Human Resources

Summary

Staff must immediately report any life events or changes in household status within 60 days of the life event, even if the supporting documents are not immediately available. Staff must follow up with the outstanding information once it is available.

Registration of a domestic partnership is subject to approval by HR Operations.

• Register Domestic Partnership
• Dissolve Domestic Partnership

Register Domestic Partnership

Note:

This checklist pertains to same-sex and opposite sex domestic partners (DPs) only. Do not use this checklist for same-sex marriages.

Step

Action

Action by Staff

01

HQ staff and retirees: Report the event via myHR Self-Service (available only on World Bank’s intranet), within 60 days of starting your domestic partnership. If you do not have access to myHR Self-Service, complete and submit F200037 Headquarters – Life Event Reporting to HR Operations. The form must be submitted with supporting documentation, following the submission instructions on the form.

CO staff: Report the event to HR Operations within 60 days of starting your domestic partnership, by completing form F02367A Country Office Appointments Household & MBP Enrollment/Change and submitting it with supporting documentation.

CO Retiree: Report the event to HR Operations within 60 days of starting your domestic partnership, by completing form F02368 Retiree Life Event & MBP Enrollment Request and submitting it with supporting documentation.

Your supporting documentation will include:

1.    Birth certificate or other government national/family registry of your DP

2.    Passport page showing name, nationality, and birth date of your DP

3.    Certificate of registration of the DP from your national authorities. This would typically be a certificate of registration of a civil partnership in the UK or a pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) in France. If you do not have this document, submit the documents listed in the next two points (Cohabitation and Joint financial commitment).

4.    Cohabitation—Submit at least one document from the list below, showing you and your partner had the same address for at least 12 continuous months prior to your domestic partnership application:

o    Joint lease(s) or mortgage(s) with you and your partner;

o    Driver’s licenses;

o    Voter registration cards;

o    Tax filing documents;

o    Bills for services, (for example, phone, utility);

o    Magazine subscriptions;

o    Written, signed statement from your landlord, combined with mail to you and your partner to that address;

o    Other evidence from a government authority or an employer which shows proof of address and supports your 12-month cohabitation.

5.    Joint financial commitment—Submit one or more documents from the list showing joint financial commitment for at least 12 months prior to your domestic partnership application:

o    Joint bank account, credit card, or mortgage statements;

o    Joint title or other proof of shared ownership of assets, for example property or vehicles;

o    Testamentary documents naming the partner as beneficiary and/or executor of estate or proof of designating partner as beneficiary of a retirement savings plan or life insurance proceeds;

o    Confirmation of joint health insurance plan participation from other employer/vendor for you and your partner;

o    Other financial documents that legally bind you or your partner to each other’s assets;

o    Other legal documents that legally bind you or your partner to each other, for example, naming your partner executor of an estate, or power of attorney for healthcare or financial decisions

Attention:

In cases where none of the documents referenced above are available, or in situations where cohabitation has not been possible, a staff member may present other evidence that, in his/her mind, establishes proof of the couple’s domestic partnership, for example: affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the domestic partnership; letters; photographs; telephone records; email trails. These cases will be escalated to the HR Operations Manager or a designated official for review and decisions. In consultation with the Bank’s Legal Department, the HR Operations Manager or designated official may, at his/her discretion, decide to accept the evidence presented in lieu of the documents referenced above.

Note:

• Translations are mandatory for any documents not in English.
• If the life event request has not been submitted within the 60-day period, the following options are available:

o  Submit the Life Event request during the Open Enrollment period, which will be effective January 1 of the following year.

o  When an eligible dependent (newly enrolled in household) loses outside coverage, the staff member has 60 days from the loss of coverage date to enroll the dependent by submitting the required proof.

02

Review submitted documentation for HQ and CO staff and notify staff of the decision by email.

Additional Information

• You may wish to re-evaluate your insurance beneficiaries. View your current beneficiary in myHR Self-Service. To update beneficiaries, complete form F01604 Designation of Insurance Beneficiary for HQ Staff or HQ Retiree form F200054 or form F01603 Designation Of Insurance Beneficiary for CO Staff and Retiree.
• If you establish a DP after you retire but before you participate in the RMIP because you deferred RMIP entry, your DP and eligible dependent children of your DP may receive coverage under the RMIP. When you enter the insurance plan, you, your DP, and eligible dependent children of your DP must prove that they had medical insurance for the three years before joining the RMIP.

Time:

A DP may qualify for most insurance plans without medical evaluation. This includes Medical Insurance Plan (MIP), Medical Benefits Plan (MBP), and Retiree MIP (RMIP) for eligible staff who had registered a DP while in active service. However, staff must submit the form and documentation within 60 days of the anniversary of co-habitation or entry on duty, whichever is later. Only then would they qualify for open enrollment without evidence of good health. If you send the medical insurance document to HR Operations after the 60 days, you will be required to wait until the next open enrollment period to enroll the dependent.

You may wish to change pension beneficiaries. View current pension beneficiary or change pension beneficiary in myHR Self-Service (available only on World Bank’s intranet).

