Q. I am a postal worker age 60 with 26 1/2 years of service under FERS. I recently developed a health problem that I feel may keep me from returning to work. Can I apply for disability with the Postal Service and not with Social Security? Also, the formula states that the first year would be 60 percent of high-3 minus 100 percent of Social Security. What exactly does that mean? A. As a FERS employee, if you apply for disability retirement you have to apply for Social Security disability benefits; otherwise OPM won’t process your claim. If you are…
Monthly Archives: August, 2011
Q. If I were to retire in 2012 with 24 years of service at age 56 under FERS, would I be eligible for an annuity supplement? I was informed by the Army Benefits Center that to be eligible for a retirement supplement I would have to be offered a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority from my organization. Is this correct? A. Yes, otherwise you would be retiring under the MRA+10 provision. Not only wouldn’t you get the special retirement supplement but your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 62.
Q. I worked as a congressional employee from 1974-1987. When I left, I took out the retirement contributions I had made. I am now returning to federal service in the executive branch. When my retirement is calculated, will I receive 2.5 percent for the 13 years as a congressional employee or will my retirement be calculated on the standard CSRS formula for the executive branch? A. While you will get credit for that time in determining your length of service and have the enhanced formula used to compute that portion of your annuity, if you don’t redeposit the refund of…
Q. I was injured on the job with the post office, and now I’m receiving workers’ compensation. Because on my injury, I will not return to work anytime soon. My questions is, I’m turning 65 this month and I’m thinking about applying for Social Security. Would this have an effect on either one as far as funds? A. Yes. If you receive workers’ compensation or other public disability benefits and Social Security disability benefits, the total amount of these benefits cannot exceed 80 percent of your average current earnings before you became disabled.
Q. I saw a recent post in which you correctly stated that an employee is not eligible for a VSIP if he previously received a VSIP. The OPM regulations do not appear to allow an exception to this rule even if an employee repaid the full amount of the VSIP because of a return to federal service. Am I reading the regulation correctly or is there an exception to the general rule that I could not find? A. No, there isn’t.
Q. I am a FERS employee who started with the post office in 1989. If I buy back my military time, which started in 1979 and continued through 1988, is this time counted as FERS or am I a FERS employee with a CSRS component. A That time would be credited under FERS. For your active-duty military service to be credited under CSRS, you would need to have completed a minimum of five years of actual CSRS service before Jan. 1, 1987.
Q. I took my retirement money in 1990 after 15 years of service. Now they want $40,000 to get that time back. If I pay $20,000, will the interest keep going up on the $40,000 or $20,000? I’m in the offset program; should I pay this back or not? A. Interest only accumulates on the unpaid balance. Whether you should redeposit that money is a financial decision, one that comes in the answers to two questions. First, how much more will you get in your annuity and for how long? Second, how much could you earn with the money if…
Q. Any more word on early-out incentives for 2011/2012, and would we get money or time added on our years? A. We haven’t heard a thing. However, if early retirement offers are made, some of them may come with a financial incentive — aka a buyout. What won’t happen is having years added onto your actual service to either make you eligible to retire or to increase your annuity. There is no provision in law that would permit that.
Q. Recently my supervisor gave two employees time off due to stress for two months or so apiece. They are and I am in an extremely stressful job. Is there a program that gives DoD GS Civilians time off due to stress? And if so, how do you go about getting this stress leave and what forms do you fill out? A. The rules for granting annual leave and sick leave are found in law and governmentwide regulations. In neither place is stress specifically mentioned. However, agencies are permitted to spell out the conditions under which a request for leave can…
Q. I know that career firefighters under the 0081 series code qualify for the 1.7 percent multiplier that is applied to FERS retirement for the first 20 years and 1 percent thereafter, but do fire inspectors or fire prevention personnel, who are also a 0081 series code, who have never worked as firefighters qualify for the 1.7 percent multiplier as well? A. No. Go to www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C046.pdf and scroll down to Part 46B3.1-1.