By Reg Jones
Personnel records
March 31st, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I worked as an on-call substitute clerk carrier at the Kenilworth substation at 6270 Kenilworth Ave., Riverdale, MD 20737 from June 1965 to April 1967. How can I document for my retirement?
Tags: personnel records, Postal Service
Postal Service and Medicare
June 8th, 2011 | Medicare
Q: A friend of mine is currently receiving disability from the Postal Service. When she turned 65 and applied for Medicare, she was told she did not qualify because she did not have enough credits. Part of the time that she worked for the Postal Service does not show up on her Social Security service report. Is there any way to prove that she worked during that time? If so, can this count toward Medicare credits?
A: It’s not a question of whether she worked during that time; it’s whether Medicare deductions were taken from her pay. If that service was before Jan. 1, 1984, they wouldn’t have been. If she wants to get a copy of her entire federal civilian service record, she can contact the National Personnel Records Center. She’ll find their address and phone number at www.archive.gov/st-louis.
Tags: disability, Medicare, Medicare deduction, personnel records, Postal Service
Time in service
June 2nd, 2011 | EMPLOYMENT
Q: Do you know where and who can be contacted to determine time in service BEFORE you retire? I just received a 20-year federal service award dated March 31, 2011. My pay slip states my service computation date as 5/31/1991. What is the difference? How can I find out exactly the amount of time I currently have that will be used for my pension calculations?
A: Your service computation date (SCD) is the one that will be used to determine your years of service. You’ll have to check with your personnel office to find out why they selected the earlier date for your award.
Time with postal service
May 31st, 2011 | Hiring and placement
Q: Who do I contact to find out how long I worked for the postal service?
A: Since you aren’t currently a federal employee and can’t go to your personnel office and retrieve that information from your Official Personnel Folder (OPF), you’ll have to request that information from the National Personnel Records Center. Here’s their instructions: Federal law [5 USC 552a(b)] requires that all requests for records and information be submitted in writing. Each request must be signed (in cursive) and dated (within the last year). Please identify the documents or information needed and explain the purpose of your request.
Certain basic information needed to locate civilian personnel records, includes: full name used during Federal employment, date of birth, Social Security Number (if applicable), name and location of employing Federal agency, beginning and ending dates of Federal service.
Written requests (signed and dated) may be mailed or faxed to:
National Personnel Records Center, Annex
1411 Boulder Boulevard
Valmeyer, IL 62295
Fax: 618-935-3014
Since you may not know the exact dates of your employment with the Postal Service, you’ll have to do the best you can, for example, by approximating when you worked there, such as “1985 to 1989” or “late 1980s.”
Finding employment records
January 20th, 2011 | Uncategorized
Q: My father worked approximately nine years for the Postal Service as a rural mail carrier in the 1960s. He was employed both part time and full time, and he did not take a pay out upon leaving the post office. How might he find out his dates of service and whether he has a deferred annuity?
A: His records are stored in the National Personnel Records Center, located in St. Louis, Mo. The instructions for getting that information will be found at www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel/index.html#. Once he has that information, he can complete OPM Form 1496A, Application for Deferred Retirement, available at www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/opm1496a.pdf, and send it to OPM. If he has five years of creditable service and is at least 62 years old, he would be eligible for an annuity based on that service.
Tags: annuity, employment history, personnel records, Postal Service
Previous work history
January 19th, 2011 | Uncategorized
Q: I was a letter carrier back in the early 1980s. How can I find work information regarding my work history with the USPS?
A: You can get it from the National Personnel Records Center. Go to www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel/index.html# and follow the instructions printed there.