By Reg Jones
Military buyback
June 4th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I have been misinformed about the buyback program.
Before attending a military benefits/buyback briefing, I had been told that once I decided to buy back my military time, my monthly military retirement pension would immediately stop.
That is the only reason I did not buy it back sooner.
For clarification, if I buy back my 22 years of military service, will I continue to receive my monthly military retirement pension until I am eligible to retire from federal employment? And on the day I am eligible and retire from federal employment, am I required at that time to waive my military pension to have my military and civilian time recomputed to receive the combined total federal service time toward my final pension?
Tags: annuity, military buyback, military retired pay, military service
Law enforcement and non-law enforcement work
May 29th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. My service computation date is Dec. 1, 1990, and I am 45 and a Customs and Border Protection officer. I bought back my military time, and as of 2008, we are considered law enforcement and have a better retirement. I will have 30 years’ government time and be 52 in seven years. Can I retire when I have 30 years in government, or do I have to wait till I am 56 and 9 months? Am I eligible for the Social Security supplement, and if so, when?
Tags: law enforcement officer, military buyback, military service, service computation date
Early retirement at 30 years and military buyback
May 28th, 2013 | Early retirement Eligibility Military service deposits RETIREMENT
Q. I have 20 years of military service and will have 10 years three months of federal service when I am scheduled to return from overseas. I will be 52½. I want to submit for early retirement with 30 years’ combined service. Should I buy back my military time or receive dual retirement if my request for early retirement is approved?
Military buyback and severance pay
May 28th, 2013 | DOWNSIZING Military service deposits Reductions in force RETIREMENT
Q. I am a new civil employee. I received an early-out due to force reduction. I am a 50 percent disability veteran I paid the severance pay to the Veterans Affairs Department before I could receive compensation. Now I want buy back my military time toward federal retirement. Is the severance pay included in my total earnings during my active duty? If so, is severance pay deducted from the amount to buy back time, since it was paid to the VA?
Retirement at MRA with fewer than 10 years
May 22nd, 2013 | annuity reduction Deferred retirement Minimum retirement age Resignation
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
Staying in CSRS versus FERS or CSRS offset
May 21st, 2013 | Creditable service: CSRS Creditable service: FERS CSRS annuity computation CSRS Offset EMPLOYMENT FERS annuity computation Hiring and placement RETIREMENT term employee
Q. I served in the military from June 1974 to April 1981. I was then hired by civil service in April 1983 as a temporary employee. I was picked up as permanent in July 1984, and my service computation date is June 1976.
For whatever reason, when FERS was implemented, I was left in the original CSRS retirement plan and have been paying into CSRS for 29 years and 11 months. I applied for retirement computation last month and was notified by the human resource office that I will have to switch to FERS or CSRS offset to retire. Since I have invested into CRSR my whole career, can I remain in CSRS?
Tags: CSRS, CSRS offset, FERS, military service
National Guard service and military time
May 15th, 2013 | Military service deposits RETIREMENT
Q. I joined the Illinois National Guard on Dec. 23, 1981. I served boot camp time only from May 10, 1982, to June 25, 1982. I started getting blisters under my feet due to the boots and received a medical honorable discharge July 23, 1982. I have seven months of time.
Can the seven months be applied as military time for retirement?
Military service and buyback
May 15th, 2013 | annuity reduction LEAVE Military service deposits Minimum retirement age RETIREMENT
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
Military buyback and disability
May 15th, 2013 | Disability retirement Military service deposits RETIREMENT
Q. I am a 67-year-old military retiree. I retired in 1988 with 21 years of active-duty service. I draw a 40 percent VA disability, although I have three more claims, which may increase my percentage. I am also employed by the FAA as an FG-13, step 2 with five years of service. I am considering buying back my 21 years of active-duty service using a payment plan.
Because of using a payment plan, I won’t have the 21 years bought back until approximately one year before my planned retirement from the FAA.
1) Will I continue to draw my military retirement pay while making payments until I retire from the FAA, at which time I would forfeit my military retirement pay and draw my FERS retirement?
2) Once I’ve bought back my military time and I retire from the FAA under FERS, will my VA disability be affected?
Tags: disability, FERS, military buyback, military retired pay, military service
Military buyback and service computation date
May 15th, 2013 | LEAVE Military service deposits RETIREMENT service computation date
Q. I am a former civil servant with six years’ civil service who bought back military service. My service computation date for leave is September 1993. Is there a different SCD for retirement? Also: If I return to civil service, can I buy back military service completed since my previous civil service and military buyback? If so, would this also adjust my SCD further? (I am an Air Force reservist who has had several activated tours, including a recent six-month deployment.)
