Begin a Domestic Partnership

To add a domestic partner to your RF benefit plans, the domestic partner must be:

• age 18 or older, and
• unmarried and not related to you by marriage or blood in any way that would bar marriage, and residing with you, and
• financially interdependent with you, and
• involved in the domestic partnership for a period of not less than 1 year

You may also add your domestic partner’s children.  Documentation of the above must be approved by the RF.  Please contact your campus Benefits Office. 

Enroll a Domestic Partner:

To enroll a domestic partner and his/her children in your Health Plan, Dental Plan, or Vision Plan, complete the following forms and submit them to your campus benefits office with two documents that substantiate financial interdependence and proof of one-year residency.  All documentation must be up to date at the time of submission. 

• Benefit Plan Affidavit of Domestic Partnership
• Affidavit of Financial Interdependency
• Benefits Enrollment Form
• Proof of One Year Residency

In addition to the above, if your partner qualifies as your dependent for federal tax purposes and you wish to avoid the additional taxes that may result from this benefit (see Income Tax Implications), you must also complete the "Dependent Tax Affidavit for Enrolling Domestic Partner in the Benefits Program" and return it with the other documents. Applications filed without the required affidavits and substantiating documentation will not be processed.

Dependent Life Insurance

You may purchase dependent life insurance for your domestic partner and/or your dependent children.  

Please refer to the Dependent Life Insurance Web pages for additional information, or contact.

Beneficiary Designation

Keeping beneficiary information current is important. A change in domestic partner relationship may prompt beneficiary updates to your retirement and life insurance benefit plans.

You may change your beneficiary designation at any time for your Basic and/or Optional Life Insurance Plans by completing a new Benefits Enrollment Form and submitting it to your campus Benefits Office.

To update your beneficiary for Basic and/or Optional Retirement Plans, please visit www.tiaa.org/rfsuny. Select 'Access My Account', log in, and select 'My Profile'.

Taxes

A change in family status may lead to a change in federal and/or state withholding exemptions.  Contact your Payroll Department to change your withholding exemptions.

Financial Planning

A major life event may trigger a change in your financial planning. You may want to review your options with regard to the Optional Retirement Plan.