Q: I was hired and worked for the DoD for about 30 years. I’m currently collecting retirement under the CSRS system, however I have slightly more than 40 quarters paying into Social Security. I worked prior to my stint in the government. I keep receiving notices I’m about to receive $691 in my annual SS letters. I know very well I will not receive much money from them but I wonder if the Windfall Elimination Provision applies or the Government Pension Offset applies to my situation. I think I might receive some money. I was born in February, 1946. A: You…
Monthly Archives: January, 2011
Q: I am a postal employee planning to retire in 2011. I have added my 22-year-old daughter back on to my health insurance as allowed by the new health care reform act. Can I still maintain her on my insurance with self and family after I retire until she is 26? A: Yes, until she reaches age 26.
Q: My question is if one does not withdraw the Voluntary Contributions Program (VCP) upon retirement, what rate of interest will it earn? I have been told that if you do not withdraw the VCP, the so called basic interest of 7 percent is not the interest but rather the rate of repaying the principle. Thanks. A: Interest only accrues to the date you leave government, retire, or transfer to a position not covered by CSRS of FERS, whichever is earlier. On the other hand, if you separate from the government with entitlement to a deferred annuity at age 62,…
Q: I worked for the government from 1966-1972 (six years) and withdrew my CSRS retirement at that time. From 1972 to 1988 I worked in private industry and paid Social Security. I returned to civil service in 1990 and was automatically enrolled into CSRS Offset. I retired June 30, 2010 with 26 years of credited government service and applied for my federal pension and Social Security. When the Social Security Administration calculates my offset, is my service outside government taken into consideration? The papers I received showed only 20 years of government service for their calculations, so I’m assuming that…
Q: I am a retired CSRS federal employee (Navy civilian) with 35 years service. I also earned 40 quarters under Social Security and receive about half of the Social Security benefit I would get if I were not getting CSRS retirement pay. My wife did not work enough to have 40 quarters, but I understand that she is entitled to half my Social Security benefit. Question: Is she entitled to half my non-reduced Social Security, or half my reduced Social Security? A: She is entitled to half of your unreduced Social Security benefit.
Q: My husband is a federal retiree. He will turn 65 in July. He has retained his FEHB Blue Cross plan following his retirement. He has been quite satisfied with his Blue Cross coverage and is disinclined to rock the boat by enrolling in Medicare Part A. If he elects not to enroll in Medicare Part A, will he be penalized by Blue Cross in terms of the benefits they will provide? A: He already paid for his Part A coverage while he was working. There is no additional cost to his enrolling for that benefit, which together with his FEHB…
Q: I would like to buyback my years of active duty time to increase my FERS retirement. I am a part-time VA employee. VA has provided me an estimate of my annuity based on my years of VA service, adjusted for the part-time nature of my service. How are my years of active duty calculated in the part-time scenario? Does the VA apply a full-time status for the years of buyback and adjust the percentage of part-time service? Or are the additional years just added as if they were also part time? I have not found any discussions that address the part-time factor. A:…
Q: The Social Security website on the windfall elimination provision, at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10045.html, contains a list of exceptions to the applicability of the WEP. The first one states, “The Windfall Elimination Provision does not apply to survivors benefits.” It also does not apply if you are a federal worker first hired after Dec. 31, 1983. What is the nature of the exception for federal workers first hired after 1983? I accrued a Social Security exempt pension entitlement prior to first becoming a federal employee in 2007. Does that mean the WEP will not apply to my Social Security benefits when I…
Q: As of April 2011, I will have been a federal employee at the Department of Defense for five years. I presume that I could have enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan when I was hired. Instead, we decided to continue our Medicare A & B, Medigap, and drug policies. 2011 is the first time that we have enrolled in an FEHB plan. My husband of 51 years, a non-government retiree, is somewhat older than myself and it would be advantageous for me to be able to keep my FEHB plan when I retire. The consensus seemed to…
Q: I just received my Dec. 29 payroll statement. My first payment in 2011 shows the same Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) deduction I had in 2010. Is this because my employer did not have the chance yet to use the new 4.2 percent rate? Will I get the difference back retroactively? A: Pay statements tell you what you earned and what was deducted during the previous two weeks. Therefore, you haven’t received a payment in 2011. If you are like most employees, you won’t receive a pay statement that will reflect the new rate until the first…