By Reg Jones
National Guard employment and fed annuity
December 30th, 2010 | Creditable service: FERS FERS annuity computation POST-RETIREMENT Re-employment RETIREMENT
Q: I’m over 50 years old and in a Federal Employees Retirement System law enforcement position with more than 22 years of 6(c) covered time. I am considering retirement. I also have more than 30 years in the National Guard and will draw a reserve retirement before age 60. Once I am retired and receiving my federal annuity, can I then accept a GS-grade position with the National Guard without affecting my annuity?
A: No.
Tags: annuity, Federal Employees Retirement System, FERS, Guard and reserve, National Guard
Transferring to a non-LEO position
December 30th, 2010 | Creditable service: FERS FERS annuity computation RETIREMENT Special category employee retirement Special retirement supplement
Q: I am a federal law enforcement employee with 20 years covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System FERS plus five years worth of military buyback time. I have six more years before I will face mandatory retirement at my 57th birthday. I want to transfer to a non-LEO position with another federal agency so I can keep working. Please confirm that if I do transfer to a non-LEO position with another federal agency that I can keep working past 57 and not face mandatory retirement, and that my 20 years of FERS LEO service will transfer over at the 1.7 percent per year retirement rate as a part of my overall pension. Neither the Office of Personnel Management nor my human resources office have confirmed this for me.
A: If you transfer to a noncovered position, you can continue working as long as you want. When you retire, your 20 years of covered service will be computed using the special, enhanced formula. The rest of your service will be calculated using the standard multiplier of 0.01 percent, unless you retire at age 62 or later. In that case, those years would be multiplied by 0.011 percent.
Tags: Federal Employees Retirement System, FERS, law enforcement, law enforcement officer, LEO, mandatory retirement, mandatory retirement date, multiplier
Disability retirement and nonfederal re-employment
December 30th, 2010 | Disability retirement RETIREMENT
Q: I receive federal disability retirement from the U.S. Postal Service after 27 1/2 years of service. My disability was approved for anxiety and severe depression. During my postal career, I was a city letter carrier. I have an opportunity to take a job as a medical courier. Do you think this job will jeopardize my continuing to receive disability? The two jobs are a bit similar in nature, however the stress level of the new job would be far less. I do not want to jeopardize my disability in any way. There is no way I could ever return to the stress of the Postal Service with my mental conditions.
A: If you are under age 60 and accept a nonfederal position, your disability annuity would only be discontinued if your income from wages or self-employment was 80 percent or more of the current rate of base pay for the position you held when you went on disability retirement. If you accept a federal job, your salary will be reduced by by the amount of your disability annuity and will also be subject to the 80 percent limitation.
Tags: disability, Disability retirement, Post Office, U.S. Postal Service, USPS
Sick leave credit calculation
December 30th, 2010 | LEAVE Sick leave
Q: You recently answered a question regarding sick leave credit, outlining the formula used to determine the credit at retirement. Does the same formula apply to a worker who works a 4-10 work week?
A: Yes.
Tags: LEAVE, leave accrual, sick leave, sick leave credit, Work week
BRAC-related leave rate
December 30th, 2010 | Annual leave LEAVE
Q: Next year, I will move out of my Base Closing and Realignment Commission-related job and take a new, non-BRAC job at a lower pay rate. Will my BRAC-restored leave be paid out at my rate of pay at time of payout, at my rate of pay just before/upon moving out of BRAC, or at the various rates of pay at which the leave was earned?
A: It will be paid at the rate of pay you were earning on the date your position transfered.
Tags: base closure and realignment, base realignment and closure, BRAC, BRAC leave, transfer
Disability retirement after loss of dual status
December 29th, 2010 | Creditable service: FERS Disability retirement FERS annuity computation RETIREMENT Uncategorized
Q: I am a Federal Employees Retirement System dual-status federal technician in the Army National Guard. I am looking at a possible involuntary separation because of losing my dual status (nonmedical related) later this year. I am 45 years old with 12 years of federal service. Would I qualify for any type of involuntary separation/disability annuity payment?
A: You would be eligible for disability retirement if you are separated due to a disability that disqualifies you from membership in a reserve component of the armed forces or from holding the military grade required for such employment; you aren’t appointed to another position in the federal government; and you haven’t declined a reasonable offer of another position in your agency.
Tags: disability, Disability retirement, dual status, dual-status employee, Federal Employees Retirement System, FERS, military service, reserve
Arranging for Medicare deductions
December 29th, 2010 | Creditable service: CSRS CSRS annuity computation FEHBP and Medicare HEALTH INSURANCE Medicare RETIREMENT
Q: I am a recent retiree, younger than 65, and have just received my final annuity computations. I expected Medicare would continue to be deducted and have now read two puzzling things: That Medicare is not taken from annuity payments, and that I must contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to have payments withheld. By law, I understand Medicare becomes my primary payer, with my federal health plan second, when I turn 65. My question is: As a retiree under the Civil Service Retirement System, do I “owe” 1.75 percent of my monthly annuity to Medicare and must set it up now to be eligible when I turn 65? I would not like to have to pay a lump-sum payment in a few years.
A: Deductions for Medicare Part A are only taken from wages and self-employment, not annuities or other sources of income. On the other hand, if you decide to enroll in Medicare Part B, you will need to arrange to have the payment deducted from you annuity. To do that you’ll need to contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Tags: Civil Service Retirement System, CSRS, Medicare, Medicare deduction, Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, Medicare payments, Part A, Part B
Social Security disability offset?
December 29th, 2010 | Benefits Coverage Creditable service: FERS Disability retirement FERS annuity computation Government pension offset RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q: I am 62 years old, and my Federal Employees Retirement System disability retirement benefit has been recalculated to a regular annuity. I am still on Social Security disability. Will Social Security offset the amount that I will be getting in my annuity?
A: No, it won’t.
Tags: disability, disability annuity, Federal Employees Retirement System, FERS, FERS disability, SOCIAL SECURITY, Social Security annuity
Taxes and annuity payments
December 29th, 2010 | Creditable service: FERS FERS annuity computation RETIREMENT Special retirement supplement
Q: Are Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from Federal Employees Retirement System annuity and supplement checks for retired law enforcement officers?
A: No, they are not.
Tags: annuity, Federal Employees Retirement System, FERS, FERS retirement supplement, law enforcement, taxes
Prior civil service and CSRS Offset
December 29th, 2010 | Creditable service: CSRS CSRS annuity computation RETIREMENT
Q: I am 67 years old and have 10 years of federal service. I want to work another 10 years before I retire. I worked for 15 years in government beginning in 1966 before resigning and taking the retirement money. I would need to pay $23,000 at this point to refund that money. Is it worth it, or should I remain in the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program?
A: Let me clear up a few points. First, because you took a refund of your retirement contributions before March 1, 1991, you’ll get credit for those years in determining your total years of service. Therefore, you don’t have 10 years of service, you have 25. Second, you’ll remain in CSRS Offset no matter what you do. Third, if you make a deposit, your annuity when you retire will be increased by approximately 30 percent (2 percent times each year of service over 10). Finally, as a CSRS Offset employee, when you retire and begin receiving a Social Security benefit, your CSRS annuity will be reduced only by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while employed under CSRS Offset. It’s up to you to decide which is the best option: Make the deposit or leave things as they are.
Tags: annuity, Civil Service Retirement System, CSRS, CSRS offset, prior federal service, prior service