Q: I paid my service credit in full in 2005 but can’t locate my paid receipt which I need for retirement. A: Your CSD number should be sufficient proof. However, if you want additional proof you can go to scbillings@opm.gov.
Monthly Archives: February, 2011
Q: I am a 1998 CSRS/FERS transfer. My wife is retired and collecting a Social Security benefit. Next year when I turn 66 I thought I would take a spousal benefit off of my wife’s Social Security. Is it not true that because I have more than five years in FERS there is no GPO reduction in that spousal benefit? About a year later I plan to retire and start receiving my annuity of CSRS/FERS retirement. Even though I then would be receiving a pension that partially consists of CSRS where no Social Security was paid, wouldn’t there still be…
Q: If I retired from the postal service but am still carrying the medical coverage through them. Is it necessary to elect the Part B coverage? I am not drawing Social Security because I am not eligible until I turn 66. I am under the Civil Service portion of the postal retiree plan and am still carrying my spouse on my medical coverage. A: You don’t have to sign up for Medicare Part B if you don’t want to. It’s optional.
Q: I’ve been informed that I will be “reassigned within the agency to fill existing vacancies”. My agency is NARA and I work at two locations: Washington, D.C., and College Park, Md. Could they offer me reassignment to another location within the NARA organization, other than these two places? What would be my preference for the existing vacancies, with 30 percent disabled veteran status and 14 years with the federal government, and 4 years and 11 months of military service? I’m a GS-11, step 5. A: A reassignment at the same grade or pay can be made anywhere within your…
Q: Is it possible for me to determine how much of an annuity I might expect to receive if I were to obtain a government job? I have approximately nine years of prior federal government service and I was under the CSRS retirement system. I also have two years of military time that I would like to include if possible. I would plan on buying in on my military time but not repaying my CSRS retirement that I withdrew at the time I left government service in 1985. I am 62 years old and would like to work between one…
Q: Do you know where I can find the OPM directive that states you must report to work on your last day? I cannot find anything about this topic on the Internet. Someone told me it was a Comptroller General’s decision (circa 1954). I was unsuccessful finding that. A: There is no such requirement. That’s why you can’t find it.
Q: If an employee is any age with 25 years of service or age 50 with 20 years of service, will the employee be penalized in the case of an early-out retirement if OPM has determined that the agency is undergoing a major reorganization, reduction in force, or transfer of function? A: Those age and service combination would only be available in the circumstances you mentioned and you were one of those to whom an offer of early retirement was made. If you were a CSRS employee, you annuity would be reduced by 2 percent for every year you were…
Q: I am 54 with 21 years of combined military and federal service. I fall under the CSRS plan. The highest paygrade I have had is GS-7. How do I figure out my pay for retirement, what is the formula? I would like to get a general idea of how much my pay would be at this point and time if I could retire. A: For CSRS employees, the formula is: 0.015 x your high-3 x 5 years of service, plus 0.0175 x your high-3 x 5 years of service, plus 0.02 x your high-3 x all remaining years and…
Q: My husband, five years my senior, retired last year and now has Medicare. I have no insurance. I am 60 and unemployed. Will Medicare cover me for health care, and if so, what will the cost be? A: According to the official Medicare website, “Medicare is not offered as a family or dependent benefit. This means all people who have Medicare must qualify on an individual basis. For example, a person under age 65 does not automatically receive Medicare because their spouse is 65 or older and enrolled in the Medicare program.”
Q: I am a former government employee with more than nine years of service under CSRS and 22 months of military service. When I left the federal government in 1985 I withdrew all of my contributions to CSRS. I am 62 years old and I am now considering getting a federal government job with the hopes of working long enough to get an annuity under CSRS offset. My understanding is that the calculations of your high-3 are based upon three consecutive years of pay. Is this correct? Would I need to work three years to be eligible for an annuity?…