Attorneys whose family law practice includes Federal (or postal) employees or retirees will be interested
in a publication prepared by the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM). "A Handbook
for Attorneys on Court-ordered Retirement, Health Benefits, and Life Insurance under the Civil Service
Retirement System, Federal Employees Retirement System, Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program, and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program" contains the laws and regulations
that apply to court orders in divorces and legal separations affecting benefits under these programs.
Since ERISA rules do not apply to Federal employees and retirees, this handbook is a must for anyone
who works with court orders involving this group.
The retirement regulations spell out in detail what constitutes a court order that OPM can accept for
processing, and even include extensive model paragraphs that can be used to draft orders that will
meet OPM's requirements. OPM urges attorneys to use these model paragraphs. The January 1995
update of the handbook also includes information about recent legislation that allows employees and
retirees to assign their Federal Employees Group Life Insurance benefits.
In addition to the printed text of the law and regulations, the handbook includes a 3.5 inch diskette
containing the model language in Wordperfect 5.1, Word, and generic word processing formats. The
handbook is available from the Superintendent of Documents at a cost of $14.00 per copy. A copy of
the order form is reproduced below.
Order Processing Code: Superintendent of Documents Publication Order Form
*7612* Charge your order.
It's easy!
To fax your orders (202) 512-2250
To phone your orders (202) 512-1800
GGYES, please send me copies of the Handbook For Attorneys on Court-Ordered
Retirement, Health Benefits, and Life Insurance Under Civil Service Retirement System, Federal
Employees Retirement System, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and Federal
Employees Group Life Insurance Program, RI 38-116, Revised Jan. 95, S/N 006-000-01408-9
$14.00 each ($17.50 foreign).
The total cost of my order is $ . Price includes regular shipping and handling and is subject
to change. International customers please add 25%.
Check method of payment
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Check payable to Superintendent Documents
G GPO Deposit AccountGGGGGGG-G
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(Please type or print) G VISA G MasterCard
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GGGG (expiration date) Thank you for your order!
Street address
City, State, Zip code
Daytime phone including area code Authorizing signature
1/95
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Mail To: Superintendent of Documents
P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
Update 14 Chapter 5 Court Orders p. 24 For Local Reproduction
August 15, 1995 CSRS and FERS Handbook