Note:

If you predecease your DP, your DP's eligibility for your RMIP is as follows:

• If you elect the Optional Survivorship Pension, your DP will remain covered in the RMIP for the rest of his/her life but cannot add dependents.
• If you do not elect the Optional Survivorship Pension, your DP will be eligible for three years of RMIP Continuation if elected within 60 days of your death, payable at unsubsidized rates. Your DP must contact HR Operations through email or phone for an application.

For more information on the Optional Survivorship Pension, contact Pension Administration.

Implications on Taxes (available only on World Bank’s intranet):

Under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, the value of the benefits provided to any other individual, including an employee's DP and the DP's children, is not exempt from taxes. An exception is if the DP qualifies as a dependent under Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code. This section defines a 'dependent' as one who:

• receives more than half of his/her support from the taxpayer.
• is a member of the taxpayer's residence, which is the dependent's principal place of residence.

An individual is not considered a member of the taxpayer's residence if his/her relationship to the taxpayer violates local law. Additionally, a dependent must be a U.S. national or a resident of U.S., Canada, or Mexico. All benefits extended to a U.S. taxpayer's non-dependent, non-spousal family members are considered part of the employee's taxable income. The Bank Group would calculate a tax allowance on these amounts for the staff member subject to income tax, including specifically U.S. nationals.

DPs are not eligible for tax allowance. This primarily affects U.S. staff.

Request a Bank Group Security ID for your DP via eServices (available only on World Bank’s intranet) - WBG ID Card for Spouses – Domestic Partners.

Note:

If retirees don't need or meet the criteria for RMIP enrollment upon establishing DP, HR will still register their DP under their household for the purposes of obtaining a Bank Group Security ID badge.

Step

Action

Action by Staff

01

Active staff: Report the life event in myHR Self-Service (available only on World Bank’s intranet) within 60 days of the life event. 

If you do not have access to myHR Self-Service, complete and submit the form to HR Operations:

• HQ staff and retirees: Form 200037 Headquarters – Life Event Reporting
• CO staff: F02367A Life Event Reporting and MBP / Group Term Life / Dependent Life / AD&D Insurance Enrollment Changes for CO Staff 
• CO retirees: F02368 Retiree Life Event & MBP Enrollment Request for Country Office (CO) Retirees

Note:

After a DP is terminated, a subsequent affidavit of DP cannot be filed with the Bank Group until at least 12 months after the statement of termination.

Action by HR Operations

02

Active staff (CO and HQ): Process the request and send a confirmation email with the myHR Self-Service navigation to generate the CMBP/CMIP form.

Retirees: Send the system-generated email with se the continuation form attached.

Action by Staff

03

Staff: Check the updated coverage status via myHR Self Service (available only on World Bank’s intranet)and download the MBP/MIP Continuation for your eligible dependent(s) via myHR Self-Service > Insurance > MBP/MIP Continuation Form and if applicable, send it to your dependent(s). The continuation form will also be emailed to you within one hour after you generate it in myHR Self-Service.

Note:

An active staff member has 60 days from the 1st day of the month after the end of coverage date or the date of receipt of the confirmation email from HR, whichever is later, to download the continuation form from myHR Self-Service.

You may wish to re-evaluate your beneficiaries. View your current beneficiary in myHR Self-Service (available only on World Bank’s intranet).

Retirees: You will receive the MIP/MBP continuation form for your eligible dependent(s) via email, once the life event has been processed. Complete and follow submission instructions on the form.

Time:

A DP who loses eligibility for medical insurance coverage due to dissolution of a DP is eligible for up to three years of MIP Continuation or MBP Continuation at unsubsidized rates. However, the Bank Group will not provide continuation coverage if the dissolution is reported more than 60 days after it has occurred.

Note:

If you or your DP submits claims to the MIP, Retiree MIP, or MBP for the DP after the dissolution, you are committing fraud. The Bank Group investigates such fraud aggressively. Sanctions include loss of eligibility for MIP, Retiree MIP, or MBP coverage as well as financial restitution to the MIP, Retiree MIP, or MBP of any fraudulently submitted claims.

Additional Information

Active staff: You may wish to change pension beneficiaries. View current pension beneficiary or change pension beneficiary in myHR Self-Service (available only on World Bank’s intranet).

Retirees: You may view and change your pension beneficiaries in the Pensions portal.

An ex-DP’s G status expires on the date of the DP dissolution, regardless of the date stamped on the G visa or I-94 form.

Time:

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the State Department, allows a 30-day grace period for your ex-DP to depart from the U.S.

Note:

The Bank Group reports all terminating staff and principal’s household changes to the U.S. State Department electronically. If your ex-DP:

• remains in the U.S. longer without an appropriate visa, s/he is considered 'out of status', an illegal immigrant.
• leaves the U.S. within the grace period, s/he cannot re-enter the U.S. on that G visa.
• intends to stay in the U.S., s/he must obtain an appropriate visa before the end of the G status grace period. It is recommended to submit the change of visa status to USCIS within 30 days of G visa status expiration.