Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees Retirement System; Notice to Surviving Same-Sex Spouses of Deceased Federal Annuitants, Employees, or Former Employees Who Died Prior to June 26, 2013

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On August 2, 2013, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published notice in the Federal Register informing annuitants that they had an extended opportunity (until June 26, 2015), to elect survivor annuity benefits for their same-sex spouses if they had been married prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (2013), on June 26, 2013, and were prevented by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 1 U.S.C. 7(3)(1996), from making a timely election. See 78 FR 47018 (Aug. 2, 2013). Similarly, because annuitants, employees, or former employees in same-sex marriages may have died prior to the Windsor decision (i.e. prior to June 26, 2013), and because the same-sex spouses of those deceased annuitants, employees, and former employees may not have applied for death benefits because of DOMA, or may have applied for death benefits but were denied benefits because of DOMA, OPM is publishing this notice to inform those surviving same-sex spouses that they may apply (or re-apply) for death benefits so that OPM can evaluate whether or not those same-sex spouses may now be entitled to survivor annuity or lump-sum death benefits.