Tags: military buyback, military service, service computation date
Federal retirement and re-employment
May 14th, 2013 | Eligibility FEHBP Military service deposits Minimum retirement age part-time Re-employment Re-enrollment RETIREMENT
Q. 1. I left the Fed in November 2011 with 22 years of creditable service (military time buyback included) and, as I am under my MRA of 56, would not be eligible for my retirement benefits without penalty until age 62, correct? 2. Can I work part time (consultant) on an agency’s payroll without affecting my current status, or would that part time add to my benefit? 3. Also, if I came back to the Fed and did three more years of full-time work before age 62, would that reinstate my health benefits?
Tags: creditable service, Early retirement, federal re-employment, FEHB, military buyback, military service, minimum retirement age
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
Pension amount
May 8th, 2013 | Disability retirement High-3 Military service deposits RETIREMENT
Q. I retired from the military after 22 years of active duty and receive a VA pension and 10 percent disability pension. Since then, I have been in the federal government for 10 years, and I hope to retire at 20 years and 62 years old. What will my retirement look like?
Tags: disability, high-3, military service, pension
Three annuities
May 8th, 2013 | annuity reduction FERS annuity computation Military service deposits MRA + 10 Postal Service Postponed retirement RETIREMENT
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 disability and military redeposit
May 8th, 2013 | Disability retirement Military service deposits Postal Service RETIREMENT
Q. I’m a 55-year-old CSRS employee filing for disability retirement from the USPS. I have eight years military but have redeposited only half of what is required.
Will I be able to continue making deposits while OPM reviews my case? And if not, will I get my initial deposit back in a lump sum?
Tags: CSRS, disability, lump sum, military buyback, military service, OPM, Postal Service
Military buyback and retirement
May 7th, 2013 | FERS annuity computation Military service deposits RETIREMENT
Q. I am about to separate (not retire) from active duty with 20½ years of service and transfer to the Air National Guard as a military technician at GS-13. I am told that if I buy back my time, my military pension will not be affected — that I will still draw on it normally when I finally retire at whatever officer grade I achieve. I plan on staying with this unit for an additional 20 years in this position, and I am intrigued by the prospect of buying back my military time and securing a FERS retirement with 40 years’ service (20 active federal plus the 20 buyback) and my military pension (20½ years’ active duty plus 20 years of National Guard time).
Am I understanding this correctly? Will I secure each retirement (federal and military)?
Tags: FERS, military buyback, military service
Return to active duty and FERS retirement
May 7th, 2013 | Creditable service: FERS Military service deposits RETIREMENT
Q. My military service computation date is Feb. 13, 1983, although I initially entered military service in November 1982. I have completed 30 years of military service, of which 12 years were active duty and the rest in the reserves.
Additionally, I entered federal civil service in February 1992 and made my military buyback deposit to adjust my service computation date to July 1989. I am serving in the excepted service.
I am considering voluntarily returning to active duty but am concerned that if I do so, the time I spend on active duty will not be counted toward my FERS retirement.
Tags: FERS, military buyback, military service
HR mistake and leave adjustment
May 7th, 2013 | Annual leave LEAVE Military service deposits
Q. I retired from the Army with more than 22 years of active duty. I submitted my paperwork to FBI HR to get credit for my military time on my first day of employment in October 2010. I inquired numerous times about the status of the documents but never received a satisfactory answer. Then, after more than a year of asking, I found out the HR person submitted the paperwork to an incorrect address (now November 2011). The paperwork was resubmitted by another HR person because I told them all that they submitted it incorrectly. I finally received six hours of annual leave per pay period, which began this year. How can I get credit (six hours a pay period) from the beginning of my employment with the FBI? FBI HR told me it was from the time of the documents submitted getting certified. What are your thoughts on this situation?
Tags: annual leave, HR error, military service, OPM
FERS early retirement
May 1st, 2013 | Creditable service: FERS DOWNSIZING VSIP
Q. My service computation date is April 1983. I am 51 and a veteran. I did seven years on active duty. Am I eligible for the $25,000 early retirement? I am under FERS.
USPS survivor annuity and Social Security
April 24th, 2013 | Benefits FEHBP HEALTH INSURANCE part-time Postal Service SOCIAL SECURITY spouse benefits SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. My husband died at age 51 in 2000. He worked 28 years for USPS, plus four years in the military, for 32 years (he paid no Social Security taxes for the 28 years in USPS). I have received widow’s death benefit annuity payments since his death, in addition to purchasing the USPS medical insurance plan. I worked full time in the medical profession until his death and have worked part time since 2000. I would like to take my Social Security at age 62 (in 3 years). Am I still eligible to receive the USPS death benefit annuity (and insurance option) once I start collecting my Social Security?
Tags: FEHB, military service, Postal Service, SOCIAL SECURITY, survivor annuity