The SF 2800 application for death benefits is the form survivors use to claim a Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) survivor annuity, a lump-sum refund of the deceased’s retirement contributions, or both, after a federal employee, former employee, or retiree dies. You file it with the Office of Personnel Management. Before you open the form, report the death to OPM so the agency can stop any active annuity payments and flag the account for survivor processing. Then work through the sections that match your relationship to the deceased and mail the package with certified supporting documents.
Report the Death Before You File
Notifying OPM is a separate step from filing your claim. You can report online through OPM’s death-reporting portal, which has different intake forms for retirees and survivor annuitants versus active employees, or call 1-888-767-6738.1U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Report of Death Reporting the death does not start your benefits claim. It only alerts OPM to stop or redirect payments while you assemble your SF 2800 package.2U.S. Office of Personnel Management. How Do I Report the Death of an Annuitant
Confirm You’re the Right Person to File
Two different benefits flow from SF 2800, and they follow different rules.
For lump-sum payments of the deceased’s remaining retirement contributions, federal law sets a strict order of precedence under 5 U.S.C. § 8342. OPM pays the first eligible category on the list: a designated beneficiary named in a signed and witnessed writing on file with OPM; then the surviving spouse; then natural and adopted children (stepchildren do not qualify); then parents; then the executor or administrator of the estate; then other next of kin under the laws of the deceased’s home state.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8342 – Lump-Sum Benefits; Designation of Beneficiary; Order of Precedence A beneficiary named only in a will does not count unless the designation was also filed separately with OPM.
Survivor annuities work differently. A surviving spouse is entitled to an annuity equal to 55 percent of the retiree’s benefit before the survivor election reduction, which comes to roughly 60 percent of the retiree’s gross annuity at the time of death.4U.S. Office of Personnel Management. How Is the Amount of My Benefits as a Surviving Spouse Determined The annuity will be lower if the retiree chose a reduced survivor benefit at retirement or waived it entirely.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8341 – Survivor Annuities
A former spouse may qualify for a survivor annuity only if a court order specifically awards one, references 5 U.S.C. § 8341(h), and expressly directs OPM to pay the former spouse.6U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Learn More About Court-Ordered Retirement Benefits
Dependent children can receive a monthly survivor annuity if they are unmarried and under 18, between 18 and 22 and attending an accredited school full-time, or over 18 with a disability that began before age 18.7U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Survivors – CSRS Information The children’s benefit is a fixed dollar amount adjusted annually for cost of living, not a percentage of the annuity. A child with a living parent who was married to the deceased receives a higher rate than a child without one.
Gather Documents Before You Start
OPM will not process a claim that arrives without the right paperwork, and tracking down certified copies after you mail can add weeks. Have these in hand first:
- A certified copy of the death certificate. OPM requires this for every claim, and certified copies typically cost between $19 and $34 depending on your state. Order more than one, because the FEGLI life insurance claim needs its own.1U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Report of Death
- A copy of the marriage certificate, if a surviving spouse is claiming a survivor annuity.
- Birth certificates for any dependent children, showing the deceased as a parent.
- Certified copies of any divorce or annulment orders issued on or after May 7, 1985, and any court order awarding a former spouse survivor annuity.8Office of Personnel Management. SF 2800 – Application for Death Benefits Civil Service Retirement System
Standard photocopies of vital records are generally not acceptable for establishing legal events like marriage or birth. Order certified copies from the issuing state or county registrar in advance.
Walking Through the SF 2800 Sections
Download the current version from opm.gov/forms. The form has eleven lettered sections, but you complete only the ones that apply to your situation.
Section A: Information About the Deceased
Enter the deceased’s full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death. If the deceased had already applied for or was receiving retirement benefits, include the retirement claim number (the “CSA” number printed on OPM correspondence).8Office of Personnel Management. SF 2800 – Application for Death Benefits Civil Service Retirement System List every marriage the deceased had and attach copies of death certificates and any qualifying court orders of divorce or annulment. Check the Social Security number against the deceased’s card. A single transposed digit can trigger a fraud review and freeze the entire claim.
Section B: Information About the Applicant
This section identifies you: name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, and relationship to the deceased. The relationship you check determines which later sections apply. If both parents are applying, each must submit a separate completed form, and if one parent is deceased, attach that parent’s death certificate.
Section C: Surviving Spouse
Attach a copy of your marriage certificate. The form asks whether you were married by clergy or a justice of the peace (check “Clergy/Justice of the Peace”) or by another method such as common law or tribal marriage (check “Other” and explain). Provide the date of your marriage and any prior marriage details that apply.
