By Reg Jones
Early retirement and pension
May 15th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. In 2004, I resigned as a GS-0132 with 17 years of federal service. In 2009, I started drawing Social Security disability.
I am 57. I did not withdraw my retirement when I separated. Can I draw my FERS retirement early based on my Social Security disability, or will I have to wait until I am 62 to begin drawing it?
Tags: annuity, disability, Early retirement, FERS, SOCIAL SECURITY
Foreign citizen and FERS, Social Security
May 15th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. A little over three years ago, I retired under FERS.
I was a widower at the time, so no survivor benefit was being withheld from my pay.
I now intend to remarry a French citizen and will reside here in the states for a time, then move to France. I would like her covered by my FEHB, at least while we are in the U.S.
Can I sign up now for a full survivor benefit for her? How much will it cost me? I read somewhere that it costs 10 percent of my current annuity plus the difference between the new annuity and old annuities paid to me for the number of months retired, plus 6 percent interest on that money.
Since she is at least not yet an American citizen, when I die, can she still receive the survivor annuity, whether continuing to reside here or if she returns to France? Would she receive COLAs on her portion of the annuity? If she returned to France, would she be obligated to pay taxes in both countries? Of course, as part of FERS, I also receive a Social Security benefit, based on my length of service and work record. Would a new spouse be entitled as a beneficiary to any or all of my Social Security when I die? She, of course, has never worked here in the states and so has not contributed to Social Security.
Tags: annuity, FEHB, FERS, foreign citizen, SOCIAL SECURITY, Survivor benefits
Military service and buyback
May 15th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a traditional guardsman and am considering federal employment.
Does any of my inactive duty or mobilized time count toward retirement or leave accrual? I’m 43. What is the minimum number of years I would need to work to qualify for a pension, even deferred? Whom can I contact for more information?
Tags: annual leave, annuity, Deferred annuity, military buyback, military service, minimum retirement age, MRA+10
CSRS, Social Security and retirement
May 14th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I plan to begin collecting Social Security at age 66 in CSRS. I have met my 40 quarters and 30 substantial salary requirements. Additionally, I took a two-year break to work in the public sector. When I retire at age 69 with 40 years’ service and begin collecting my CSRS annuity, will I be able to collect Social Security?
Tags: annuity, CSRS, SOCIAL SECURITY, windfall elimination provision
CSRS employment and Social Security
May 14th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I retired under full CSRS (none offset) in January 2010 with 35 years’ federal service as a GS 14/10. I am 59 and don’t have the 40 credits required to receive Social Security benefits when I turn 62.
Is it worth it to take a part-time job just to get my 40 credits in, or will there be a reduction to my federal retirement that will hurt more than it will help? I haven’t earned very much in the private sector — just a few years before I became a CSRS employee in 1977, including the time I served in the Army, which I bought back to add to my CSRS time (included in the 35 years), but still paid a very small amount to Social Security while serving in the Army.
I have an opportunity to start a small business (~$10,000 per year).
Would it be better to have the business in my wife’s name to add to her Social Security rather than affect my CSRS? Or will I expect to see a small Social Security check when I hit age 62 if I get my 40 quarters in with Social Security?
Tags: annuity, CSRS, SOCIAL SECURITY, windfall elimination provision
Law enforcement employment and retirement
May 14th, 2013 | CSRS annuity computation FERS annuity computation law enforcement Military service deposits RETIREMENT
Q. I am planning on retiring when I am 60. I will have 16.5 years of law enforcement employment (age waiver for entrance). I also have bought back 9¼ years’ active-duty time. Will I get the special rate of 1.7 percent for my law enforcement time and then 1 percent for the buyback time?
Tags: annuity, law enforcement, military buyback, military service
Disability retirement and annuity recalculation
May 8th, 2013 | COLA Disability retirement FERS annuity computation High-3 Minimum retirement age RETIREMENT
Q. I am on disability retirement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I have 13 years of service and fall in the MRA bracket born in 1953-1964. When will my annuity be recalculated? Will my annuity be more than what I am receiving on disability?
