Q: I’m in my 30s and I’m under the Federal Employees Retirement System. My MRA is 57. I’ve worked for five years in federal civil service and will buy back five years of military service in the next few months. This will give me a total of 10 years combined service. If I left government work for the private sector or to start my own business would I still be eligible to receive a retirement benefit at 57? This would put me at the MRA with 10 years of combined service. Also, if I’m eligible for a retirement benefit at…
Monthly Archives: February, 2011
Q: I’m 50 with a minimum retirement age of 56. I have 26 years of government service counting my military service (six years bought back). If I’m affected by a reduction in force before 56, do I lose my basic annuity and other retirement benefits? A: No, you wouldn’t lose them. You’d be able to retire under the special age and service criteria: age 50 with 20 years of service or any age with 25. Any other benefits to which you’d be entitled, such as health and life insurance, would continue as long as you had been covered by them…
Q: I’m under the Federal Employees Retirement System and was planning to retire at minimum retirement age (56) with 31 years of combined civilian and military service. Six of those 31 years were under LWOP-US where I paid a military deposit for those years. Are those six years included as credible service for an immediate annuity or are they calculated as MRA+ 10 because I did not have 30 years of civil service years? A: No, you won’t be retiring under the MRA+10 provision. You’ll receive an immediate, unreduced annuity because you will have reached your minimum retirement age and…
Q: I am a CSRS employee who was disabled in 1984. I was approved for CSRS disability retirement on Jan. 24, 1985. I was approved for OWCP benefits. Now at 62 I am told I should convert from USDOL/OWVP compensation to disability retirement benefit. How does one compute the basic annuity? My retirement computed to Jan. 28, 1985, was as follows: $25,293 (high 3) for five years and four months of service which gave a basic annuity of $ 2,044, which computed to $843 per month. How much would that compute to in 2011? A: Your annuity would be based…
Q: I am 68. I have three years and nine months of military service that I have bought in. On Sept. 30, 2011, I will have 2½ years of civilian service. Will I be eligible at that time for FERS retirement? A: No, you won’t. You have to have completed five years under FERS to be eligible to retire.
Q: Is it possible for retired federal employee husband and wife to receive 100 percent medical coverage? Right now my husband has the family plan and we are getting 80 percent coverage. I was wondering if I could enroll as well and get the other 20 percent either with a the single or family plan. A: No, you can’t do that. You can either have one family plan or two self only plans. If you want better coverage than you have now, you’ll need to do some research during the next Federal Employees Health Benefits program open season to find…
Q: I am 29 and I have been working for the government for a little more than five years. Am I eligible for the buyout? If so, how much would I be able to get? A: If you were offered a buyout, there would be nothing that would prevent you from accepting it. Unlike early outs, you don’t have to be eligible to retire to accept one. The amount of the buyout would be whatever your agency is offering to all those employees it has identified as being surplus to its needs, not to exceed $25,000.
Q: My father is 78. He served in the Korean War, worked for the postal service for more than 30 years (letter carrier and postmaster) and retired from the postal service at 58. He receives an annual annuity and social security but is now in failing health and recently expressed concerns that my mother may not receive his annuity upon his death. I have searched the Internet and can find information about survivor benefits for current employees, but cannot find a section on survivor benefits for spouses after the death of a retiree. Can you help me understand the survivor…
Q: My husband and I are both FERS employees. We are now 58 and plan to retire at 60. We will both meet minimum age and years of service requirements to receive the Special Retirement Supplement from age 60 to 62. What we cannot find out is how much our Social Security payment will be when we start receiving it at age 62 because we will not be working those two years (between 60 and 62) and thus not paying into Social Security past age 60. The yearly statement from the Social Security Administration assumes we will work until 62…
Q: I have GEHA Basic and Medicare Part A and B. I take no prescriptions and go to the doctor very little, mostly to have tests done. I am considering dropping my Medicare B as I will have GEHA and Medicare A. I am interested in an unbiased answer. A: Decisions like this are always personal. However, there are two things to consider before making a decision about dropping Medicare Part B. First, you need to review what benefits are included in Part B and decide whether you will need anything it covers that is not provided by your FEHB…