By Reg Jones
Retire and rehire?
March 23rd, 2012 | Uncategorized
Q. I have about 25 years of FERS service, am in a 6c covered law enforcement job and am looking to move into another federal agency in a non-law-enforcement capacity but at slightly higher pay. Because the recently enacted Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act stipulates that only law enforcement officers who “retired” from a job with law enforcement arrest and weapons carriage authority at the time of retirement qualify, I am considering the possibility of retiring on a Saturday (at the end of a pay period) and then “rehiring” in my FERS non- law-enforcement job the next day (Sunday), since this would be the start of the next pay period, and would apparently satisfy the statutory requirement of “retiring,” while a simple change of agency transfer would not. Would doing this, if I could even arrange it, cause any problems such as the new agency (or OPM) applying my new salary against an offset, or would I simply draw my new salary as if the retirement did not exist, i.e., it would be “canceled” since I was immediately rehired? I am also concerned that with the current OPM retirement processing backlog, I might be creating a problem.
A. Retiring at the end of a pay period and being employed by another agency the following day wouldn’t be any different than retiring and going back to work in a week, a month or a year later. With rare exception, your salary would be offset by the amount of your annuity. While it might be a nightmare for you and your new agency’s payroll office to start a new job before the final amount of your annuity was known, it could be sorted out down the line. You’d just have to set enough money aside to be able to return any overpayments of salary that were made to you.
Tags: annuity, law enforcement, Offset, re-employment
Re-entering CSRS
March 23rd, 2012 | Uncategorized
Q. Can you direct me to detailed instructions on how to re-enter the CSRS? The information that I have gotten so far (off the Internet) is too vague to be useful.
A. You’ll find the rules governing which retirement system a rehired employee can be in at www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C010.pdf. Just scroll down to Section 10A1.2-1.
Tags: CSRS, re-employment
Law enforcement officer retirement
March 20th, 2012 | Uncategorized
Q. If someone retires as a law enforcement officer, is he still eligible to obtain another federal job without it interfering with the LEO retirement?
A. Yes. However, as a rule, the salary of your new position would be offset by the amount of your annuity.
Tags: annuity, law enforcement, re-employment, RETIREMENT
Re-employment
March 15th, 2012 | Uncategorized
Q. I retired (took an early out with 27 years of service) in 1997 at 52 under CSRS. I have been working in private industry since 2000. I understand that if I went back to work for the government, my CSRS pension would be deducted from my salary? What about hard to fill jobs, such as low-paying jobs with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service in Europe?
A. While every agency has limited authority to hire retirees to meet critical needs and allow them to receive both their annuity and the full salary of a position, the Defense Department has broader authority to do that. To find out which jobs might fit your needs, start by going to www.USAjobs.gov. You can also check with agencies that have offices near where you are living, They may be able to direct you to activities here and abroad.
Tags: CSRS, Early retirement, re-employment
Rehired Annuitant – CSRS Offset
March 6th, 2012 | Uncategorized
Q. I took early retirement in 1999 but have been re-employed with the federal government since May 2004. Currently I am a permanent employee in the competitive service per my SF-50. One of my employees filed an IG complaint regarding my re-employment. The IG person told me that at the anniversary of my hiring that I would be let go since there was a one year limit or a waiver to the one year mandate would have to be sought. I am a CSRS Offsetr etirement individual.
Does the DoD have a limit of one year for its rehired annuitants?
Does the employing agency have to request a waiver after employment of one year?
A. In addition to governmentwide appointing authorities, the Department of Defense has been granted a variety of special additional authorities. It’s possible that the one under which you were hired was either term or time-limited. If so, a waiver might be required to extend the appointment.
Tags: CSRS offset, re-employment
Back to work
February 28th, 2012 | Re-employment
Q: I was employed by the federal government between August 1983 and September 1999. At the time I left civil service, I withdrew contributions of $50,000. I have been offered a position with the federal government again. I am now 64. If I accept the position, will I be eligible for a pension? How many years would I have to work? Am I eligible for redeposit of funds?
A: In order to get credit for your prior service, you would have to redeposit that money plus accumulated interest. If you did so, you’d be eligible for an immediate annuity because the requirements for getting that are age 62 with five years of service, both of which you’d meet. If you didn’t redeposit that money, you’d only get credit for the time you work after being re-employed. Therefore you could only retire after you have five years of service.
Tags: re-employment, RETIREMENT
Returning employee
February 20th, 2012 | Re-employment
Q: I worked for the government for three years a long time ago and returned recently. I will be eligible to retire at 62 in about three years. I plan to work until 67, if possible. When should I pay back the withdrawals I took from my CSRS retirement? Is it better to do it sooner or later, assuming that I have the funds available?
A: Making a deposit sooner than later is the better option because interest continues to accumulate on the amount owed.
Tags: re-employment, RETIREMENT
CSRS return to work
February 17th, 2012 | SOCIAL SECURITY
Q: I worked under CSRS for 18 1/2 years, ending in 1987, and withdrew my contributions at the time.I have worked in private industry paying full Social Security for 29-30 years (work totally separate than my CSRS work.)
I have recently rejoined the government and was placed in CSRS-Offset retirement.I am 62 and plan to work another three to five years under the CSRS-Offset system (time frame somewhat relative on whether I buy back my previous retirement credit.) I am deciding on redeposit (with interest, of course) to obtain the 18 1/2 years of CSRS retirement credit I formerly had. If I redeposit, will my ultimate CSRS retirement related to those years be reduced by Social Security even though my Social Security income is from separate private employment combined with a relatively short time under the CSRS-Offset system and those 18 1/2 years of income are not counted in determining OASDI benefit? (Or will that time be included as a result of my redeposit? I don’t believe that the redeposit amount includes anything contributed to OSADI, correct?)
A: Because you took a refund of your retirement contributions before March 1, 1991, you can either repay the refund, plus interest, or not do so. If you don’t, you’ll still get credit for that time in determining your years of service but your annuity will be actuarially reduced based on the amount you owe and your age when you retire. If you retire before age 62, at age 62, your CSRS annuity will be offset only by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while covered by CSRS Offset. If you retire on or after reaching age 62, the offset will occur on the day you retire. The amount of Social Security benefit you are entitled to based on your entire employment record won’t change.
Tags: CSRS, CSRS offset, re-employment
Re-employment and RIF
February 15th, 2012 | Reductions in force
Q: Our base is about to undergo a Reduction in Force. I retired from the Air force Reserve and I’m a retired civil service employee due to the fact I was in the Air Force Technician Program. When I turned 60, I was forced to retire. I am receiving an annuity and have been re-employed. Would my service computation date still help me keep my job, or would I end up at the bottom of the list since I am a re-employed, rehired annuitant?
A: As a re-employed annuitant, you are an “at will” employee. This means you can be released at any time and for any reason. Your service computation date wouldn’t protect you because, as a re-employed annuitant, you would have the lowest retention standing.
Tags: FERS, re-employment
5 years for recomputation
February 8th, 2012 | EMPLOYMENT
Q: I am a re-employed annuitant (my annuity is being offset from my salary). I have about 2.5 years in this status. If I take a DoD position for a few years where I cannot have my salary offset, and then return to a position in which an offset is allowed for another 2.5 years, will I be eligible for recomputation when I again retire?
A: Yes.
Tags: re-employment