Last Updated: September 16, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

You retired, then you got married. Nobody at OPM calls to tell you what happens next. You have exactly 2 years from the wedding to file for a survivor annuity for your new spouse. A timely election can give them a monthly annuity and, in most cases, the ability to keep FEHB after you die, subject to any former-spouse court order and the FEHB enrollment rules. Miss the window and, outside a few former-spouse situations, they get no annuity, and FEHB continues for them only if another covered family member draws a survivor annuity. Start with the three questions below.

Step Question If yes If no
1 Did you marry, or remarry, AFTER your federal annuity started? Go to step 2 This rule is not yours. The at-retirement election rules are in our survivor benefits spouse guide
2 Has it been less than 2 years since the wedding? Go to step 3 The window is generally closed for this marriage. The statute allows a later election only in limited former-spouse situations (for example, after a former spouse entitled to a survivor annuity dies)
3 Do you want your spouse to receive a monthly survivor annuity and keep FEHB after you die? Elect now. Send OPM a signed election. The reduction starts no earlier than 9 months after the wedding, and you will usually owe a deposit computed back to your retirement date (or to when an earlier survivor reduction ended), with 6% interest No election needed. Understand the consequence: your spouse receives nothing from your annuity and loses FEHB at your death unless another covered family member draws a survivor annuity or they have FEHB entitlement of their own

The Rule, Straight From the Statute

For FERS, 5 U.S.C. 8416(b) says a retiree who remarries "may irrevocably elect during such marriage, in a signed writing received by the Office within 2 years after such remarriage" a reduced annuity that provides a survivor annuity for the new spouse. OPM's CSRS and FERS Handbook extends the same rule to retirees who were single at retirement: "If the retiree was unmarried at retirement, he or she may elect, within 2 years after the marriage, a reduced annuity to provide a current spouse survivor annuity for the spouse."

For CSRS, 5 U.S.C. 8339(k)(2) does the same job: an unmarried retiree who later marries may elect within 2 years after the marriage.

Three things follow from the text.

  1. It is a filing deadline. OPM must receive your signed writing within 2 years. Post it early.
  2. It is irrevocable. Once made, the election stands for the life of the marriage.
  3. It is nearly the only door. The statutes allow a later election only in limited former-spouse situations, such as after a former spouse who was entitled to a survivor annuity dies.

Two Clocks: The 2-Year Deadline and the 9-Month Delay

The second clock trips people up, and its exact wording depends on your route. For a FERS retiree who remarries, 5 U.S.C. 8416(b) says the election and reduction "shall be effective the first day of the second month after the election is received by the Office, but not less than 9 months after the date of the remarriage." For a retiree who was unmarried at retirement, OPM's handbook puts the reduction no earlier than the first of the month beginning 9 months after the marriage. For CSRS, 5 U.S.C. 8339(k)(2) uses the first of the month after the 9-month period ends.

So if you marry in January and file in February, your annuity is not reduced in March. The reduction starts no earlier than October, and your spouse's eventual entitlement still depends on the marriage-duration rule below. Filing fast does not speed up the 9 months. It only protects you from blowing the 2-year deadline.

Nine months is also the general marriage-duration requirement for a survivor annuity, with exceptions: a child born of the marriage, an accidental death, and prior marriages to the same person can all satisfy it under 5 CFR 843.303 and OPM's handbook Chapter 71.

The Deposit: Why It Reaches Back to Your Retirement Date

The deposit's start date is what changes the cost picture.

OPM's handbook states the rule: the deposit equals the difference between the annuity you actually received and what you would have received "if the survivor election had been in effect continuously since the time of retirement or since the date the reduction terminated, whichever is applicable," with interest "at the rate of 6 percent, compounded annually." The FERS regulation is 5 CFR 842.612(d). One exception: an election that prospectively cancels an insurable-interest election can be made without the deposit.

The clock is not your wedding date. It is your retirement date, or the date an earlier survivor reduction ended. Two retirees who marry on the same day and file on the same day can owe very different deposits, because one retired last year and the other retired in 2011.

OPM does not send you a bill. The handbook says the deposit "is paid by permanent actuarial reduction that, in most cases, is less than 5 percent of the employee's annuity," and OPM's current FAQ page says the same: under 5 percent in most cases. The table below does not tell you your percentage; only OPM's calculation does. It shows why a long gap produces a larger deposit for OPM to convert.

The Cost of Waiting: FedTools 2026 Illustration

The table below is a FedTools illustration of the deposit's shape, not OPM's exact figure. It assumes a full FERS survivor election (a 10% reduction), takes the 10% you would have been paying each year since retirement, and grows each year's amount at 6% compounded to the election date. OPM uses its own actuarial method and sends you the exact cost on request. Use the table for the shape of the number and OPM's statement for the exact figure.

Years already retired when you elect $30,000 annuity $50,000 annuity $80,000 annuity
1 $3,000 $5,000 $8,000
2 $6,180 $10,300 $16,480
5 $16,911 $28,185 $45,097
10 $39,542 $65,904 $105,446
15 $69,828 $116,380 $186,208
20 $110,357 $183,928 $294,285

Method: deposit = (10% × unreduced annual annuity) × [(1.06^N − 1) ÷ 0.06], where N is years from the annuity commencing date to the election. Rounded once, at the end. Denominator: the unreduced annuity, before any survivor reduction. OPM converts the deposit into a lifetime actuarial reduction, so you never write a check for these amounts. A larger deposit means a larger permanent reduction.

Notice what the months-since-marriage question does to this table: little, compared with years retired. Someone who retired 10 years ago and marries today starts near year 10 on this clock; waiting almost two years to file pushes the effective date toward year 12 and raises the deposit further.

