Q. I am a 57 year old CSRS Agriculture Department employee with almost 32 years’ service. The program I manage and my position will likely be eliminated within the next three weeks. If I am not offered another job within commuting distance, what are my options? A. Because you are already eligible to retire, you have two choices. You can retire either voluntarily or involuntarily. If you retire voluntarily and return to work for the federal government, your salary would be reduced by the amount of your annuity. if you retired involuntarily, and returned to work, your annuity would stop and…
Monthly Archives: March, 2011
Q. I plan to retire the end of 2011 under CSRS, age 63, after over 41 years of service. I am choosing to retire on one of the “best dates to retire in 2011,” Dec. 31. When completing my Retirement Application SF-2801, “Date of Final Separation” I’m not sure whether to use 12/30 or 12/31 as the date of final separation, since the first day of retirement is the day following the “date of final separation.” To get annual leave accrual for that last pay period, I thought it would need to be 12/31. However, to get full COLA credit, I…
Q. What happened with the proposal to change the retirement base from high-3 to high-5 (previous Federal Times quote below). Do you expect this legislation to pass? If so, when would it take effect. “The CBO’s recommendations are the latest deficit reduction plans that, in part, target federal employees and their benefits. Last year, the White House’s deficit reduction commission called for basing federal employees’ pensions on the average of their highest five years of salaries instead of the current high-three method and cutting the federal work force by 10 percent, among other recommendations. Several Republican lawmakers are dissatisfied with…
Q. I would like to know what retirement plan I should be under when I retire. I was first hired on May 3, 1982. I was an intermittent employee paying only contributions into Social Security. I was hired into a permanent position a year later on May 1, 1983 beginning contributions into the CSRS retirement system. I left my job with the government on June 23 at age 58 with then only 27 years total tenure, which included two years military time that I bought back for annuity purposes. I was put into deferred retirement CSRS status because I did…
Q. Can you explain in laymen terms about this or refer me to where I can find out more info? I have retired from active duty 20 years with disability pay. I now work as a DA civilian. I am 39. So do I count the 20 years plus my civilian years towards retirement? i.e. 20 years active duty plus 10 yrs CIV= 30 years total fed service at age 59. I earn four hours of leave time per pay period. When do I qualify for an increase in leave hours? If I opt for buying back time, will this…
Q. I now have 22 years of federal civil service and I’m 46 years old. Instead of retiring at 30 years’ service and taking early retirement at 25 years service (obviously I’m FERS). I understand I will lose 5 percent per year. Does this mean I lose 5 percent for the first five years of my retirement and then I gain it back when I’m 56 years old for good? A. The reduction is permanent.
Q. I was medically retired from the Army with a permanent disability in 1983. I receive a service-connected disability payment from the VA. I started a career with the federal government in 1984, and I am now eligible to retire under FERS. Will I be able to receive my VA disability and a FERS retirement? A. Yes
Q. Scenario: Age 56 with 23 years of civilian service (and paying into Social Security) here in the federal government. I’m eligible for the early out but here are my questions: Would I receive the Supplemental Social Security income until I’m 60? Will there be an incentive (dollar amount) to take this early out? Would I not be penalized in any way if I take the early out? How soon would retirement and supplemental payments begin after retiring? I know in earlier years, there was a substantial monetary amount offered to take an early out. A. Assuming that you have…
Q. Due to an on-the-job injury as well as chronic back pain, I may have to elect to what is called medically retire. If I do elect to medically retire, will the government continue to pay any portion of my health insurance? If not, what other options are available? A. If you were approved for disability retirement, the government would continue to contribute the same amount toward your Federal Employee Health Benefits premiums as it does now.
Q. I am a federal law enforcement officer working in a federal prison. I will reach mandatory retirement with 20 years in October 2013. I turn 60 in November 2013. Can I continue beyond my 60th birthday if supported by the BOP? Does a decision require review and approval by someone outside the agency or can the director approve? A. To continue your employment beyond age 60, the attorney general would have to make that request to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Included in the request, among other things, would be a statement of facts establishing why your continued employment would be…