Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System Offset retiree (15 years in offset) and turned 62 in October. I [was] scheduled to receive my first Social Security benefit Dec. 22. I have contacted the Office of Personnel Management on several occasions requesting to know how much my annuity will be offset, but no one seems to know. My annuity still has not changed. Is it normal for OPM to be late in changing (offsetting) annuities of CSRS Offset retirees? How will overpayments of my annuity be handled? A: Because you aren’t due for your first Social Security benefit check…
Yearly Archives: 2010
Q: When I contacted my U.S. Postal Service personnel office and asked them whether I could name my partner as an insurable interest, I was told that I could not. What must I do to make this happen? We have been together over 11 years now and we own property together. A: Your personnel office contact was mistaken. You can elect an insurable interest annuity for your partner. The way to do that is spelled out in Chapter 52, Survivor Benefit Elections, of the Office of Personnel Management’s CSRS and FERS Handbook for Personnel and Payroll Offices. Just go to…
Q: My spouse and I are both under the Federal Employees Retirement System and our service computation dates are within weeks of each other. We would both like to retire under the minimum retirement age plus-10 provision. My spouse wants to retire in 2011 at age 58, with 26 1/2 years of continuous service, the entire time enrolled in a Federal Employees Health Benefits individual plan. The earliest I would retire is 2012 at age 57, with 27 1/2 years of continuous service, all in an FEHB individual plan. Here is our plan: During this open season, I should enroll…
Q: I am retiring at the end of December and have already reached age 65. I have signed up for Social Security benefits starting in January. I also signed up for Medicare Part A coverage but not Part B coverage, as suggested at a retirement seminar. I am carrying over my Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage. I checked with my plan and they said I would not need Medicare Part B. If I decide to switch plans in the future and my new insurer suggests that I need Part B coverage, will I be penalized with the 10 percent per…
Q: If I buy back my active-duty military time to put it toward my Federal Employees Retirement System retirement, do I then lose that time toward my Navy Reserve retirement? A: No. Making a deposit for your period(s) of active-duty service will have no affect on reserve retired pay. You’ll get full credit for that time.
Q: I served in the Marine Corps for more than 13 years, entering Dec. 27, 1979, and leaving active service in November 1987. I re-entered the Corps on Dec. 7, 1989, and was involuntarily but honorably discharged in the middle of 1995 as part of force reduction after the first Gulf War. I did not retire, but I did receive a separation allowance, all of which I have paid back. I paid back the money by not receiving any disability pay for about 12 years (20 percent disabled for service-connected foot and back injuries). In the spring of 2001, I…
Q: I am 53 years old and have 36 years of federal service. One catch: I don’t have the five years of coverage under a Federal Employees Health Benefit plan (I’m still four years short). If my office offers early out through downsizing or restructuring, approved by the Office of Personnel Management, can I retire and carry my health benefits into retirement, even though I don’t have five years of coverage? A: Yes, you would be eligible to carry your coverage into retirement because you would have been enrolled in the program at the time your agency received approval from…
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System annuitant who will turn 65 soon. I have a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. Must I sign up for Medicare Part B and/or Part D? What are the consequences if I don’t? Will my FEHB plan continue to cover my health care costs if I don’t sign up for Medicare? I have signed up for Part A because I paid for it over my working career. A: No, you don’t have to sign up for Medicare Part B or Part D. Whether you should is a decision you’ll have to make. Your…
Q: Where does money go after I have the maximum amount of time under the Civil Service Retirement System? I am still working at the U.S. Postal Service. A: After a CSRS employee has 41 years and 11 months of service, he is entitled to the maximum amount of earned annuity, which is 80 percent. If he continues to work, contributions will still be deducted from his salary; at retirement, he can either receive a refund of those contributions or use the money to buy additional annuity which, like unused sick leave, isn’t subject to the 80 percent limit.
Q: What is the exception for automatic coverage under the Federal Employees Retirement System for federal employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 1987, and for most employees hired after Dec. 31, 1983? A: There are number of exceptions to the automatic FERS coverage you referred to. To find out what they are, go to this handbook on the Office of Personnel Management website and scroll down to Section 10A1.3-5, entitled “FERS: Exclusions.”