Q: I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System and work for the Defense Logistics Agency. I have worked at DLA since 1986 and worked for the Social Security Administration for two years before that. Two questions: What is the cutoff date for Civil Service Retirement System eligibility, and does my time working for SSA count toward FERS or CSRS? A: Because you were hired in 1984, you were covered by an interim system made up of CSRS and Social Security. Because you had not served at least five years under CSRS when the Federal Employees Retirement System became effective…
Monthly Archives: June, 2010
Q: I am a 58-year-old physician with 16 years of military service from 1978 to 1994. I am taking a job with the Veterans Affairs Department. In the benefits booklet I received, there is a note as follows: “Physicians and dentists covered under Title 38 provisions must complete 15 years of creditable service in order to use Physicians/Dentists Special Pay as basic pay in determining the high-3 average salary used in the computation of a [Federal Employees Retirement System] annuity. If I buy into FERS for my 16 years of military service, does this count toward “creditable service,” or is…
Q: I am a GS-11 who has my overtime hourly rate capped at $38.31. Is there a calculator available that will help me decide how many overtime hours to take pay for as opposed to taking compensatory time? At a certain point, it is not worthwhile to take overtime pay because of the increase in the amount of federal tax withdrawn? A: I’m not aware of any such calculator. However, if anyone out there is, please let me know and I’ll share the information with our readers.
Q: I am under the Civil Service Retirement System and plan to retire Dec. 31. I have already paid my military deposit on my 20 1/2 years of service; my civil service time is 33 years and nine months, which would give me more than 54 years of service at the time of my retirement. That is well beyond the 41 years and 11 months required for the 80 percent maximum retirement benefit. At my time of retirement, it is my understanding that the Office of Personnel Management will automatically refund the excess retirement contributions I will have made for…
Q: For those covered under the law enforcement provision of the Federal Employees Retirement System, is the Social Security earnings test applied toward funds received from their Thrift Savings Plan if those amounts exceed the earnings test for the special law enforcement officer/firefighter Social Security supplement after their minimum retirement age? A: No. The Social Security earnings test only applies to earnings from wages or self-employment.
Q: I am a retiree under the Civil Service Retirement System. I had five years of military time which I did not make the deposit for and 26 years of federal service. I am not eligible for Social Security at this time. I have been told that if I return to work and qualify for Social Security, on my 62nd birthday my annuity will be recomputed and my five years of military service will be removed. Also, I was told my Social Security would be reduced to zero. Is all this true? A: The post-1956 military service rules are simple:…
Q: I have some medical expenses paid for under workers’ compensation because of an on-the-job accident. When I retire, will these medical expenses continue to be covered? A: If your workers’ compensation benefits terminate or you elect to retire instead of remaining on workers’ compensation, payment for your medical expenses by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs will end.
Q: My wife and I are federal retirees and annuitants. We continue to enroll in the CareFirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield standard option. We do not have Medicare Part B. The Blue Cross 2010 Plan Booklet and several explanation of benefits from Blue Cross explain that by law, physicians who do not accept Medicare can only charge us up to 115 percent of what Medicare allows. The law applies to federal retirees and annuitants without Medicare Part B. Please confirm that what I summarized above is correct. A: What you read on Page 23 of your plan brochure is correct.
In expanding benefits to federal employees’ same-sex partners, President Obama ordered the Office of Personnel Management director to issue a proposed rule to “add a federal retiree’s same-sex domestic partner to the list of individuals presumed to have an insurable interest in the employee.” What would adding same-sex domestic partners to such a list accomplish? To figure that out, you need to know something about insurable interest annuities. You probably know that a retiring employee can elect a survivor annuity for a current spouse and may be required to provide one for a former spouse, but you may not know…
Q: I’m on Civil Service Retirement System disability retirement. Will my annuity be affected if I return to work for my local county government or the federal government? A: If you were to be rehired by the federal government, the salary of your new position would be offset by the amount of your annuity. If the salary for that position was equal to or exceeded 80 percent of the current pay for the position you held before retiring on disability, your disability annuity would be suspended. If you went to work in a nonfederal position, there wouldn’t be any offset…