§2035 Retirement Annuity for Certain Former Spouses

Summary

Gives certain ex-spouses of federal workers a monthly payment from the retirement fund if they were a former spouse on November 15, 1982, or if they divorced after that date from a worker who had already retired before November 15, 1982. If the ex-spouse was married to the worker for the worker’s entire creditable service, the payment is 50% of the worker’s annuity. If not married for the whole time, the ex-spouse gets a share of that 50% based on how long they were married during the worker’s service. An ex-spouse cannot get the payment if they remarried before age 55 (but the payment is restored if that later ends) or if they are under age 50. Payments start on the later of three dates: when the worker’s own annuity begins, the first day of the month the divorce becomes final, or the ex-spouse’s 50th birthday. For a disability annuitant, the ex-spouse’s payment starts when the worker would have qualified by service or when the disability annuity starts, and the amount is based on the service-based annuity. The ex-spouse must choose this payment instead of any survivor annuity from another government retirement based on a different marriage. A written application with required documents had to be filed by June 2, 1990 (the Director can waive that deadline), and approved payments can cover earlier months back to no earlier than December 2, 1987. Restored entitlements after a remarriage ends are not subject to the June 2, 1990 deadline. The worker’s own annuity is not reduced by these payments.