Q. I am considering retirement from the Postal Service after 35 years (includes military time) and am would like to become a TSA agent. Would I be able to collect my CSRS pension and work FERS if hired? A. You’d need to check with the Transportation Security Administration to confirm that you would be able to receive both, without a reduction in either.
Monthly Archives: December, 2009
Q. Why is Medicare Part B premiums increasing for retirees who currently have Part B? I thought only “new” enrollees would be paying the higher rate in 2010. A. Most Medicare beneficiaries will not see a Part B monthly premium increase as a result of a “hold harmless” provision in the current law. This allows for 73 percent of beneficiaries to be protected from an increase raising the 2010 Part B monthly premiums. Approximately 27 percent of beneficiaries are not subject to the hold-harmless provision because they are new enrollees during the year (3 percent), they are subject to the…
Q. I have never been able to find the formula for calculating the FERS Special Supplement for those employees who retire at their minimum retirement age under FERS. As I transferred from CSRS to FERS during a previous open season, I would like to know if the Windfall Eliminations Provision is applied when calculating the Special Supplement. I will have less than 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. So will the 40 percent multiplier (rather than 90 percent) be applied to the first component of my Social Security calculation? A. The WEP doesn’t apply to the special retirement…
Q. I am on CSRS disability from the Postal Service. In June 2010, I turn 60 years of age. Am I obligated to report any earnings I make in 2010 in the private sector for the whole or part of the year? Or will I still be under earnings and medical restrictions as I am now in 2009? I am under the impression that when I turn 60 some things change. Is this true? A. Up to age 60, the Office of Personnel Management says you are subject to periodic medical re-evaluation to determine if you are still disabled, and…
Q. I retired from DoD in 2007 under Civil Service Retirement System at age 56 with 31 years of service. In 2008, I went back to work for DoD as a part-time employee working 16 hours per week (832 hours per year). I was hired to fulfill functions critical to the mission of my agency. My SF 50 lists me as a permanent employee and my Annuitant Indicator is CS-No Reduction. My question is: Assuming my employer wants me to continue working, how long can I work on my current part-time job? I have read that an appointment cannot last…
Q. The U.S. Postal Service has given employees retiring voluntarily on Oct. 31, 2009 an amount of $15,000. Will the first check of $10,000 have everything taken out for federal and state taxes, Medicare, Social Security, health benefits, etc? When would my first annuity check start? I am a Civil Service offset employee with 12 years under FERS. I had a total of 30 years of both civil service and FERS but I left and came back to the USPS in 1997 (7 years). I took out the money in the retirement fund and so lost 20 years credit to…
Q. I am reading the article, “It is not too late to retire in 2009 or plan for 2010 or 2011.” I understand that federal employees should retire by the last day of the month to get their annuity starting from the first of the following month. Example: Federal system employee can retire on Dec. 31, 2009. The annuity will start from Jan. 1, 2010. However, the pay period ends on Jan. 2. The employee will lose annual leave for Friday and paid leave on Saturday and Sundays? Though those days will be paid much less under the annuity. Is…
Q. I was an active-duty firefighter in the Air Force. Does that time count towards the special computation for retirement of LE/FF/ATC? I am currently not a FF in the federal system but am a federal employee. A: No, it does not. It would only count if you were a firefighter who was called to active duty and then returned to your firefighter position.
Q. Can anyone explain why retirees are not included in the 2 percent cost-of-living allowance for 2010? Is it because the President is pro union and retirees are not covered by the union? As far as I know, this is the first time retirees were excluded from annual COLAs. It would seem to me that retirees are more in need of the COLA than currently employed full-time employees. A: There are two pieces of law involved here. The salaries of employees are governed by the pay comparability act, which compares the salaries of federal jobs with those in the private…
It’s not too late to retire in 2009, and it’s not too soon to at least begin planning to retire in 2010 or 2011. For this year and the next two years, the calendar is working in favor of many of you. Let me explain. As my regular readers know, my position is that there is no one best date to retire. However, each of you can pick the best one for you if you know how. First, you must figure out if you are ready to retire. To do that, you have to answer three questions: Do you meet…