Q: I am currently in the California Army National Guard and am 99 percent sure I will be medically discharged after being in for over 32 years. I only have 15 years as a dual-status military technician. I am hearing that soldiers who have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan with “combat-related injuries” are being told that they cannot keep their jobs as it is intended by the change in the law governing the requirement to be a member of the National Guard. Can you point me in the direction of someone that can help? Reference: Title 10 USC 10216 (g),…
Monthly Archives: May, 2010
Q: I am a federal firefighter (GS-081 series) covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System. I work for the National Park Service. My department is being abolished this year, with a local city department taking responsibility of fire supression. Reduction-in-force notices are coming out next month. I have 24 years and 8 months of federal firefighter service. Can I buy back retirement time from a nonappropriated fund Army job I held from January 1982 to October 1985, which I did not put into, and transfer it to my FERS retirement so I can retire with at least 25 years? A:…
Q: I have a total of 25 years of federal service as a Federal Employees Retirement System employee. I am 51 years old and thinking of leaving and working for a private company. How can I find out what my pension will be when I reach the minimum retirement age of 62? And how can I find out how much I would get right now if I was to take my pension money out now and roll it over into an IRA or ROTH account? I don’t like the fact that my spouse will only get 50 percent of my…
Q: I have checked your Q&A and have asked several people about the special retirement supplement (SRS) and can’t seem to get an answer. I’m a 56-year-old Postal Service employee with 22 years of service. Rumor has it there will be another Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (early out). My two questions are, if I go out on VERA, will I be able to take money out of my Thrift Savings Plan account without early withdrawal penalties even though I`m not 59 1/2 years old? I know I will be eligible for SRS. Will the fact that I will be getting…
Q: I was told by an administrative person some 15 years ago that your initial retirement pay is not taxed until your retirement exceeds your cumulative retirement pay-in. Is this true? A: That hasn’t been true since the law changed in 1983. Before that time, retirees received the full amount of their retirement contributions before their annuities were taxed. Since then, a portion of each annuity payment is taxable. For information on how that amount is determined, read IRS Publication 721, Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement Benefits, available at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p721/index.html.
Q: I am covered under the Civil Service Retirement System, but my husband is a Federal Employees Retirement System employee. Prior to retirement, we want to have him get Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan coverage (he is covered under my plan now) and provide coverage to me. Will he be able to continue FEHB coverage for both of us when he retires (he has to work at least one year longer than I), and is the cost about the same as if I provided our coverage (as a retired CSRS employee)? A: There is no difference in the premiums paid…
Q: I heard on a “Face the Nation” segment a couple of weeks ago that the Federal Employees Retirement System wasn’t as generous as the Civil Service Retirement System, and that a great deal of money would be saved if the government converted retirees. Is there anything in the works that would threaten the CSRS retirement package? A: Absolutely nothing is in the works that would do that.
Q I retired voluntarily from Federal Employees Retirement System on July 31, 2009, for health reasons with plans to change to FERS disability later. I was told by the Office of Personnel Management that there would be no benefit for me to file for FERS disability since I retired voluntarily. I applied for Social Security disability and was approved on April 23, 2010, with benefits beginning in December 2009 (I was found to be disabled on June 10, 2009). Do I still have to return the supplement from August 2009 to November 2009? Also, can I receive Social Security disability…
Q: At the age of 54, I would like to retire. It is then when I will have 20 years as a federal civilian nurse. I will be retiring under the Federal Employees Retirement System. Once retired, I would like to work for the Forest Service part-time or seasonally. How will this affect my retirement? How will my retirement income be computed? Can I collect my FERS retirement while still working for the Forest Service? A: As a FERS employee, you aren’t eligible to retire. The earliest point at which you could do that is when you reach your minimum…
Q: I have been retired from federal service (Civil Service Retirement System) for the past eight years after 30 years of government service. I am enrolled under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan for myself and my family. If I were to die, would my wife continue to get health benefits? A: Yes, if you elected a survivor benefit for her. If you didn’t, she wouldn’t.