By Reg Jones
Furlough and term employees and re-employed annuitants
May 24th, 2013 | DOWNSIZING EMPLOYMENT furloughs Re-employment term employee
Q. What we here in Japan would like to know is when furlough notices kick in May 28 to June 5 and furloughs tentatively to begin July 8, what’s going happen to term/temp employees and more specifically re-employed annuitants?
Medicare Part B
May 24th, 2013 | HEALTH INSURANCE Medicare
Q. I am a retired federal employee (64 years old) and still on federal health insurance. My wife is turning 65 this month. Does she have to sign up for Medicare Part B to avoid a future penalty, or can she wait until I am 65?
Military buyback and creditable service
May 22nd, 2013 | Benefits Creditable service: CSRS Military service deposits RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I am considering retirement soon but would like to know if paying back my military time is a wise decision. I am 60 years old and will have 35 years civil service time. I do not have enough quarters to draw Social Security and never plan to. Will my annuity be based just on those 35 years, or will it be based on my actual service computation date, which would add four years?
Social Security, CSRS and survivor benefits
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a retired CSRS postal worker and have opted for a survivor benefit. I do not qualify for Social Security. My spouse has about 24 years of SS payments from her jobs. If I die, are her benefits, either CSRS survivor benefits or Social Security, affected? If she dies, am I entitled to any of her Social Security benefits?
Tags: annuity, CSRS, Government pension offset, SOCIAL SECURITY
Basic pay for retirement
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. As a WG/WL shift worker who change days off every four weeks and works Sunday premium days and all holidays, can I count on these extras in my retirement pot? I am almost certain that overtime and bonuses are not included. I have looked in 2012/2011 almanac for the answer. To me, the almanac is geared toward the GS side of the family. I am planning on retiring soon after 41 years. From what I can see, my high-3 is based on straight M-F day shift base pay.
FEHB coverage after retirement before age 59
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. Will I still be able to keep my FEHB coverage at the employee rate with 20 years of service under FERS if I leave federal service at age 59? Do I have to wait until age 62 to get my full annuity with 20 years of service under FERS ?
Tags: annuity, Deferred annuity, FEHB, FERS, MRA+10
Social Security benefits for survivor of CSRS employee
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a retired CSRS employee, not eligible for any Social Security benefits. When I die, will my spouse’s survivor annuity be reduced because she is receiving her own Social Security benefits?
Tags: CSRS, SOCIAL SECURITY, survivor annuity
Obama health care law and FEHB changes
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a CSRS retiree. I retired in 2005. I am a subscriber to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, specifically Blue Cross-Blue Shield’s Standard Option with family coverage. My wife and I are also qualified for Medicare Parts A and B. That makes Medicare the primary coverage and FHEB/BC-BS the secondary coverage for any health benefits paid.
1. What (if any) changes in the plan’s coverages are anticipated for 2014 and beyond, due to the health care law? 2. Does OPM anticipate that current retirees/program members will be forced into a health care provider’s coverage offered under the law? Starting in 2014, will federal retirees be forced into that law’s coverage rather than having the option to choose our own coverages under current program?
Tags: CSRS, FEHB, Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, OPM
Basic annuity calculation
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I started working for the federal government March 10, 1975. If I retire Dec. 31, 2015, by my calculations, I will have 40 years, 9 months and 21 days.
Right now I have 1,142 hours of sick leave but have no idea how many I will have when I retire. Will any of that be counted toward year and months of service? I’m only a GS 7, step 10, so I need to know what percentage of my retirement pay I would get. My high-3 is more than $50,400 with locality pay. I understood that where you are living and getting locality pay would be figured toward the annuity. If they change our retirement to the high-5, in two years I will still be at the same salary.
Tags: annuity, basic pay, high-3, sick leave
Rehiring after involuntary retirement
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a FERS retiree on a discontinued service retirement/involuntary because my agency was closed in 2012. I have applied and will interview for a permanent part-time economic assistant position with the Department of Labor.
I’m trying to determine: 1) Will I remain retired if I get and take this permanent part-time position? 2) Can I receive my full annuity and this part-time salary, or is my salary reduced? 3) If my salary is reduced, how do I calculate the reduction? 4) What other benefits are there of taking a part-time position in my case? For example, how much extra retirement time would I earn, etc.?
Tags: annuity, FERS, Involuntary retirement, part-time employment
Non-law enforcement employment and 6c coverage
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. From 1998 to 2002, I worked as an inspector for the U.S. Customs Service (now CBP) which was, at that time, a non-law enforcement position. In 2002, I was hired by another agency as a criminal investigator, a law enforcement position that falls under 6c.