Tags: annuity, cost-of-living adjustment, disability, FERS, high-3
Withdrawn post office retirement funds
May 8th, 2013 | annuity reduction Postal Service RETIREMENT
Q. I started in the post office in 1976. I left the post office for a university job in 1984. I returned to the post office three months later because of low expectations of the employees at the university by the university. I withdrew my retirement because I believed I would not be back.
If the amount is not paid back, what percent of my post office retirement will be affected? OPM can tell me what I owe, but no one has an answer for this question until I retire!
Three annuities
May 8th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I retired from the military with full retirement in 1995. I think I understand that I cannot buy back any military time without forfeiting retirement pay when I retire from my federal job with the post office. Since the money comes out of my pocket, I have a hard time understanding this. However, I will have 20 years of service with the post office in 2017, when I am 56. If I take retirement, then why will I have a MRA+10 reduction till age 62 if I can retire fully at 60 with 20? Why would it be 30 percent instead of only 20 percent? Also, with the military pension and postal retirement, if Social Security is still around, how will this affect my annuity? Will I be able to pull all three full annuities? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: annuity, FERS, military buyback, military service, MRA+10, Postal Service, SOCIAL SECURITY
CSRS offset and annuity
May 8th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I received a refund of my CSRS contributions when I separated from federal service in 1993. Four years later, I returned to federal service. I am CSRS offset. My question concerns the Windfall Elimination Provision.
Because I withdrew my contributions from CSRS, and federal service where Social Security taxes are withheld is not affected by the WEP, will withdrawing CSRS contributions change my Social Security benefit when I retire?
Tags: annuity, CSRS, CSRS offset, SOCIAL SECURITY, windfall elimination provision
Disability payments and survivor benefits
May 8th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. After 25 years of service, I was approved for OWCP disability. Now, 15 years later and at age 68, I am still receiving the annuity. If I die still receiving OWCP benefits, will my wife receive survivor benefits from my CSRS service? Should I leave the money in the CSRS or draw it out?
Tags: annuity, CSRS, OWCP, Survivor benefits
High-3 and pay differentials
May 7th, 2013 | CSRS annuity computation High-3 PAY RETIREMENT
Q. I am a federal worker at a VA hospital. I am a General Schedule employee under CSRS. I switched to night shift and work lots of weekends to boost my last three years of earnings. I read in OPM under CSRS/retirement/High-3 Average Salary, “Your basic pay is the basic salary you earn for your position. It includes increases to your salary for which retirement deductions are withheld, such as shift rates. It does not include payments for overtime, bonuses, etc.”
I still am not sure if night shift will work out to a bigger retirement annuity. I make plenty more in my night differential pay for night tour. What I noticed is retirement deductions in my Pay Statements remained the same as before when I worked the day shift. This is puzzling.
Retiree death and lump sum for survivor
May 7th, 2013 | law enforcement SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. My father passed away at the age of 62 after 20 years with the Forest Service (most of those years as law enforcement.) He passed away just shy of two months after his retirement day and thus didn’t receive a single annuity check. I am his only survivor, and I’m trying to determining what the lump-sum payout will be. Is there any way to estimate what he paid in? He was set to receive roughly $22,000 year for 30 years. What percentage of that would his contribution actually be?
Part- and full-time work and high-3
May 7th, 2013 | annuity reduction High-3 part-time
Q. How is my annuity reduced after working full time for seven years, part time for 10 years and then full time for an additional 13 years? Is it still the high-3, or is there a reduction because of less money contributed for those 10 part-time years?
Tags: annuity, full-time work, high-3, OPM, part-time work
Service credit for part-time work
May 7th, 2013 | Annual leave Creditable service: CSRS Creditable service: FERS part-time RETIREMENT
Q. My previous and current employers added seven years to my service computation date for my work at USDA from April 1, 1981, through March 31, 1988.