What the Election Costs Going Forward

Separate from the deposit, the survivor annuity itself reduces your monthly check for the rest of the marriage.

  • FERS: a full election (a 50% survivor annuity) costs 10% of your annuity. A partial election (25%) costs 5%. Those are the only two FERS choices; the handbook notes that under FERS "the amount must be either 25 percent or 50 percent of the retiree's self-only annuity."
  • CSRS: you can name any dollar base up to the maximum, and the reduction follows the CSRS formula rather than a flat percentage. Our FERS vs CSRS comparison covers the formula.

On a $50,000 FERS annuity, the full election costs $5,000 a year while the marriage lasts; under 5 CFR 842.612 the reduction generally ends if the marriage ends, subject to former-spouse exceptions. The actuarial reduction that pays off the deposit is permanent. OPM's calculation determines the size of that second piece.

Remarrying Your Ex Does Not Upgrade a Partial Election

One trap the handbook spells out: "If the retiree remarries the same person he or she was married to at time of retirement and that person had previously consented to an election of less than the maximum survivor annuity, the retiree may not later elect to provide a greater survivor annuity for that person upon remarriage."

Divorce, then remarriage to someone new, opens the normal 2-year window. Divorce, then remarriage to the same spouse who signed off on a reduced election at retirement, does not let you raise it.

The FEHB Consequence Nobody Mentions at the Wedding

OPM's handbook is brief on this: "If eligible, the current spouse can continue Federal health benefits coverage after the retiree's death." Under OPM's annuitant rules, family members can continue under the deceased retiree's enrollment when at least one of them receives a survivor annuity and the enrollment covered them at death; the details are in our survivor benefits planning guide. A spouse with their own federal FEHB entitlement is not affected.

No election means no survivor annuity for your spouse. Unless another covered family member is entitled to a survivor annuity, that also means no continuation under your enrollment. For a spouse who is under 65 and has no coverage of their own, that second loss can cost more than the first.

How to File

  1. Write a signed request to OPM Retirement Services electing a survivor annuity for your current spouse, stating the amount (FERS: 25% or 50%). Include a copy of the marriage certificate and your CSA claim number.
  2. Send it so OPM receives it inside the 2-year window. Keep proof of mailing.
  3. OPM will send you cost information for the election, including the deposit and the resulting reduction, and ask you to confirm the election. Follow those instructions.
  4. The reduction starts on the date your route sets: for a FERS retiree who remarries, the first day of the second month after OPM receives the election but not earlier than 9 months after the wedding; for a retiree unmarried at retirement, no earlier than the first of the month beginning 9 months after the marriage; for CSRS, the first of the month after the 9-month period ends.

Estimate the Annuity You Are Protecting

If you are still working, use our free FERS Retirement Calculator to see the unreduced annuity these percentages would apply to. Enter your high-3 salary, years of creditable service, and date of birth, and it returns your estimated annual FERS annuity. If you are already retired, use the gross annuity on your OPM annuity statement instead. Take 10% of that figure for the full-election cost, then read the deposit row for your years retired in the table above. Try it now →

CSRS retirees: no CSRS-specific calculator exists on FedTools today. Use your current annuity statement as the base figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

I got married after I retired. Can I still add survivor benefits for my spouse?

Yes, if OPM receives your signed election within 2 years of the marriage. The reduction to your annuity cannot start earlier than 9 months after the wedding, and you will usually owe a deposit that reaches back to your retirement date (or to when an earlier survivor reduction ended), not your wedding date, with 6 percent interest compounded annually. OPM collects the deposit as a permanent actuarial reduction that OPM says is under 5 percent of the annuity in most cases.

What happens if I miss the 2-year deadline?

In most cases the window closes. Under 5 U.S.C. 8416(b) for FERS and 5 U.S.C. 8339(k)(2) for CSRS, the 2-year election is the normal way to add a survivor annuity for a spouse you married after retiring; a later election is allowed only in limited former-spouse situations, such as after a former spouse entitled to a survivor annuity dies. Without an election there is no survivor annuity, and continuation of your FEHB enrollment for that spouse depends on a survivor annuity being payable.

Does the deposit get more expensive the longer I wait to file after the wedding?

A little, but the bigger driver is how long you have been retired. The deposit equals the reductions you would have paid if the survivor election had been in effect since your annuity started (or since an earlier survivor reduction ended), plus 6 percent compound interest; OPM waives the deposit in the limited cases the regulation lists. A retiree 15 years into retirement owes far more than one who retired last year, even if both marry and file on the same day.

I remarried my ex-spouse. Can I elect a bigger survivor benefit for them than I originally did?

Not if they previously consented to less than the maximum. OPM's handbook says a retiree who remarries the same person they were married to at retirement, where that person consented to a reduced election, cannot later elect a greater survivor annuity for them.

Will my new spouse keep my FEHB coverage if I skip the election?

Usually not under your enrollment. A surviving spouse can continue coverage under your FEHB enrollment only when a survivor annuity is payable to a family member and the enrollment covered them at your death. If you never elect one for a spouse you married after retirement, your death ends their coverage under your enrollment, unless another family member receives a survivor annuity that carries the enrollment or they have FEHB entitlement of their own.

How does a CSRS retiree's election differ from FERS?

The 2-year deadline, the 9-month wait before an election takes effect, and the 6 percent deposit interest match in substance, although each statute words its effective-date rule differently. The other differences are in the menu: FERS lets you elect a 25 percent or 50 percent survivor annuity, while CSRS lets you pick any dollar base up to the maximum, and the ongoing CSRS reduction uses a different formula than the flat FERS 5 or 10 percent.

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