Author: Ray Kirk, Ph.D., Federal Benefits Specialist
The retirement application process is paper intense. Your agency benefits office handles most of the heavy lifting by creating a draft of your application and culling forms from your eOPF. There are some documents that you must provide. They include a copy of your marriage certificate, a DD 214 or equivalent proof of military service, and a W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate. Reviewing your personal files to ensure you have copies of these documents to provide to your benefits office can reduce last-minute stress and facilitate a smooth application process.
If you are currently married, you must include a copy of the original certificate of marriage. This means a copy with a raised seal from the governmental agency that recorded your marriage. However, if you can’t provide a marriage certificate, OPM will accept other forms of proof such as a religious institution’s record of marriage. These alternatives are detailed in Proof of Marriage for the Purpose of Obtaining Retirement Benefits, OPM RI-38-86, ri38-86.pdf (opm.gov) .
If you have performed Active Duty that terminated under honorable conditions, you must include a DD 214 or equivalent proof of military service whether you have already paid a military deposit or you have decided you do not want to pay a deposit. Even if you have already paid your military deposit and you submitted proof of service with that application, you must submit the documentation again with your retirement application.
OPM will automatically withhold Federal income taxes from your annuity. Since your retirement income will significantly change in retirement, submitting an updated W-4 will make the adjustment to your tax withholding. OPM does not automatically withhold state income taxes. After OPM completes processing your annuity, you can request state tax withholding using the OPM online portal, Services Online, or by submitting the appropriate state forms to OPM.
New employees complete Designations of Beneficiary as part of the onboarding process and, unfortunately, many people don’t think about them again. They are very important documents everyone should periodically review and update. While not a required part of the application process, retirement is a good milestone event to update your Designations of Beneficiary. Retirees (and employees) have three Designations of Beneficiary that determine who will receive certain benefits upon your death. The benefits are your Thrift Savings Plan accounts, life insurance benefits under the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), and OPM lump sum death payments including any amount by which your contributions to the retirement fund exceed the total amount of the annuity you have received, and any annuity owed you at the time of your death.
While each Designation of Beneficiary is separate, they share three features.
Determinative document. They take precedence over any other documents such as your will, prenuptial agreement, separation agreement, property settlement agreement, or court order to specify who will inherit. No matter what any of these other documents say, the Designations are the only documents that will be used to determine who will be paid the benefit.
Default order of precedence. Each of the benefits has a statutory order of precedence that will be followed to determine payment if no Designation is on file. Even if you are satisfied with the statutory order of precedence, it is better to file a Designation of Beneficiary. Relying on the order of precedence makes the application for benefits much more complicated for your beneficiaries. If there is a Designation on file OPM, TSP, and FEGLI will reach out to the beneficiaries to notify them of their eligibility. If no designations are on file, the burden is on the beneficiaries to know they are eligible and then reach out to the appropriate agency to start the application process. Second, relying on the order of precedence puts the burden of proof on the beneficiary to establish that they are the next person eligible for the benefit. If someone higher on the order of precedence has predeceased you, the successor beneficiary must provide proof of death for the person higher in the order and proof that they are the next eligible person.
Independent. The Designations of Beneficiary are independent of each other. You must file separate forms for each of the benefits. Changing one form only affects that benefit.
Details on completing the Designations of Beneficiary can be found at:
Life Insurance benefits and OPM lump sum death payments Life Events (opm.gov)
Thrift Savings Plan – Death Benefits Information for Participants and Beneficiaries tspbk31.pdf
Dr. Ray Kirk is a retired Federal employee with over 40 years of Federal Service, 34 years of which were with the Office of Personnel Management. He was the Manager of the Benefit Officers Training and Development in Retirement Services for the last 12 years of his career. Dr. Kirk is a member of the Certified Retirement Counselor® Board of Standards and Policy Development. Dr. Kirk was a Federal Benefits instructor for NITP from 2014 through 2022 and continues to be affiliated with NITP providing webinars, newsletters, and special projects.
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