The credit is documented in SF-50-B forms from these agencies dated Oct. 15, 1994, and Feb. 19, 1995. My current employer’s Employee Self Service website also incorporates this seven-year credit in calculating my estimated monthly annuity. My current employer’s HR unit, however, will give me only one year and two months’ credit under FERS for my work at USDA because the work was part time.
Since more than five years of my service at USDA took place before FERS started, am I entitled to an annuity calculated under CSRS rather than FERS rules?
NAF employment and federal rehire
May 7th, 2013 | CSRS annuity computation FERS annuity computation Re-employment Sick leave
Q. I was a nonappropriated funds government employee from 1979 to 1990 holding UA7, UA8 and UA9 positions (AAFES and Army NAF). I resigned in 1990 and have worked in the private sector since.
Now I plan to return to federal government employment as a GS5 or GS7.
How will my service time count toward retirement, and is it possible to repay my NAF pension funds into the system? Also, how will my accrued sick leave be handled?
Tags: annuity, CSRS, FERS, NAF, nonappropriated funds employment, service time, sick leave
VERA/VSIP and retirement benefits
May 1st, 2013 | annuity reduction Minimum retirement age PAY Special retirement supplement VERA VSIP
Q. I am a Defense Department civilian and have met my minimum retirement age. I will not be eligible for full retirement under FERS until September 2015.
By then, I will be 60 and will have 30 years of service.
If I accepted a VERA/VSIP (I am on the offer list), would I get hit with an annuity reduction if the offer is not the result of a reduction in force? If I could take the offer without a reduction, would I also receive the special retirement supplement?
Tags: annuity, FERS, reduction-in-force, special retirement supplement, VERA, VSIP, years of service
Part-time service and maximum government pension contribution
May 1st, 2013 | Creditable service: CSRS CSRS annuity computation High-3 LIFE INSURANCE part-time SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. My entrance on-duty date is May 1971, and I was reading that employees stop getting the government contribution to their retirement at 41 years one month. Would this apply for part-time employees? If not (being optimistic), would they factor in the part-time years of service and add on the years to equate to this timeline? For example, for someone who worked 10 years at 20 hours a week, deduct five years and continue contribution till the total 41 years one month are completed. Also, is there a ratio of how many retirees elect to take out an insurance policy on their spouse versus opting to pay for the survivor benefit? I find many elect to do the insurance option due to cost savings.
Tags: 80 percent limit, annuity, CSRS, insurance, part-time employment, Survivor benefits
Annuity and survivor’s benefit calculation
April 30th, 2013 | annuity reduction CSRS annuity computation Sick leave spouse benefits SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. I retired from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Jan. 3, 2007, after working there for 33½ years plus 1½ years of credit for accumulated sick leave. I elected to provide full survivor’s benefits to my wife.
Can I determine what my annuity would have been had I not elected to provide full survivor’s benefits to my wife? I know this information was provided to me before I decided to retire, but I cannot locate those documents.
Tags: annuity, CSRS, high-3, Survivor benefits
Retirement requests and HR inaction
April 30th, 2013 | RETIREMENT
Q. I recently was hired by the VA National Call Center as a legal administrative specialist after many years of separation from the federal government. I worked as a senior personnel management specialist for three federal agencies in Boston and left in 1986 when my husband was dying. I have been waiting for more than five months for my service computation date and leave category to be adjusted. When I left federal service, we did not have the benefit of computers, but such adjustments were typically made in less than a month for our employees. As I am a senior, having my time properly credited for CSRS retirement and having access to my correct accumulated leave is important. Repeated contacts to our HR liaison are fruitless. I’m laughingly told by management that some people have waiting four years for their leave to be corrected. I will be retired in four years. I have been researching the regulations and cannot find any required timelines for these actions. Is this correct? Do I have any recourse? I am also appalled that employees are told not to contact HR directly at our VA Columbia National Call Center. We are told to submit a request by email to our supervisors.
Some HR issues are none of my supervisor’s business. This is totally inappropriate. Please advise on recourse for this issue also. I tried to access an email the VA’s Office of HR Management but could not find one.
Tags: annuity, CSRS, human resources, RETIREMENT, service computation date