Q: I am a FERS employee, and I would like to know how OPM calculates the Supplement annuity (this is in addition to the FERS amount) for someone who retires with more than 20 years of service before their 62nd birthday. Do they base it on one’s salary or years of service? A: The special retirement supplement approximates the Social Security benefit you earned as a FERS employee. It is paid to those who retire after their minimum retirement age with 30 years of service, at age 60 or later with 20 years of service, and to those who are…
Monthly Archives: May, 2010
Q: I have a question regarding locality pay determination. I have been accepted to attend the Army War College starting in July. I will be there for 10 months. Since I am at Fort Monroe and will be reassigned to the Pentagon but will be TDY to Carlisle Barracks to attend the War College, shouldn’t my locality pay be determined by where I am assigned? A: While I don’t know what your official duty station should be, I can give you some information that may be helpful. Certain location-based pay entitlements, such as locality pay, are based on the location…
Q: I read post on credit for military service with great interest. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, what is the current status of that service relative to my current Federal service. A: If you are covered by CSRS and your Peace Corps or VISTA service was performed before October 1, 1982, you’ll receive credit for that time (excluding training time) for both eligibility and annuity purposes. Whether you make a deposit for that time is optional. However, if it isn’t paid, your annuity would be reduced by 10 percent of the amount due, including accrued interest. On the other…
Q: I retired from the Foreign Service in 1995 after 27 years of service. Prior to that, I worked for 15 years as a merchant mariner, as a miner, and in the Navy. I paid into Social Security during all of this time. My Foreign Service pension derived from the “old” Foreign Service Disability and Retirement System (FSDRS). Why is it that my Social Security benefit was reduced by two-thirds, when my covered private sector and Navy employment had no relationship with my later career as a Foreign Service Officer? A: The law is clear. Anyone who receives a pension…
Q: I learned in 2008 that my disability retirement annuity is wrong because my Preliminary and Final SF 2806 forms were prepared by a state-funded agency rather than my former employer. I was an Army Department employee. I have provided extensive evidence to OPM, however, they have refused to correct my annuity or explain why a state-funded agency prepared my separation documents, why they don’t match the personnel action forms prepared by my former employer, and why my last day in pay status was provided to OPM by the state-funded agency two months after I was separated. I have been…
Q: I spent two years (2004-2006) working for the Veterans Administration at a work-study position in Buffalo, N.Y. Does this time count toward FERS retirement eligibility and annuity computation purposes? A: Not to my knowledge. However, I suggest that you raise this question with your local personnel office, which, if necessary, can check with OPM.
Is military service creditable for civilian retirement purposes? Both current employees and military members who are considering working for the federal government e-mail me looking for answers to that question. Creditable military service is: * Active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard; after June 30, 1960, in the Public Health Service commissioned corps; or, after June 30, 1961, in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration commissioned corps. * Time as a cadet in the Army, Air Force or Coast Guard academies or as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. * Active duty or…
Q: I have an appointment letter with specific dates listed for a qualifying nonappropriated-funds employment from the U.S. Army at the Army Youth Activities camp in 1964. I have confirming information from microfiche records that have been officially certified that list the same employer (U.S. Army AYA Camp) for the same quarter as the specific dates listed in the appointment letter, and at the same pay specified in that letter. What else is required by regulation for verifying this service? These two documents taken together seem sufficient. A: The only requirement is that you provide convincing evidence that you performed…
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System optionally retired rehired annuitant. Because I am under CSRS for retirement, is my salary as a rehired annuitant subject to Social Security withholding? A: As a pure CSRS rehire, you aren’t subject to Social Security deductions unless you were hired as a senior official. If you were, you’d be covered by CSRS Offset, and Social Security deductions would be mandatory.
Q: My father retired from federal civil service in 1974. At that time, he elected a survivor annuity for my mother with a base of $1,300. Initially, the Office of Personnel Management took out about $175 a month from his annuity for the survivor annuity, and of course this went up annually via cost-of-living adjustments, the same way his regular annuity did. He passed away in 2009. The OPM has calculated the survivor annuity for my mother, and she is receiving $789 a month net, reduced by $153 for insurance, which leaves $636 a month. Over the 35 years of…