On June 28, 2013--two days after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Windsor v. United States, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that spouses of married lesbian and gay federal employees were eligible for benefits. Who knew the feds could work that quickly.
That decision affects me directly because my spouse is employed by the U.S. Department of Labor. We hoped it would happen but never expected it so quickly. Betsy and I prepared the paperwork and submitted it over the weekend. Yesterday, Betsy received notice the change has taken place and will be effective June 30.
OPM decided that state of celebration controlled--it does not matter that we live in a nonrecognition state. I will receive the same benefits as every other spouse of a federal employee.
The Department of Homeland Security also issued an announcement that U.S. citizens can sponsor their foreign-born spouses for a family visa. This also applies to current green card holders.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced it is proceeding to provide all family benefits to lesbian and gay servicemembers and their families. As with OPM, DoD is looking at the state of celebration, not state of residence to determine eligibility.
One big fish still swimming around out there is the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has issued no guidelines about how it will handle the situation. The only logical choice is "state of celebration". Anything else will create a tax nightmare for the IRS and affected taxpayers.
The Social Security Administration will be the outlier. The statute under which the SSA operates specifically states that "spouse" and "marriage" is defined by the state of residence. Congress will need to change the statute and it is unlikely that entity will take any action. The Republicans will fight any changes just because they can. Without congressional action the U.S. Supreme Court will need to get involved and that can take years. In the meantime, lesbian and gay married couples, living outside the equality zone, will find themselves without spousal survivor benefits.
That decision affects me directly because my spouse is employed by the U.S. Department of Labor. We hoped it would happen but never expected it so quickly. Betsy and I prepared the paperwork and submitted it over the weekend. Yesterday, Betsy received notice the change has taken place and will be effective June 30.
OPM decided that state of celebration controlled--it does not matter that we live in a nonrecognition state. I will receive the same benefits as every other spouse of a federal employee.
The Department of Homeland Security also issued an announcement that U.S. citizens can sponsor their foreign-born spouses for a family visa. This also applies to current green card holders.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced it is proceeding to provide all family benefits to lesbian and gay servicemembers and their families. As with OPM, DoD is looking at the state of celebration, not state of residence to determine eligibility.
One big fish still swimming around out there is the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has issued no guidelines about how it will handle the situation. The only logical choice is "state of celebration". Anything else will create a tax nightmare for the IRS and affected taxpayers.
The Social Security Administration will be the outlier. The statute under which the SSA operates specifically states that "spouse" and "marriage" is defined by the state of residence. Congress will need to change the statute and it is unlikely that entity will take any action. The Republicans will fight any changes just because they can. Without congressional action the U.S. Supreme Court will need to get involved and that can take years. In the meantime, lesbian and gay married couples, living outside the equality zone, will find themselves without spousal survivor benefits.
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