Q: Can I get FERS retirement credit (without buy-in) for my 20 years of military service? I was awarded 100 percent Veterans Affairs service-connected disability five years after my military retirement. I have 12 years of FERS time and 10 percent of my VA disability is combat-related. A: No, you’d have to make a deposit to the civilian retirement fund to get credit for that time.
Monthly Archives: July, 2011
Q: I am FERS employee. I’m planning on leaving government service early next year having completed a total 10 years federal service (which includes military time – buyback paid in full) and five years pure civilian federal service. I understand I would be entitled to deferred annuity down the road. I want to make sure that all necessary documents are complete. What do I need to do to and what forms do I need to fill out to ensure that my application for deferred annuity will be approved 20-plus years from now? A: As long as you leave your contributions…
Q: I’ve been on civil service disability retirement (OPM) since December 2004. Must I continue going in once a year to the doctor for a new ca-17? I’m never going to get better physically to where I can go back to work. I’ll be 61 this August 26. Will I lose my disability monthly income if I don’t get the ca-17 anymore? I did read where OPM doesn’t require you to schedule a medical evaluation after age 60, so would that also mean that unless your physically healthy enough to go back to work you would still receive your disability…
Q: I am a formal Federal employee and was under the CSRS program, I had 27 years service and cashed out my funds in my CSRS account and I did not retire. I was a re-instatement status. I am now re-employed with the federal government again under the CSRS offset plan. Can I pay back the funds I cashed out? A: Assuming that you took a refund of your retirement contributions after February 28, 1991, you can redeposit that amount plus accrued interest and get full credit for that time in you annuity computation. Even if you didn’t you’d still…
Q: What happens to my civil service retirement benefits if I exceed the cumulative five-year LWOP-US limit set by USERRA? A: Assuming that you had at least five years of creditable civilian service and left your retirement contributions in the fund, you would be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62. If you had as many as 20, you’d be eligible at age 60.
Q: From 1983-98 I worked full time for government – CSRS retirement (15 years). From 1998-2000 I worked part time for government – FICA 2000 – went to work full time again for governement, was placed in FERS automatically. A few months later I was told I should have been CSRS offset and sent a letter that allowed me to opt into FERS, the letter scared me, saying that there could be substantial amounts reduced from my pay. I was never counseled on the best retirement plan in my case. At that time, I was going through a divorce (NOVember…
Q: I am on disability retirement through the postal service. I am 48 years old and am FERS. I have been retired since 2009. I am also receiving Social Security Disability. I just received information from Social Security stating I am required to receive Medicare B. It says I may opt out, but if I decide to join later, I may end up paying penalties. My question is can I keep my health insurance through FEHBP? I have Blue Cross Blue Shield. If I do keep it, and decide to keep Medicare B, is Medicare B the supplementary insurance or…
Q: I have a question on paid annual leave upon retirement. I will be 59 years and 8 months old and has 37 years seven months on the target retirement date of Dec. 31. I only earned 33 quarters and to earn more credit on Social Security, can paid annual leave be considered as Social Security income for the year 2012, since the paid annual leave is not included as CSRS income for the year 2011? If so, what is the procedure to report it as Social Security income? And will this only be applied at the end of the…
Q: I have three periods of military service for which I am required to pay a deposit under “Catch 62.” The first period, 1969 to 1972, I paid for when it came due in 1986. This bought me a period of about 2.6 years. Later I was mobilized for operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990 to 1991; and Bosnia in 1997; for an additional eight and seven months each. I plan to work off the additional time by delaying my retirement for 15 months or more. When I discussed this plan with our HR office (SSA HQ) I was told…
Panicky employees are asking me if they should retire rather than face two proposals that have been made in deficit reduction and debt ceiling talks: a 5 percent increase in Federal Employees Retirement System employees’ payroll deductions for their defined-benefit pension plans; and a new calculation of pensions based on employees’ five highest annual salaries, instead of the current high-three. We’ll have to wait until the deficit reduction and debt ceiling negotiations are completed to learn whether federal retirement benefits will be affected and, if so, how. However, in the midst of uncertainty, what remains constant is the calendar. And,…