funds, and benefits for the Departments of Defense and Energy. Her final project for Bonneville Power Administration (DOE) was the publication and presentation of a handbook and seminar on CSRS and FERS retirement benefits for field employees. She has been teaching seminars and counseling all over the country since her retirement.