Q: I want to elect the voluntary contributions annuity when I retire Dec. 31. I am 59 and will be age 60 on Jan. 3. Since the VC annuity rate pays an extra .2 percent for each year after age 55, I want to elect that the VC annuity start Jan. 3 when I’m 60, not on my Dec. 31 retirement date. I have been unable to get an answer from OPM for the past 2 months on the effective date of the VC annuity. Can you find out what effective-date options are allowed?
A: No one can give you a precise date. That’s because it depends not only on when your agency gets your paperwork to OPM but when OPM processes it. The one thing I can guarantee is that this won’t happen before you turn 60.
