Q: Can a 56-year-old with 15 years in the federal system submit paperwork to retire? A: As a FERS employee, you could retire under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age plus at least 10 but fewer than 30 years of service). However, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 62. You could reduce or eliminate the age penalty by postponing the receipt of your annuity until a later date.
Monthly Archives: May, 2010
Q: I started as an enlisted soldier and recently was promoted to lieutenant colonel. I plan to retire from the military Feb. 1, 2013, which will give me 24 years and six months of active-duty service. I will be almost 43 at that time. I am considering obtaining a GS job, one prospective position is at the GS12 level, but am admittedly a little confused about the overall buyback program, and have the following hypothetical questions: 1. I understand I would have to work at least five years in the GS position to qualify for a retirement. Is this true,…
Q: How do I terminate a retired annuitant from the agreed-upon year of service needed at the time? Will paperwork be needed? What if the service provided by the retired annuitant is not working out for the organization, are we just stuck with the situation or is there a regulation that I can reference to ensure we are not faced with stiff penalties later? A: Re-employed annuitants serve at the will of the appointing officer and can be terminated at any time.
Q: I am retired military with 20 years of active duty. I am a GS-14 with two years of federal service. I am 47 years old. What would the benefit be to buy back my military time? A: If you made a deposit to the civilian retirement system for your 10 years of active-duty service, it would be added to your actual service time in determining your eligibility to retire and, when you retire, your annuity would be 10 percent higher than if you didn’t make a deposit. The deposit required would be 3 percent of your basic active-duty pay,…
Q: My husband turns 65 next year and will be eligible for Medicare Part B. I am a federal employee, and he has been on my FEHB plan for years because he is on Social Security Disability. If I understand this correctly, if Medicare Part B will not pay for a procedure or doctor, then Blue Cross also will not pay. Do we even have to take Medicare Part B? I plan on keeping my Blue Cross after retirement. If we do not take Medicare Part B, will this affect my FEHB plan coverage. A: Medicare and your health benefits…
Q: I withdrew my CSRS retirement in 1993 and then started back in the government in 1999 and was hired as a CSRS offset employee. My service comp date is October 1981. I also have years of service from 1977 to 1981 and then came back in 1982 and worked until 1993. I resigned in 1993 and went back into government from 1994 to 1995 and then resigned again. I then came back in the government in 1999 and I am still working. I am a CSRS Offset who unfortunately withdrew my retirement when I left in 1993. I asked…
Q: My daughter turned 22 in March, so her insurance on my policy through the Defense Department (Blue Cross) expired. Since the new health care reform bill extends coverage to age 26, but does not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2011, how does that affect her? Can she be reinstated on Jan. 1st to our current health insurance coverage as she previously was? A: During the interim, she would be able to enroll as an individual under the Temporary Continuation of Coverage provision, for which she would pay 100 percent of the monthly premiums plus 2 percent for administrative…
Misperceptions abound about the pay and benefits that members of Congress enjoy. One example is this misleading e-mail that has been making the rounds: “For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn’t pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to…
Q: I am retiring June 30, 2010. I am already retired from the military and have used my Tricare benefits until now. Under the new health care plan that passed in Congress, I am already receiving letters from doctors that I have been seeing for years, telling me they will no longer accept Tricare or Medicare. I want to carry the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan into retirement. Does my use of Tricare qualify for the five-year rule? A: Not unless you were enrolled in the FEHB program on the day you retired. If you were, your years of coverage…
Q: I have a question about converting my military time if I’m retired with 20 years of service. Will it help me or hurt me? I’m a WG-10 with five years of federal service right now. I’m a veteran with a 30 percent disability rating. A: If you make a deposit to the civilian retirement system, those years will be added to your actual years of service and, when you retire, your annuity will be increased by one percent for each of those years. The only hurt might be to your wallet. The deposit required is three percent of your…