Q: I used to work for the U.S. Postal Service, first as a mail handler, clerk, then a letter carrier. I served for about 10 years. I am 55. What would I do to find out if I have benefits and how could I get them? A: If you didn’t take a refund of your retirement contributions when you left government, you would be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62. To apply for it, two months before you reach age 62, you’d need to complete OPM Form 1496A, Application for Deferred Retirement (available at http://opm.gov/froms/pdf_fill/opm1496a.pdf), and send it…
Monthly Archives: May, 2010
Q: My mother worked part-time for the Veterans Affairs Department, less than 30 hours a week, from 1986 to 1992. She was Grade 4. In 1992, she retired at age 63. No one ever mentioned the possibility of a FERS annuity. Is she eligible? She worked at least five calendar years. She is now 81. If she is eligible, would she be able to get the annuity back until 1992 when she retired? In a lump sum? How would she apply? A: The good news is that your mother will be eligible for a deferred annuity, which will be retroactive…
Q: I will retire in August at the age of 67. My husband is 68 and works in the private sector. We are covered under my FEHB insurance. We have participated in an HMO for the past 10 years and are satisfied with the services we have received. We both have Medicare Part A, but not Part B. We have not used Part A because of my status as active employee. In one of your previous articles, you stated, “if you are enrolled in an HMO, which already covers most of your medical expenses, you may decide not to enroll…
Q: I am considering taking a government position and buying back active-duty time for FERS. If I do, when I hit age 62 and become eligible for the government pension, will it be reduced because of my Military Reserve Pension that I will draw at age 60? A: Your reserve retired pay won’t have any affect on your civilian annuity. You will be able to receive both without a reduction in either of them.
Q: I worked from 1972 to 1978 at the Department of Agriculture, then left to work for a private firm from 1978 to 1984. When I left, I took a refund of my retirement contributions. I didn’t work from 1984 to 1994 and returned to federal service from March 1994 to present and am covered by CSRS Offset. I am leaving federal service by the end of June. Am I eligible to receive any retirement benefits? I have 393.50 hours of SL and 303 hrs of AL and 24 hours of CT. I am 55 and will be 56 in…
Q: Prior to attending college, I worked for the federal government for a little more than a year as a CSRS employee. Years later, I became employed with the Department of Energy under FERS. I can’t recall whether or not I withdrew my retirement funds from the CSRS when I quit the government in 1979. If I did, can I repay those funds so that my USGS employment time counts toward my length of service? A: If you left your contributions in the retirement fund, that period of CSRS service will be treated as FERS service and you’ll be due…
Q: I served 12 years of Army active duty, from October 1987 to July 1999. If I were to obtain a GS 13 position, would my 12 years go toward a government retirement plan? How many years would I need to continue to work at the GS position until I would be able to retire with 20 years? A: That period of active-duty military service would only be creditable if you were to make a deposit to the civilian retirement system. That deposit would be 3 percent of your basic pay while on active duty (not including allowances or differentials).…
Q: I made a deposit to FERS for 20 years of military service and have been working for the federal government for 10 years, which gives me 30 years of federal service. If I was to resign today, at age 50, would I continue to keep my military retirement pay until I reached my MRA (56) and could start drawing my FERS retirement? Will the FERS retirement consist of (10 years) Social Security Supplement, FERS, and TSP, or would I have to wait on the TSP? A: Having made a deposit for your years of active-duty service, if you resigned…
Q: After 25 years’ service, I retired from a USG agency in February 2008, accepting an early retirement offer which included a Voluntary Severance Incentive Payment of $25,000. (After withholding tax was deducted from this VSIP, I actually only received just more than $16,000.) I was told that, for five years, post-retirement, I was barred from working for the federal government, unless an agency obtained a waiver to employ me directly or unless I repaid the VSIP. Otherwise, I would have to work for and as a contractor. My situation raises a few related questions: 1. If I wanted to…
Q: For 12 years I was a federal police lieutenant (GS-083) working for the Defense Department at China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, California. In 1997, I was offered and approved for the VISP/VERA program. The government had purchased my primary residence at mortgage value as part of the package. They also provided me a severance package as well as all of my retirement contributions. I was 37 when I left government service. Since I was a career civil servant that left under the VISP/VERA program, does the above separation mean that I am retired from civil service?…