Divorce Decree
Your
divorce decree
(court order) may say that you must continue to provide a survivor annuity or health benefits for your former spouse. Be sure to mail a certified copy of the entire court order and all attachments, along with a cover letter that states who the Federal employee is, his or her Social Security Number and date of birth to:
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
P.O. Box 17
Washington, DC 20044-0017
A former spouse (personally or through a representative) must apply in writing to be eligible for a court-awarded portion of an employee annuity. No special form is required.
Health Benefits
When you divorce, your spouse is no longer an eligible family member and cannot be covered under your family health benefits enrollment unless so ordered by the court. If your court order does not instruct you to continue to provide health benefits coverage, your former spouse may qualify for
temporary continuation of coverage
for up to 36 months. If this temporary coverage is needed, you or your former spouse must contact the Human Resources Office within 60 days after the divorce has been finalized.
Your children can continue to be covered.
In fact, your court order may
require that your children are covered
or instruct you to continue to provide health benefits for your former spouse.
If there are no children, you should change to a self-only health benefits plan. Contact your HR Office to learn the proper steps to take.
Other considerations
You may also want to:
-
Change your Federal or state income tax withholding by using
myPay
or by contacting your HR/payroll office.
-
Update your
designations of beneficiary
for life insurance or for retirement. A divorce does not automatically affect any designations you made at an earlier date. If you previously designated the person who is now your ex-spouse and you now want payments to go to someone else, you need to file new designations.
-
Change/increase your Federal Employees Group Life Insurance. See your HR Office to do so.
Additional Information
Questions or comments regarding Civilian Pay, please contact your Customer Service Representative (CSR).
