06-29-2013, 09:06 AM
All legally married same–sex spouses will now be considered eligible family members under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), Acting OPM Director Elaine Kaplan said in a Friday memorandum to agency heads. Employees and retirees have until Aug. 26 to make immediate changes to their FEHBP enrollment.
Similarly, same-sex spouses are now eligible for Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, the Federal Employeees Vision and Dental Plan and Long-Term Care Insurance. All retirees in legal same-sex marriages will have two years to tell OPM of their marriage status and make changes to retirement benefits. In the future, “the same-sex spouses of retiring employees will be eligible for survivor annuities,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan’s memo comes just two days after the Supreme Court voided the Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriages for purposes of providing benefits. Same-sex marriage is legal in a dozen states and the District of Columbia. In addition, same-sex unions are expected to resume soon in Californinia after the high court effectively affirmed a lower-court ruling that struck down that state’s ban on gay marriage.
At the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group, Legal Director Brian Moulton interpreted Kaplan’s memo as extending eligibility to legally married same-sex couples “regardless of where they reside.” OPM also plans to issue more information “on a broader range of issues” stemming from the court’s decision, Kaplan said in the memo.
http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/Transm...talID=5700
Similarly, same-sex spouses are now eligible for Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, the Federal Employeees Vision and Dental Plan and Long-Term Care Insurance. All retirees in legal same-sex marriages will have two years to tell OPM of their marriage status and make changes to retirement benefits. In the future, “the same-sex spouses of retiring employees will be eligible for survivor annuities,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan’s memo comes just two days after the Supreme Court voided the Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriages for purposes of providing benefits. Same-sex marriage is legal in a dozen states and the District of Columbia. In addition, same-sex unions are expected to resume soon in Californinia after the high court effectively affirmed a lower-court ruling that struck down that state’s ban on gay marriage.
At the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group, Legal Director Brian Moulton interpreted Kaplan’s memo as extending eligibility to legally married same-sex couples “regardless of where they reside.” OPM also plans to issue more information “on a broader range of issues” stemming from the court’s decision, Kaplan said in the memo.
http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/Transm...talID=5700
hawaiideborah