Q: If an widow is receiving survivor benefits through the Civil Service Retirement System and she remarries, do her benefits stop? A: Yes, if she remarries before age 55. However, if that marriage ends in annulment or divorce, the survivor annuity can be reinstated.
Monthly Archives: August, 2010
Q: I was a Federal Employees Retirement System employee and left the government in September 2005 under the Minimum Retirement Age +10 provision. I postponed my annuity to avoid the 5 percent penalty per year. I will be 62 in two months. Is there any advantage to waiting even longer to receive my annuity? Is it at all like Social Security, where the longer you wait, the more you receive? On the flip side, what are the downsides of applying at age 62? I understand that if I am re-employed by the government, my salary will be offset by my…
Q: I worked for the federal government for about 18 years. I resigned in 1985 and withdrew my retirement contributions. Is there any way that I might be eligible to receive retirement benefit for these years of service? I am now 65 years old. A: The only way you would be eligible for a retirement benefit would be if you returned to work for the federal government. While you would then get credit for that time in determining your length of service, you would receive no benefit unless you either redeposited the refund, plus accrued interest, or worked long enough…
Q: I retired from federal service in 2006 under the law enforcement retirement provision. I have since been re-employed by the government with a waiver for a temporary law enforcement position that allows me to receive both my annuity and the full salary of my new job. I have been informed that when my temporary position ends, the Office of Personnel Management will recalculate my retirement. Are there are any special provisions that would apply to my situation due to being re-employed with a waiver? Because I have not been contributing to retirement in my temporary position, would the recalculation…
Q: My husband recently turned 62 and applied for Social Security benefits. He is a previous Civil Service Retirement System employee, so we know that his Social Security benefit will be reduced. The problem is that he was previously married and must pay his ex-spouse a large portion of his CSRS retirement. Yet when his retirement income from CSRS was taken into account in order to offset his benefits, the Social Security Administration used his gross benefit amount and did not subtract the annuity for his former spouse. This reduced his benefits by a large portion. Why is it that…
Q: I have heard that the new health care law requires all federal employees to pay income tax on the government-paid portion of our heath care plan’s cost. Is this true? A: No, it isn’t true. What is true is that in 2018, a 40 percent tax will be levied on health insurance plans that cost more than $10,200 per individual or $27,500 per family. The tax will be on any coverage that exceeds the limit. Those figures will be based on the combined contributions of enrollees and the government, and the expense will likely be passed on to consumers.…
Q: I spent two years (2004-2006) working for the Veterans Affairs Department at a work-study position in Buffalo, N.Y. Does this time in any way count toward Federal Employees Retirement System retirement eligibility or annuity computation? A: No, it doesn’t count.
Q: For the 2010 year, what is the last day for U.S. Postal Service bargaining unit employees to reduce their annual leave to 440 hours? Is it Jan. 1, 2011? Is it true that the following year, we would have until Jan. 14, 2012? A: The 2010 leave year ends Jan. 1, 2011. The 2011 leave year ends Dec. 31, 2011, and the 2012 leave year ends Jan. 12, 2013.
Q: I am at an activity that was to be realigned and relocated from California to Virginia. The realignment was completed, and the relocation is in process. I will be relocating to Virginia in the first week of January, prior to the end of the leave year. Will my use-or-lose annual leave hours, as of my relocation date, be restored under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(3)? A: If you accompany your organization to its new duty location. you will receive a lump-sum payment for hours in excess of the 240 at the time of your move and will no longer be eligible…
Q: I need to know any rules, regulations or laws that cover the service computation date. I am prior military with more than 20 years of total service and 10 years of active-duty service, and my agency is not taking that time into consideration for leave purposes. A: The Office of Personnel Management has a VetGuide that will answer your question. Scroll down to “Service Credit for Leave Rate Accrual and Retirement.”