Q: I’m a CSRS retiree. My spouse is designated to receive survivor benefits. If she dies first, will I be able to continue to pay the premiums and designate someone else to receive the benefit, for example my adult son? Or will the survivor benefit option end and I will stop paying the premiums? A: If you wife were to die before you, your annuity would be restored to what it would have been had you not elected a survivor annuity. For that to happen, you’d need to let OPM know and provide them with a copy of her death…
Monthly Archives: February, 2011
Q: I’m a FERS employee and work for a federal law enforcement agency in a covered position. As such, I will reach mandatory retirement at age 57 and I will have more than 30 years of service. My 57th birthday will be April 27, but I’ve recently heard I could work until the end of the year. I’ve always understood I would have to retire the end of the month that I turned 57. Could you clarify which would be correct? A: What you recently heard was untrue. You have to retire no later than the last day of the…
Q: I believe I can receive both OWCP compensation and Social Security retirement (not disability retirement) benefits with no offsets of any kind. However, can you please tell me where exactly in the OWCP regulations it says this? I know I saw it somewhere in OWCP information years ago, but I cannot find it now. I would like to have this in writing before I apply for my Social Security retirement benefits. A: The Department of Labor has a Q&A site. Go to www.neguard.com/HRO/documents/ca-550.pdf and read the answer to question 115.
Q: I have money in an Army TSP. Is it true that if I do not withdraw funds from TSP within one year of retirement I will forfeit my account? Under FERS, can sick leave be used for additional service credit? A: It is not true that would forfeit your account. You can, and should, leave your money in the TSP as long as possible. Any FERS employee retiring between Oct. 29, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2013, will receive credit for one-half of his unused sick leave in determining his length of service and in his annuity computation. Anyone retiring…
Q: I will have 32 years of service (USPS) as of Feb. 17, 2011. I began as CSRS, then switched to FERS, so I have a frozen CSRS component of about five years. I reached MRA (age 56) in August 2010. I am confused about the postponed annuity issue. If I retire later this year, do I have to postpone my annuity until age 62, or will I receive an annuity immediately? If the annuity must be postponed, my only federal income would be the Special Supplement payable until age 62? A: Because you already meet the age and service…
Q: I will be 56 (my minimum retirement age) in July with 28 years and three months of federal service under FERS. What are the advantages of waiting until I have 30 years of service before retiring? A: Let’s turn it around. Because you wouldn’t be eligible for an immediate, unreduced annuity, if you retired now it would be under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 years of service but fewer than 30). As a result, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you are younger than 60. You could, of course,…
Q: I heard that there is a proposal to change the retirement calculations from your high-3 to your high-5. Is this true and how will it affect my retirement? I am 56 with 38 years and three months of service. I was hoping to retire when I have 41 years and 11 months of service so I could get 80 percent retirement. If they change to the high-5 would I be better off retiring now? A: A lot of federal employees want to know if it’s true and how it will affect their retirement. While changing the high-3 to a…
Q: Can a person who is eligible for retirement with age and years also be eligible for a VERA to add extra years? A: The Voluntary Early Retirement Authority simply allows those who don’t have the age and service to retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity to retire if they are age 50 with 20 years of service or at any age with 25. No years of service are added when an eligible employee accepts a VERA.
Q: I am an MSHA employee with 23 years ofservice time and my MRA is 56, which I will reach in June. If they offer an early-out (VERA) I am planning on taking it. I am not sure I understand the buyout process, though. If the buyout is offered, is it just a one-time payment or does it also come with the retirement supplement and no reductions for being younger than 62? A: The Voluntary Early Retirement Authority allows an employee to whom it is offered the opportunity to retire early if he meets the age and service requirements. No cash incentive…
Q: I am 54 with 30 years of federal service under FERS. I can immediately retire at 56 with 32 years of service. If I wanted to separate early (not retire) at age 54 and 1/2 (18 months before my official retirement age) could I pick up the full premium cost (plus 2 percent) of the 18 months of continued FEHB benefits, then when I turn 56, apply for an immediate retirement with my FEHB still intact? A: No, you couldn’t. You’d be eligible for a deferred annuity but not eligible to re-enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program.…