The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Sept. 24 announced that surviving same-sex spouses of federal annuitants, employees or former employees who died before June 26, 2013 may apply for death benefits. That’s the date of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Windsor, in which the Court said that section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which said that the federal government defined marriage as occurring only between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional. OPM made the announcement in Notice 2014-22895.
OPM had issued an announcement on Aug. 2, 2013 to annuitants that until June 26, 2015 they could elect survivor annuity benefits for their same-sex spouses if they had married before Windsor but were prevented from making a timely election by the federal Defense of Marriage Act. But it had not addressed what Windsor meant for same-sex spouses of federal employees who died before the Court issued that ruling.
OPM said that it issued the notice because annuitants, employees or former employees in same-sex marriages may have died before Windsor and because the spouses of those deceased annuitants, employees, and former employees may not have applied for death benefits because of DOMA, or may have applied for death benefits but were denied benefits because of DOMA.
The notice informs those surviving spouses that they may apply, or re-apply, for death benefits so that OPM can evaluate whether or not those spouses now may be entitled to survivor annuity or lump-sum death benefits. They can do so by submitting an application for death benefits — SF 2800 for the Civil Service Retirement System and SF 3104 for the Federal Employees Retirement System to OPM. They also may download these forms from OPM’s website.
When a same-sex surviving spouse submits an application or contacts OPM for information regarding eligibility for benefits, the spouse should inform OPM that she or he is a same-sex spouse of a deceased annuitant, federal employee or former federal employee who died before June 26, 2013. He or she also should send OPM a copy of the couple’s marriage certificate and a copy of the annuitant’s death certificate if OPM has not already received them. The surviving spouse should provide OPM with the deceased federal employee’s name, date of birth and the annuitant’s CSA/CSF number or Social Security number to expedite processing of the claim.
OPM had issued an announcement on Aug. 2, 2013 to annuitants that until June 26, 2015 they could elect survivor annuity benefits for their same-sex spouses if they had married before Windsor but were prevented from making a timely election by the federal Defense of Marriage Act. But it had not addressed what Windsor meant for same-sex spouses of federal employees who died before the Court issued that ruling.
OPM said that it issued the notice because annuitants, employees or former employees in same-sex marriages may have died before Windsor and because the spouses of those deceased annuitants, employees, and former employees may not have applied for death benefits because of DOMA, or may have applied for death benefits but were denied benefits because of DOMA.
The notice informs those surviving spouses that they may apply, or re-apply, for death benefits so that OPM can evaluate whether or not those spouses now may be entitled to survivor annuity or lump-sum death benefits. They can do so by submitting an application for death benefits — SF 2800 for the Civil Service Retirement System and SF 3104 for the Federal Employees Retirement System to OPM. They also may download these forms from OPM’s website.
When a same-sex surviving spouse submits an application or contacts OPM for information regarding eligibility for benefits, the spouse should inform OPM that she or he is a same-sex spouse of a deceased annuitant, federal employee or former federal employee who died before June 26, 2013. He or she also should send OPM a copy of the couple’s marriage certificate and a copy of the annuitant’s death certificate if OPM has not already received them. The surviving spouse should provide OPM with the deceased federal employee’s name, date of birth and the annuitant’s CSA/CSF number or Social Security number to expedite processing of the claim.
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