OPM: Reporting A Death – Federal Retirement Annuity

To report the death of a federal annuitant, you may call the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or go online.  If you don’t have all the information required to complete the online application, it is better to contact OPM via phone (202) 606-1800 so that they can direct you.

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When completing the form on line there is some specific information of which you must supply.  You will be asked to submit a Claim Number assigned to the annuitant’s death.  Name of the Former Federal Employee, although this is not really required, since you will be entering the name of the deceased which is the same as the former federal employee.  You will also be asked to enter the Social Security number of the deceased federal employee adhering to the this format 222-22-2222 (numbers and dashes).  The birth date of the deceased federal employee is required with a 2 digit month, a 2 digit day and a 4 digit year of birth (MM-DD-YYYY).  It might sound mundane to address each of these issues, but when families experience such a tragedy as the loss of a loved one, the simplest things can turn into unmanageable tasks.

The date of the death is required and follows the same format as the deceased’s birth date, 2 digit month, 2 digit day and 4 digit year of death.  A question asking if there is a current surviving spouse is a part of the online application.  A telephone number with an area code and no dashes 7033333333 is mandatory and it is also helpful to know whether the AM or PM is a better time to make contact with you.

An email address is required. You will be asked if there are surviving children and if they are minors, students or disabled.  After you have completed all required information about the deceased, you will be asked to enter information about yourself.  Your name and telephone number with area code is required.  After you have reviewed the document for completeness and accuracy, then you are ready to click on the submit button to begin the process of taking care of the final business of your loved one’s life and staying connected to family during such a difficult time. Remember to stay in contact with the OPM.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

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