Q. I have been employed as an 1811 Criminal Investigator since May 3, 1982. My currecnt age is 55 and I am still employed in this capacity, and having fun! However, with mandatory retirement looming in less than two years I am interviewing for other jobs, some of which are not 1811 positions. Based on my time in grade I am vested in the federal law enforcement retirement system; I maintained my CSRS retirement plan. If offered a non-1811 position, would it be more beneficial for me to retire and take a job? Or, because of my time in grade as an…
Monthly Archives: July, 2011
Q. I took an immediate retirement at age 51 under the law enforcement provision of CSRS with 30 years of service. Mandatory retirement is age 57. After one month, I returned to federal service in a term position as a re-employed annuitant with a dual compensation waiver (pension plus salary). My term position may expire in the next 12 months. Can I forgo my CSRS pension and compete for a law enforcement position again? Assuming the new position is a promotion over my last permanent position, would my CSRS pension be recalculated upon my final retirement? Would I be obligated to…
Q. I am enrolled in CSRS Offset. I received a VERA/VSIP buyout in 2001 and returned to work in 2008. I am 56 years old and have 28 years of federal service. I indicated on the recent survey that I would accept a buyout if offered. I am now told that I am ineligible for a buyout because a person can only receive one buyout in their lifetime. Is there any regulation that states an employee can only receive one buyout? A. Your agency is correct. For confirmation, go to www.opm.gov/employ/html/vsi.htm.
Q. I worked for the Department of the Navy as a GS-11 for five years but left in 1991. I have an SF-50 that says “completed service requirement for Career Tenure from 07-17-88 to 07-17-91.” However, I actually started with the Navy on Aug. 28, 1986, and my final resignation papers have an effective date of Sept. 24, 1991. I’m hoping to return to federal service but want to know if I am eligible at this point for any retirement benefits in the future. A. If you completed at least five years of creditable service and didn’t take a refund of your…
Q. I am an Air Force AFMC civilian employee and am planning to retire by Sept. 30. I have been holding my application pending AFMC’s possibility of offering buyout incentives (VSIP) to eligible retirees. My question is, do I have to wait until a VSIP is actually offered before I submit my retirement application to OPM? A. Yes. The purpose of a buyout incentive is to encourage employees to retire, not to reward those who have already made up their mind and submitted their retirement papers..
Q. I re-entered federal service in 2004, having a short amount of temp time before that. At the time, I was placed in was the CSRS Offset retirement sysetm. During that time, I also paid in for military service at the CSRS rate then in place. Beginning in 2007, as I did not have five years in the offset system, I was automatically converted to FERS. I have requested clarification as to whether the 2004-2007 time frame will provide me a separate CSRS component to my retirement or whether it will all be under the FERS calculation. In addition, will…
Q. I have approximately 10.2 years of active military service. I relocated and worked about two years with the Postal Service and now am working as a civil service employee for the Defense Department. Am I able to combine all of these together to put towards a retirement? If so, would I need to make a deposit of 3 percent of my basic pay? Which basic pay do I use (military and postal?) I started my civil service job at age 51 last year. How many years will I need to work in order to retire? And if I work…
Q. I am a law enforcement (6c) FERS employee who plans to retire at the end of 2012 with 25 years of (6c) coverage. I also have two years and two months under regular FERS before I entered my covered law enforcement position and I bought back three years military time. I know how my covered (6c) time will be calculated. My question is: How will my two years, two months of regular FERS and my three years of bought-back military time be calculated and included in my annuity. A. Everything above those 20 years of law enforcement-covered service will…
Q. In a recent column you wrote: “Fourth, if you receive military retired pay, set up another meeting with your counselor, ideally six months before you are ready to retire. You’ll want to assess the impact of military retired pay on your civilian annuity. Under limited circumstances, you may be able to receive both. However, in most cases, you’ll have to waive military retired pay.” I am age 53, retired military for 11 years, getting military retired pay now. I am also a GS-13 with eight years in. I was specifically told by CPAC when I was hired, that as…
Q. Can management temporarily promote (noncompetitively) an employee to the lower grade of a 6/7 graded position for 120 days? Are temporary promotions limited to the full-performance level only of a given position? What specific rules support or prevent such actions? A. Temporary promotions are intended for meeting the temporary needs of the agency’s work program when those services can’t be provided by other means.To be temporarily promoted, an employee has to meet the same qualification requirements that are needed for the permanent promotion. He or she receives the higher graded salary for the period assigned and gains quality experience…