Employment & Labor

Updated FERS Survivor Annuity Conversion Factors

🇺🇸United States··Final Rule·Low Impact·View source ↗

AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.

🇬🇧 English

This rule updates the actuarial table used to reduce survivor annuities when the spouse of a separated federal employee starts benefits early after the employee dies before qualifying for an unreduced deferred annuity. The change mainly affects surviving spouses under the Federal Employees' Retirement System. It is a technical benefits calculation update tied to revised actuarial assumptions. The separate factor for spouses who choose the basic employee death benefit in 36 installments remains unchanged.

AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.

Key Changes

  • Updates the reduction factors for early-start survivor annuities under FERS
  • Keeps the basic employee death benefit installment factor unchanged
  • Sets an August 24, 2026 effective date unless significant adverse comments are received

Obligations

What this law requires

medium

OPM must use the revised table of reduction factors when calculating early-commencing survivor annuities for spouses of separated FERS employees who die before becoming eligible for unreduced deferred annuities.

Office of Personnel Managementfederal retirement benefits administrators
Effective August 24, 2026, unless significant adverse comments are received by July 23, 2026
operational
low

OPM must not change the annuity factor for spouses of deceased employees who die in service when the spouse elects to receive the basic employee death benefit in 36 installments under FERS.

Office of Personnel Managementfederal retirement benefits administrators
operational
low

Comments on the direct final rule must be submitted through Regulations.gov and received by the end of the comment period to be considered by OPM.

commenters on the rulemaking
By July 23, 2026
reporting

Affected Parties

Surviving spouses of separated federal employeesFederal Employees' Retirement System participants+1 more…

Tags

FERS,survivor annuity,federal employees