Federal employees who fill out certain retirement- related forms manually need to take special care, in light of the recent decision by OPM to no longer accept forms that have corrections on them, such as scratch-outs, white-outs and line-outs.
In a Benefits Administration Letter, OPM said that such changes are common on retirement-related forms but “in some cases it is impossible to tell if these corrections are valid.” Any forms that have such changes will be rejected and new forms must be completed, it said, lengthening a retirement processing sequence that already is commonly criticized as too slow.
Specifically, OPM said these forms are at issue:
For CSRS: CSRS Immediate Retirement Application, SF 2801: Section F- Annuity Election; CSRS Immediate Retirement Application, SF 2801-2: Spouse’s Consent to Survivor Election; CSRS Deferred Application OPM Form 1496A: Section C- Annuity Election; CSRS Deferred Application OPM Form 1496A: Schedule A- Election of Former Spouse Survivor Annuity or Combination Current/Former Spouse Annuity; CSRS Deferred Application OPM Form 1496A: Schedule B- Spouse’s Consent to Survivor Election; Designation of Beneficiary SF 2808 (CSRS) Sections B and C.
For FERS: FERS Immediate Retirement Application, SF 3107: Section D- Annuity Election; FERS Immediate Retirement Application, SF 3107-2: Spouse’s Consent to Survivor Election; Application for Deferred/Postponed Retirement FERS, RI 92-19: Section F- Annuity Election; Application for Deferred/Postponed Retirement FERS, RI 92-19: Schedule A- Spouse’s Consent to Survivor Election; Designation of Beneficiary SF 3102 (FERS): Sections B and C
In FEGLI: Continuation of Life Insurance Coverage (SF 2818): Items 7-14; Designation of Beneficiary for FEGLI (SF 2823): Sections B, C, and D.
Electronically fillable versions of many of those forms are on the OPM site.
