Q: I am 57 and a FERS employee with slightly more than 11 years federal civilian service. I am told that under certain conditions of discontinued service/VSIP, VERA, etc., it is possible for early retirement under MRA +10 without penalties for an immediate annuity. Is that correct? A: The age penalty of 5 percent per year applies to all retirements under the MRA+10 provision. However, you can reduce the penalty by postponing the receipt of your annuity to a later date. Because you have fewer than 20 years of service, you’d have to wait until age 62 to eliminate it.…
Monthly Archives: March, 2011
Q: I retired from the U.S. Postal Service under CSRS with 32 years of service. I gave my ex-wife a full survivor annuity and she also is covered under the FEHB plan. I remarried and my current wife has been covered under my FEHB/APWU (Family 472) for the past seven years. If I should die, would my current wife be able to continue with this FEHB plan? A: No. To continue coverage, she would have to be receiving a survivor annuity.
Q: Can i retire from government service while on workers’ compensation, or do i have to be in a work status to do so? A: Assuming that you are eligible to retire, you can do that either when your workers’ compensation is terminated or when you elect to receive an annuity in lieu of workers’ compensation. Be aware that the time between the day on which you went on workers’ compensation and the date you retire won’t be included in your annuity computation. Instead, your annuity will be computed based on your service and high-3 on the date you went…
Q: With the possibility that the U.S. Postal Service may eventually be faced with a reduction in force, I would like information concerning Veteran Preference Status. I have been a postal employee for 32 years. Although I served in the Air Force for seven years, I received no veteran’s preference points upon hiring, as my service was not within the years prescribed for this preference. However, since that time, my military spouse has been rated as 100 percent disabled and was retired from active duty on a disability pension. I understand that I can receive the 10-point veteran preference status…
Q: I have worked at the U.S. Postal Service for 31 years and I am covered under CSRS. I am married, and I am thinking about retiring in June. My wife and I divorced in 2000, and at that time she waved any rights to my retirement. In 2001, we got remarried to each other. When I retire, can I take out a survivor annuity for her or will her waving her rights to my retirement in 2000 have any bearing on that? A: Yes, you can. In fact, by law you are required to provide her with a full…
Q: Can you tell me if the following Social Security calculation is correct? We have visited our local Social Security office, who said, “That’s the way it is. You can appeal if you like.” We are U.S. citizens, born in the United Kingdom. Prior to coming to the U.S., my wife worked for 15 years for private companies in the United Kingdom. She has just retired at 62, and receives a United Kingdom pension equivalent to $250 per month. She has worked in the U.S. for 15 years, and would normally qualify for a monthly benefit of $547. But We…
Q: What were you thinking? No COLA for two years, now a tax increase, causing my check to be $38 less. I am barely surviving. Do something. This is no way to repay veterans, or their widows, for their service. A: You’ve come to the wrong place to point the finger of blame. The fact that no cost-of-living adjustments are being made on retiree annuities is a product of the same law that routinely gave you COLAs in the past. When the economy tanked, the index on which they are computed fell below zero. Just be thankful that this same…
Q: I have 30 years in federal service, (20 FERS and 10 in buyback military time), and my position as a non-6c 1801 is being converted to 6c. In order to get the 1.7 percent, I have to work another 20 years as a 6c. If I do not work the full 20 years, I know I won’t get the 1.7 percent, but will my base salary for calculation of my retirement include LEAP? A: Yes.
Q: I heard you could receive FERS retirement credit for the two-week annual training sessions of reserve duty. If so, what records are needed, and where can former reservists obtain them? A: You already received credit for that time. 5 U.S.C. 6323 (a) provides 15 days per fiscal year for active duty, active duty training and inactive duty training. You can’t get credit for it twice.
Q: In calculating the effect of WEP, how do the years I work between age 66 and 70 count? I plan to keep working and apply for Social Security when I am 70. At age 66, I will only have 18 years of substantial contributions under Social Security. If I continue to work until I am 70, will the additional four years of substantial contributions count in calculating the WEP when I apply for Social Security? Or will the WEP be based only on my years of substantial contributions as of age 66? A: The windfall elimination provision is applied…