Information for Annuitants

This pamphlet answers questions most frequently asked by Civil Service Retirement System annuitants.

RI 20-59
Revised April 1999
Previous edition is not usable

How to Contact OPM

If this pamphlet does not fully answer your questions, call the Retirement Information Office toll-free at 1-888-767-6738. If you are calling within the local Washington, DC, area, dial 202-606-0500. Our Customer Service Specialists can assist you with many of the questions you may have, including address and health benefits changes. With the exception of Federal holidays and weekends, the office is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. eastern time. Annuitants who use TDD equipment should call 1-800-878-5707 or if calling within the local Washington, DC, area, 202-606-0551.

Callers are first greeted by an automatic answering system that guides them through a menu of most-popular topics. This system allows you to record common service requests - such as asking for forms or reporting a death - even after business hours. If you call during business hours, you can ask to speak to a Customer Service Specialist.

If you call on a rotary telephone, you will not have access to the automated features. However, you can speak to a Customer Service Specialist during business hours. Be sure to have your retirement claim number and personnel identification number on hand when calling either the automated system or a specialist.

If you write to us, please be sure to state your questions clearly and give your full name, retirement claim number (CSA number), and your social security number. This allows us to identify the proper records promptly. Our mailing address for general correspondence is:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Retirement Operations Center
P.O. Box 45
Boyers, PA 16017-0045.

General Information

We compute the amount of your annuity and authorize the Department of the Treasury to make payments to you. Retirement law specifies that annuities are payable once each month on the first business day of the month. Sundays and Federal holidays are not business days. Your payment covers the annuity due for the month prior to the month in which the payment is made.

If we have a reason to pay you for less than a full month, we divide your monthly annuity by 30 to compute a daily rate (even if there are not 30 days in that particular month). The daily rate is multiplied by the number of days you were eligible for an annuity that month (up to 30 days). The resulting amount is your annuity for that part of the month.

Cost-of-living adjustments allowed by law will increase your annuity. The amount of these annual adjustments depends on Consumer Price Index increases. If you have received annuity for less than one year, you will get a percentage of the first cost-of-living adjustment. The percentage depends on how long you were eligible for your annuity before the effective date of the increase. When we adjust your payments, we will send you a statement showing the effect of the increase on your annuity.

Because we send information to you at the mailing address you provide, you should tell us quickly about changes in your mailing address or where your payment should go. To do this, call our Retirement Information Office as described above or write to:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Change-of-Address Section
P.O. Box 440
Boyers, PA 16017-0440.

Please provide your full name, your retirement claim number (CSA number), social security number, and your new address when calling or writing. If you change your financial institution, please ensure you have the institution's correct name and routing number and the correct account number. Address changes processed before the middle of the month typically mean that the next payment is sent to the new financial institution.

To ensure that no annuity payments are missed, we recommend that you keep your old account open until the next payment is deposited in your new account.

The Department of the Treasury pays annuities either by transferring funds to your account at a bank, credit union, or similar financial institution or by mailing a check to you. After January 1, 1999, all annuity payments will be transferred directly to your account, unless you invoke a self-waiver.

If you do not receive your payment on the first business day of the month, please call your financial institution first for information. If they cannot help, call us during our regular business hours or write to:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Attn: Check Loss
P.O. Box 7815
Washington, DC 20044-7815.

Be sure to tell us your full name, retirement claim number (CSA number), and the date you expected to receive the payment.

If you live in an area that doesn't allow the Department of the Treasury to pay your annuity by fund transfer, we can pay you by check. We will address the checks as you instruct us. To report a lost or missing check, call or write to us as described above.