Life Events During Retirement
During your retirement, you will continue to experience a number of life events. These events may impact your DERP Pension Benefit so it’s critical to report life changes to us throughout your retirement years.
Keep in mind that some life events qualify you to make updates to your health insurance outside of our annual October Open Enrollment period. A qualifying life event can include becoming eligible for Medicare, a marriage, a divorce, or an involuntary loss of previous health insurance.
Review this section to find what action you need to take based on the specific life event you’ve experienced.
Change of Residence and/or Contact Information
If you’ve moved, plan to move, have a new phone number, or new email address, you’ll want to update your information, so you continue to receive important news and information about your account.
Log in to your MyDERP.org account and click the Address and/or Account Info hyperlinks to update your address and contact information.
Health Insurance
Your address determines what health insurance is available to you. Moving out of your current ZIP code may affect your eligibility to maintain your current coverage and may qualify you to make updates to your health insurance outside of the Open Enrollment period in October.
Email Help@DERP.org for more information.
New Bank Account
Do you have a new bank account? Did you close a bank account? Make sure to let us know when you make any changes to your bank account to ensure you continue to receive your monthly DERP Pension Benefit payment without a delay.
Log in to your MyDERP.org account and click the Direct Deposit button to update your direct deposit information.
Change in Marital Status
If you have a change in marital status, you’ll want to let us know so we can update your account. However, it’s important to remember that a change in marital status does not allow you to update your retirement DERP Pension Benefit payment option or joint and survivor beneficiary as these elections became irreversible upon retirement.
Email Help@DERP.org asking us to update your account if you have a marital status change.
Divorce
Your DERP Pension Benefit is considered marital property. In the event of a divorce, Colorado law may require us to divide your retirement benefit when a Domestic Relations Order (DRO) has been filed with the Court.
For more information about how divorce and a DRO may impact you, and the instructions to create a valid DRO, review Divorce and Domestic Relations Orders guide.
Health Insurance
A change in marital status may qualify you to make updates to your health insurance outside of the Open Enrollment period in October. For example, if you recently married and are enrolled in our health insurance, you can add your spouse to your coverage. If you recently divorced and your former spouse is enrolled in our health insurance coverage, they are longer eligible and you should remove them from your coverage.
Email Help@DERP.org for more information about how to add a new spouse or remove a former spouse and the documentation required.
Aging into Medicare
You should contact the Social Security Administration to enroll in Medicare three months prior to turning age 65. Medicare is a federal health insurance program and is required when you turn age 65. Visit the Medicare website for more information.
Health Insurance
Becoming Medicare eligible qualifies you to make updates to your health insurance outside of DERP’s annual Open Enrollment period. If you want to enroll in a DERP Medicare Advantage plan, you must provide proof of Medicare Parts A and B.
For more information about the DERP Medicare Advantage plans, review the DERP Retiree Health Insurance guide.
Email Help@DERP.org for more information and/or questions about our Medicare Advantage plans and how to enroll.
Death of a Beneficiary and/or Insurance Dependent
If your beneficiary and/or insurance dependent passes away, you’ll need to notify us so we can update your account.
If you elected a joint and survivor option, you can’t update your beneficiary as the division of your DERP Pension Benefit was calculated based on your and your beneficiary’s date of birth. However, we’ll increase your monthly lifetime DERP Pension Benefit payment to the maximum benefit option as if you never elected a beneficiary effective the month after the passing of your beneficiary.
Your beneficiary and/or insurance dependent will be removed from your insurance coverage effective the end of the month they passed away.
Email Help@DERP.org to report the death of your beneficiary or insurance dependent.