Federal Benefits for Couples

February 26, 2018

It is advisable for married partners to plan together for their future as this helps them to easily deal with life events. The following are some of the benefits that federal employees should consider when planning to get married;

Survivor Annuity

It is always a good idea to notify your personnel office when you get married in order to meet the legal obligations associated with the survivor annuity. Life is so uncertain and the only way to avoid complications at the time of your demise is to enroll for the survivor annuity.

Therefore your spouse will avoid all the survivor annuity complications when the personnel office has his or her details. The notification should be done within the first two years of marriage but this is not mandatory. The survivor annuity benefit is paid for by two major deductions that include the permanent actuarial reduction and the standard reduction for annual annuity.

Health Insurance

The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program is another important benefit for married people. Your health plan should be notified about your new status once you get married for your spouse to be eligible for benefits.

Your self-enrollment status is normally changed when you get married or get a new dependant. The changes can be made 31 days before marriage or within 60 days after marriage. A federal employee is expected to complete the necessary forms. In addition, federal employees have an option of changing from one health insurance plan to another.

Life Insurance

The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance program (FEGLI) is an automatic life insurance plan for all federal employees. Upon being hired, all federal employees are expected to enroll for the FEGLI program. Employees fill a beneficiary form that indicates the beneficiary of your FEGLI proceeds when you die.

You might want to put your designation to your spouse when you get married. Both employees and retirees are expected to fill the SF 2823 for their spouses to benefit from the FEGLI proceeds. The FEGLI coverage can be increased by different life events and one of them is marriage. New enrollment after marriage makes it possible for you to benefit from an increased coverage. The enrollment should be done within the first 60 days after marriage when the SF 2817 from should be completed and submitted to the human resources office.

Finally, it is advisable to make all the needed changes to your benefits plans by reviewing your 3102 (FERS) or Designation of Beneficiaries (SF 2808 (CSRS). This is the only way to enjoy full marriage benefits.