Q. Can I cancel my FERS retirement application? Can I retract my retirement notification letter? A. An agency must accept your withdrawal of a retirement application unless it has a valid reason for turning you down, which it must provide in writing. For example, someone has already been selected to fill your position or your position is being abolished and no other position exists at your pay and/or grade in the local commuting area for which you are qualified.
Monthly Archives: August, 2010
Q. I am retiring in three years from CSRS. My husband is Air Force retired, therefore, we both have Tricare for Life and Medicare part A&B. I currently am not carrying any health care through my employer, but I plan to retire with a third health care plan through my CSRS. I know there is a five-year policy to have federal health care to be able to keep your insurance through retirement. However, I was told that my Tricare for Life qualifies me for the five-year federal plan coverage, and I can get the third policy during the last open…
Q. I paid my military buyback off all at once.I was a seasonal part time GS04 for approximately nine months. I then got picked up for a full-time position and resigned after two days on that job. If I get my buyback money refunded, will it be taxed since it was not earned and was mine to begin with? A: For tax purposes it would be treated no differently than any other deposit you made for which you received a refund.
Q. Since it appears there will be no COLA for Social Security next year, will they increase the earnings limit from $14,160 for 2011? A. No.
Q. I have been hearing different stories from CPOL and other civil service employees. I am a retired CW3 from the Army, 1974-1997, and I’ve been in civil service for over nine months. My job is a logistics management specialist, 0346, support of the STAMIS system, PBUSE. I was deployed for four months to Operation Desert Storm, and after retirement I worked as a contractor from 1997-2009 supporting the STAMIS systems for the Army. Does any of my Army contractor time (13 years) count towards civil service retirement since it was similar to the job I am currently doing in…
Q. I switched from CSRS to FERS in 1987; don’t ask me why. I retired when I was 55 and now have 24 years of Social Security coverage. I will be 64 this year and am thinking about applying for Social Security — will I be WEP’d — not in terms of boo hoo but the Windfall Elimination Provision? Also, if I work part time and have income of $20,000 or $21,000, will they refigure the WEP deduction? If yes, do they do it annually or when I am 66? A: When you apply for a Social Security benefit, the windfall…
Q. Public Law No: 106-168 permits former Federal Reserve Bank employees to receive credit in FERS if a former bank worker becomes a federal employee. This law was included in S. 335 and signed by President Clinton on 12/12/1999. Does this law also apply to federal employees who worked for two years for the U.S. Postal Service before leaving federal service to become an employee of the Federal Reserve Bank System? The federal employment took place before this law took effect. As a retiree of the Federal Reserve System having retired in 1995, am I entitled to have my Federal Reserve pension recalculated…
Q. My first federal employment was in 1/17/1983 as a temporary worker (NTE one year, 40 hour week). Since it was a temp position. only Social Security was assessed. I left for the private sector 9/21/1983 due to an impending RIF knowing full well we were the first to go. I then received and accepted an offer from the Postal Service and started 10/13/1984 ; I am still there. I was informed that there will be a new retirement system, but no one has any information on the details, so I was placed as CSRS Interim. FERS then became law…
Q. I am retired for nine years now and working in private industry. I will be 65 soon and would like to know if there really is any benefit in applying for Medicare. I have read every article in Social Security Administration, OPM and Medicare and they all say it is up to you. I have Blue Cross as an annuitant and don’t see any advantage to me in making the claim. What is your opinion? A. They all say that it’s up to you because it is up to you. No two situations are the same. You’ll need to…
Q: I am a National Guard technician. I am older than 50 but not at my MRA with almost 30 of service under FERS. If I am found medically unfit to stay in the National Guard, would I retire with a medical under federal service or would I receive regular retirement as if I were involuntary separated because of my age and years of service? A: If you are separated because of a disability that disqualifies you from membership in the National Guard or from holding your military grade, you would be eligible for disability retirement. This assumes, among other…