By Reg Jones
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
Early-outs and part-time service
May 14th, 2013 | Creditable service: CSRS Creditable service: FERS Early retirement part-time Postal Service RETIREMENT
Q. I’m a rural mail carrier and am wondering if I would qualify for an early out when/if offered. My duty date is April 1984 (29 years), but I was hired as a sub (rural carrier associate) and didn’t become regular until 1990, so my retirement computation date is January 1990 (23 years). But I recently turned 49, so I would need 25 years of service to retire under an early out because I am under age 50. I would have 25 years in if the counting period included my sub years.
Are my years of service calculated from when I was hired as an RCA in 1984 or when I went full time in 1990? I realize my annuity would be based on my full-time service, but would my years to total service be calculated with my part-time years? I realize rural carriers have not been offered early-outs yet , but there is much talk about it, and I’m afraid if they offer it before I turn 50 , I won’t qualify since much of my time was as a sub carrier.
Tags: Early retirement, part-time employment, Postal 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
Part-time service and law enforcement retirement
April 2nd, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a GS-1811 employee with 32 years of service, 25 under law enforcement coverage. I worked 14 of the law enforcement years part time, four days a week. Will I still be required to retire at the end of the month in which I turn 57, or will my mandatory age retirement be extended by the amount of time I worked part time?
Tags: law enforcement, mandatory age retirement, part-time employment
What is considered full-time employment?
July 24th, 2012 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a full-time Veterans Affairs Department employee and would like to reduce my work hours. Is there a specific number of hours that is still considered full-time (such as 32 or 35, as is sometimes found in the “real” world), or is any number fewer than 40 hours considered part time? Fewer hours with full-time benefits would be nice if that option is available, as opposed to prorated benefits and increased premiums for health benefits.
A. Per OPM’s rules (5 CFR part 340), a part-time work schedule is 16 to 32 hours a week. Once an employee works between 33 and 39 hours (66 and 78 hours a pay period), this is considered a full-time schedule.
Tags: full-time employment, health benefits, OPM, part-time employment
Retirement calculation for part time
June 21st, 2011 | RETIREMENT
Q: I have a friend who is eligible for retirement but wants to continue to work part time for the federal government in the same area. How is their retirement calculated for part time work?
A: Tell your friend to go to www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C055.pdf and scroll down to Subchapter 55B. Although this information originally only applied to FERS employees, thanks to a change in the law, it now also applies to those covered by CSRS.
Tags: CSRS, FERS, part-time employment, RETIREMENT
Part-time work and annuities
October 27th, 2010 | EMPLOYMENT RETIREMENT Work scheduling
Q: I recently had my retirement pay calculated. I was a part-timer during my first three years of employment — approximately 25 hours per week. I subsequently have had 13 years of full-time federal employment. It appears that I will incur a 10 percent penalty in my retirement pay because of those part-time years. Do you know if that will always be true no matter how long I stay as a federal employee?
A: The longer you work, the smaller the reduction in your annuity will be.
Tags: annuity, part-time employment
Salary may be reduced by annuity
October 25th, 2010 | Creditable service: FERS EMPLOYMENT Re-employment RETIREMENT
Q: I have a question on returning back to work part time in a federal job. I retired in February 2004 from the Postal Service. I retired in the Federal Employees Retirement System. I am thinking of returning back to work with the Transportation Security Administration. If I do, will it affect or reduce my annuity and my supplemental allowance?
A: Unless you are hired into a position that allows you to keep both your annuity and the full salary of your position, your new salary will be reduced by the amount of your annuity. Check before accepting the job.
Tags: FERS, part-time employment, re-employment
Buying back temp time
October 19th, 2010 | RETIREMENT
Q: I worked in a federal job as a temporary employee where no retirement deductions were taken out for seven years. I was then converted to a permanent employee. I am now 62 years old with 33 years of federal service and a service computation date of 1977. I am looking at retirement but I am reading about the requirement to pay a deposit back so that my annuity will not be reduced by 10 percent. How do I go about determining what that amount is, and how do I pay it back?
A: Because your period of nondeduction service occurred before Oct. 1, 1982, you have the option of making a deposit to get credit for that time in your annuity computation or having your annuity reduced by 10 percent of the amount you owe, plus accrued interest. You can find out how much you owe by completing Standard Form 2803, Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit, available from you personnel office or online, and sending it to the Office of Personnel Management. Once you have that information, you can figure out which is the best option.
Tags: annuity computation, buyback, buying back time, nondeduction service, Office of Personnel Management, OPM, part-time employment, temporary employment
Re-employment rules after a buyout
August 6th, 2010 | EMPLOYMENT Re-employment
Q: I retired from a federal agency this year and accepted a buyout from my organization. I am not ready to stop working and need to continue working part-time. I know that I cannot seek employment with another federal agency or contractor within five years without having to repay the buyout money. Does this rule apply to all other jobs, like working for public school systems, the state offices of congressman and senators, or state government offices? What are my options for seeking employment?
A: The repayment requirement applies to all federal jobs. It doesn’t apply to employment with state or local governments, or in the private sector.
Tags: buyout, part-time employment, re-employment
Re-employment, Social Security and the WEP
August 6th, 2010 | Benefits EMPLOYMENT Re-employment SOCIAL SECURITY Windfall elimination provision
Q: I will retire at the end of this year with 33 years’ service in the Civil Service Retirement System. I will be 58 years old. I have 10 quarters of Social Security credits I earned before working for the federal government. Under a new law effective Jan. 1, 2010, federal employees can be re-employed after retirement on a part-time basis without the earnings affecting their retirement annuity. Am I assuming correctly that the part-time earnings I receive count toward Social Security? Is there an effect on the windfall elimination provision?
A: You would be covered by Social Security during your period of re-employment. If at any time you become eligible for a Social Security benefit, the WEP would reduce that benefit.
Tags: annuity, Civil Service Retirement System, CSRS, part-time employment, re-employment, SOCIAL SECURITY, WEP, windfall elimination provision
Retirement benefits formula for part-time service
June 16th, 2010 | Creditable service: FERS RETIREMENT
Q: I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System and have 25 1/2 years of federal service. Early in my career, I had a few years of part-time employment. What is the formula to figure how this impacts my annuity? A FERS Benefit Estimate Report from the Office of Personnel Managment listed a FERS part-time proration factor of 92 percent at age 50 with 23 1/2 years of service and 94 percent at age 56 1/2 with 30 years of service. I am assuming this means my annuity will be reduced by 6 percent at 30 years of service. If I work beyond 30 years of service, would the that reduction be eliminated? Also, what is the definition of “part-time employment”?
A: Because you had a period or periods of part-time service, your annuity will be prorated regardless of how long you work. You’ll find the formula you’re looking for on the OPM web site here (scroll down to Subchapter 55B, Part 55B2, “Computing FERS Annuities that Include Part-time Service”).
Tags: annuity, Federal Employees Retirement System, FERS, OPM, part-time, part-time employment, prorated benefits