Section D: Former Spouse
If a former spouse is filing a claim based on a court order, this section captures the relevant marriage and divorce dates. Attach a court-certified copy of the order. The order must expressly state that the former spouse is entitled to a portion of the annuity or a survivor annuity, and it must define the share as a fixed dollar amount, a percentage, or a formula with a readily apparent value.6U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Learn More About Court-Ordered Retirement Benefits
Section E: Dependent Children
List all surviving, unmarried, dependent children of the deceased in birth-date order, including children who live with someone else. Provide each child’s name, Social Security number, and date of birth. For children between 18 and 22, OPM will need proof of full-time student status. For children over 18 with a qualifying disability, include documentation of the condition.
Sections F Through K
The remaining sections cover other heirs (F), the deceased’s estate (G), active military service that may affect the benefit calculation (H), payment instructions such as direct deposit (I), your signed certification (J), and a checklist of attachments (K). Review Section K carefully before sealing the envelope. It lists every document OPM expects, and a missing item can delay the claim.
Add SF 2800A If the Deceased Was Still Working
If the deceased was still employed by a federal agency at the time of death, complete Standard Form 2800A and submit it with the SF 2800. This supplemental package collects documentation and elections that only apply to death in active service.9U.S. Office of Personnel Management. SF 2800A – Documentation and Elections in Support of Application for Death Benefits When Deceased Was an Employee at the Time of Death
SF 2800A has three main parts. Section 1 is a Certified Summary of Federal Service that the agency’s personnel office completes and you sign to confirm accuracy. Section 2 covers post-1956 military service, where you elect whether to make or complete a deposit for that service; the choice affects the survivor annuity calculation. Section 3 is the agency certification of what benefit appears payable, whether the death was work-related, and whether the deceased had Federal Employees Health Benefits and FEGLI coverage.
Because parts of SF 2800A must be completed by the employing agency, contact the deceased’s human resources office early. Agencies sometimes take weeks to pull together service records and payroll verification.
Where to Send the Package
The mailing address depends on the deceased’s status at death.10Office of Personnel Management. SF 2800 – Application for Death Benefits
If the deceased was an active employee, send the completed application and all attachments to the personnel office of the agency where the deceased last worked. That agency adds its own documentation and forwards everything to OPM.
If the deceased was a former employee or retiree, send the package directly to OPM:
Office of Personnel Management
Retirement Operations Center
Attention: Survivor Processing Section
P.O. Box 45
Boyers, PA 16017-00451U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Report of Death
Use a mailing method with tracking. The envelope contains original certified documents that are expensive and slow to replace.
Processing Times and What Comes After
Once OPM has a complete application, the average processing time as of early 2026 is about 24 days for survivor annuity claims and 38 days for lump-sum claims.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retirement Processing Times Those are averages. Cases involving court orders, workers’ compensation offsets, or missing documentation take longer. The clock does not start until the package is complete, so a partial submission that triggers a request for more documents resets your wait.
Survivors do not receive interim payments while OPM processes the claim. Interim pay is only available to applicants filing for immediate retirement benefits, not to survivors filing an SF 2800.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retirement Processing Times Plan for the gap between the date of death and your first benefit payment.
After OPM processes the claim, your account is assigned a CSF number (“Civil Service Final”), which replaces the deceased’s CSA number for all future correspondence.12U.S. Office of Personnel Management. What Is the OPM Retirement Claim Number Keep it handy for any contact with OPM going forward.
FEGLI Life Insurance Is a Separate Claim
If the deceased was enrolled in the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance program, that benefit is handled separately from SF 2800. You file FEGLI death benefits on Form FE-6, and each beneficiary completes an individual copy.13U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Claim for Death Benefits – Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program FE-6 goes to a different address: OFEGLI, P.O. Box 6080, Scranton, PA 18505-6080 for standard mail, or OFEGLI, 10 Ed Preate Drive, Moosic, PA 18507 for overnight. A certified death certificate stating the cause and manner of death is required for this claim as well. Questions about the FEGLI claim go to OFEGLI at 1-800-633-4542.
If OPM Denies the Claim
OPM’s initial decision is not the final word. You have 30 calendar days from the date of the decision to request reconsideration in writing. The request must include your name, address, date of birth, claim number, and a clear explanation of why the decision was wrong.14eCFR. 5 CFR 831.109 – Initial Decision and Reconsideration The 30 days are measured by when OPM receives the request, not when you mail it, so do not wait until day 29. OPM can extend the deadline if you can show you were never told about the time limit or were physically unable to meet it.
After reconsideration, OPM issues a final written decision. If you still disagree, you can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board; the final decision letter includes instructions.15U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Chapter 3 – Reconsideration and Appeal Do not file a Board appeal before OPM issues its final reconsideration decision, because the Board may dismiss it as premature.