August 21st, 2012 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a postal worker under CSRS. I am 47 years old with 28 years in the Postal Service. I was told it would be wise not to take the survivor annuity for my wife and instead take out a life insurance policy on myself. In order to keep her covered under health insurance in the event of my death, I was told I must elect some kind of reduced annuity for her. What is the minimum annuity I can elect for her that will keep her health-insured if I die before she does? Is it a good idea to go with a life insurance policy instead of a full survivor annuity?
A. Let?s get one thing straight. It isn?t your decision to make. By law, you are required to elect a full survivor annuity for your wife unless she agrees in writing to a lesser amount or none at all. Because you are a CSRS employee, with her approval you could elect any amount from $1 a year up. If the amount you agreed to didn?t cover the Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums, she could pay the difference directly to the Office of Personnel Management. However, before?the two of you agree?to less than a full survivor annuity,?consider what my Federal Times colleague Mike Miles has frequently pointed out: Taking out an insurance policy instead of electing a survivor annuity is a bad idea. Any cost-benefit analysis you can do will reveal that nothing matches the long-term value of a survivor annuity, with its?annual adjustments to keep pace with inflation.
Tags: annuity reduction, CSRS, FEHB, LIFE INSURANCE, Postal Service, survivor annuity
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PLEASE NOTE! Do not submit ANY questions via the Comments form. Instead, please send your questions directly to fedexperts@federaltimes.com. Questions submitted via the Comments form will NOT be answered!Source: http://blogs.federaltimes.com/federal-retirement/2012/08/21/life-insurance-vs-survivor-annuity/
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