A few years ago, CBP officers were given law enforcement status in the government, and they are now all under 6c. Can I buy back my four years as an inspector since that position is now under 6c? If not, how do those years calculate into my retirement; will they add on once I have satisfied the 20 years/50 years old or 25 total years?
Retirement at MRA with fewer than 10 years
May 22nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons under FERS. I have eight years of active military paid for and five years’ civilian service. If I resign my position, will I be eligible to collect a deferred annuity at 57, my MRA, with the 5 percent penalty, because that will be more than 10 years’ government service combined, or will I have to wait till age 62?
Tags: Deferred annuity, FERS, military buyback, military service, minimum retirement age
Minimum service time to carry insurance into retirement
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I now have 2½ years of government service and am 66. When I retire in 2½ years, I’ll have five years with the government. Will I get the option to retain my Federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama health insurance? If I would rather quit working for the government in one year, do I lose the opportunity to keep my federal BC/BS of Alabama coverage? I have total time in government employment today of only three years. I am contemplating quitting next year. What is the impact to my federal BC/BS insurance coverage? I signed up for Medicare Part A, but not Part B. I hope I can keep health insurance with BC/BS of Alabama and make that my secondary plan once I leave government employment.
Tags: FEHB, Medicare Part A, time in service
Options after losing job-required license
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a FERS employee, 54 years old with almost 30 years of service. My performance has been above average, and I am a good employee. I am a licensed (medical field) therapist, and unfortunately, I just got a third DUI, which calls for mandatory jail time and is a class 6 felony. With a class 6 felony, I will lose my medical license and, I am told, my job. I was told by human resources I should resign and then wait until I am 62 to collect a deferred retirement. However, I still need to pay my bills and need my health benefits. Can they make me resign? Or would it be better to let them fire me? Without my medical license, I would no longer qualify for my job — which is why they are telling me to resign (and they said it looks better on my record than being removed from service). Do I qualify for discontinued service retirement? Do you know what HR would have to provide me with if I do not choose to resign?
Tags: Deferred annuity, discontinue service retirement, FEHB, FERS, OPM
Law enforcement retirement
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I would like to complete the fewest law enforcement years possible to retain my law enforcement retirement. I have 13 years in. I know I have to do 25 full years in law enforcement to get out completely at any age. If I completed 20 years of law enforcement and completed the remaining time in a noncovered position until age 50, could I obtain full law enforcement retirement? Do I have to be in a covered position upon turning age 50?
SRS and reductions, COLA
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am 58 and have 23 years of service with the IRS. Two items I have yet to see specifically addressed on the special retirement supplement are: Will my FERS retirement benefits be reduced or lower in any way if I draw the SRS? Also, the amount of the SRS is fixed on the day it is first calculated and isn’t increased by cost-of-living adjustments. Is the non-SRS portion of a FERS employee’s retirement pay still subject to cost-of-living adjustments when the employee is drawing the SRS?
Tags: cost-of-living adjustment, disability, FERS, Special category employee, special retirement supplement
FERS retirement contribution gap
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am under FERS. If the human resources office states that I did not pay into the retirement system from 1985 to 1986 and OPM says deductions were made into the retirement system, when the retirement package is submitted and if OPM was wrong in its initial determination, will I be afforded the opportunity to make that payment after the retirement package has been submitted?
Tags: FERS, OPM, retirement deductions
Adding spouse to insurance after retirement
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. My husband retired at the end of 2007. He is receiving his pension and is covered by FEHB. When he retired, I was still working and therefore did not need to be covered under his insurance, as my employer has coverage for me. I plan to retire at the end of this year; can he add me to his insurance during open enrollment this year? When he retired, we were told he could add me later, provided there was a life-changing event. Retirement would qualify as a life-change event.
Tags: FEHB, life-changing event, open season
Annuity after retiring at MRA+10
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I worked for the Department of Defense as a civilian physician for 16 years and then transferred to the Veterans Health Administration. I understand physician comparability allowance is part of basic pay for retirement for VHA. So, if I worked for the VHA for two years and then retired because I am at minimum retirement age plus 10, how would my annuity be calculated?
CSRS, Social Security and annuity
May 21st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I retired in 2001 from the FAA under CSRS. I have 33 quarters of Social Security. If I go back to work and earn an additional seven quarters and apply for Social Security benefits, will that same amount of money be subtracted from my annuity?