Derrick Lionel Martin, 53, of Honolulu, a Honolulu Police Department officer and a veteran of the Air Force and Hawai‘i Air National Guard, passed away on August 5, 2013. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by wife Jo-Ann; sons Michael and John; brothers Kimball, Robert and Kaipo; and sister Lani Daguio.
Sandy Hashimoto, Human Resources Specialist at the Hawaii National Guard Human Resources Office (HRO) requested this important Office of Personnel Management (OPM) information be posted.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is providing notice of a 2-year opportunity for annuitants who are in legal same-sex marriages to elect survivor annuities for their spouses under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS).
All retirees who are in legal same-sex marriages have through June 26, 2015, to inform OPM that they have legal same-sex marriages that now qualify for recognition and to elect survivor annuities for their spouses based on their recognized marital status.
Information by Phone: Call the Retirement Information Office toll-free at 1-888-767-6738. If you use TTY equipment, call 1-855-887-4957. Be sure to have your claim number (CSA number) on hand when you call a specialist. Information by Email: retire@opm.gov
Information or Elections by Mail: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Operations Center, PO Box 45, Boyers, PA, 16017-0045. Please include your full name and your claim number (CSA number) in your correspondence.
Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) provided that, when used in a Federal law, the term “marriage” would mean only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and that the term “spouse” referred only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. Because of DOMA, the Federal Government has been prohibited from recognizing the legal marriages of same-sex couples for purposes of retirement benefit programs.
On June 26, 2013, in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. __ (2013), the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) ruled that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional. As a result of this decision, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is now able to extend benefits to Federal employees and annuitants who are legally married to spouses of the same sex, regardless of the employees’ or annuitants’ states of residency. Consistent with OPM’s long-standing policy of recognizing the legal foreign marriages of opposite-sex couples for purposes of the retirement benefit programs that OPM administers, OPM will also recognize legal same-sex marriages granted in countries that authorize such marriages, regardless of the employees’ or annuitants’ states of residency, for purposes of these programs.
As OPM stated in its June 28, 2013 Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, all retirees who are in legal same-sex marriages will have 2 years from the June 26, 2013 date of the Supreme Court’s decision (i.e, through June 26, 2015) to inform OPM that they have legal marriages that now qualify for recognition and to elect reductions in their CSRS or FERS retirement annuities to provide survivor annuity benefits for their spouses, based on their recognized marital status. An annuitant should be aware that electing a survivor annuity will require a reduction of his/her annuity to provide the survivor annuity, or an adjustment of the amount of reduction currently being made to provide an insurable interest annuity to change the reduction amount to a survivor annuity reduction.
Before an election is made, we recommend that the annuitants carefully consider what effect the reduction or change in reduction will have on the amount of their net annuities.
Annuitants should consider their language carefully before sending OPM written requests regarding survivor benefits for their spouses. An annuitant who contacts OPM and only request information about the effect a survivor election would have on the annuity will receive a statement describing the cost of the election and an election form that would need to be returned to OPM by June 26, 2015, to elect the survivor benefit. An annuitant who sends a signed statement or letter to OPM and indicates that he/she wants to elect a survivor benefit for a spouse will also receive a statement describing the cost of the election; he/she will not be able to change his/her mind about providing the survivor benefit. Unless otherwise specified, OPM will consider any requests for information about survivor benefits or any signed elections of survivor benefits as requests for information or elections of the maximum survivor benefit. More information about the election and the survivor reduction is provided at http://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/my-annuity-and-benefits/life-events/#url=MarriageDivorce
A request for information about survivor annuity benefits or signed, written elections of survivor benefits should be accompanied with a copy of the marriage certificate proving the same-sex marriage. Please be advised that an election of a survivor annuity is irrevocable. An annuitant will not be able to change an election later. We strongly urge annuitants to carefully consider elections before submitting them to OPM.
Elaine Kaplan, Acting Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management
The POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Paradigm, which takes a step beyond an advance directive by creating medical orders based on a patient’s wishes for end-of-life treatment. The medical community generally seems to support POLST, but the form has faced controversy. Read more http://ow.ly/nSdUr
Beginning on August 18, military commissaries worldwide will return to normal operating schedules, announced the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). This decision comes as a result of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week reducing the furlough among the Pentagon’s civilian workforce from 11 days to six, states DeCA’s August 7 release. “This is welcome news for us all,” said Joseph Jeu, DeCA director. “We recognize the disruption that furloughs presented to our patrons” and “we also understand the economic hardships many of our employees faced with the pay they lost during the furlough,” he said. There will be “a short adjustment period as our stores settle back into their pre-furlough operation and delivery routines,” said Jeu. Since July 8, the one-day-per-week furloughs affected all of DeCA’s more than 14,000 US civilian employees worldwide, states the release.
SAVE THE DATE The DOD Retirement and Awards Luncheon is set for Wednesday, September 4, 2013. The date shifted because of operational requirements. As always, the luncheon will honor recent State, federal technician and Active Guard Reserve retirees. State and federal service awardees will receive their certificates.
Check the flyer for more information DOD Ret Lunch Flyer 8-12
Check this website as the luncheon gets closer for the names of honorees who have confirmed their attendance.
Identity theft is everywhere. According to a 2013 report by Javelin Research, there is one incident of identity fraud every three seconds. Read more http://ow.ly/nSemt
If you are paying for flood insurance on a property, you need to read this post.
In July 2012, the U.S. Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12) which calls on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other agencies, to make a number of changes to the way the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is run. Some of these changes already have occurred, and others will be implemented in the coming months. Key provisions of the legislation will require…. Read more http://ow.ly/nSdcp
It is with heavy heart that I inform you that one of our brothers has passed away. TSgt Derrick “Bullet” Martin lost his battle with cancer. A true servant to the State of Hawai‘i, Bullet was an officer with the Honolulu Police Department and served as a Boom Operator with the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron for over 13 years. His dedication and service to the Hawai‘i Air National Guard, State of Hawai‘i, and this great country will truly be missed.
Please keep his ohana in your thoughts and prayers as they go through these tough times.
Damon Pescaia, LTC, HIANG, Commander, 203 ARS
Memorial service information will be posted when available
The August 2013 edition of National Guard is available online at http://ow.ly/nScUH
A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye. Learn how to recognize, treat and prevent this common condition. Read more about cataracts.
One of the reasons it’s difficult to prepare for retirement is that there are so many things we simply can’t predict about it. We don’t know how long we will live, how much our investments will earn and how much of our purchasing power inflation will erode. Here are some of the scariest retirement unknowns and how to cope with them: Read more http://ow.ly/nF7jW
Special Thanks to James Iwamura who registered to “Follow Blog via Email” last week.
Harley Wee Fat Ching, 81, of Kula, Maui, a retired Kula Hospital building and grounds maintenance supervisor and an Army National Guard and Army Reserve veteran, passed away on August 4, 2013. He was born in Keokea, Maui. He is survived by wife Florence S.Y. Hew; son Casey; daughter Gloria Lau; brothers Elliot, Melvin and Wilson; sisters Irene Chung, Gertrude Ceballos, Joycelin Chong and Bernice Lynch; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
The latest developments on plans for the 135th NGAUS General Conference & Exhibition set for September 20-23 in Hawai‘i http://ow.ly/nOtBm
