Q. If a person takes voluntary separation incentive payments can he work for a private contractor that has a contract with the government as long as he is not the owner of or direct contractor for the company? A. Yes, you can do that without having to repay the VSIP. You would only have to do that if you were re-employed by the federal government or working under a personal services contract or other direct contract within five years of the date you received that payment.
Monthly Archives: August, 2011
Q. I am retiring next year. I have Tricare Standard. I was told I could sign up for Federal Health Insurance just before I retire (during open season) and then put it on “hold” when I retire, but it would be there to start up again if needed. Is that true? With all the talk of health costs going up, I may someday need to activate it. A. Yes, it’s true. If you are enrolled in the FEHB program when you retire, you can suspend that coverage. That would allow you to reactive it if you ever lost coverage under…
Q. I am prior military servicemen who enlisted in the delayed entry program in December 1982 but went on active duty in the Marine Corps in March 1983. Does this inactive ready reserve time count toward establishing my civilian service computation date, both before active and after active duty? And also how does my active reserve time total into the SCD as well? A. Active-duty service is the only military time that counts when establishing your service computation date. Reserve time, whether inactive or inactive ready reserve doesn’t count.
Q. I’ve applied for my CSRS Offset pension effective Aug. 1. I’m 64 years old. Will my CSRS Offset pension be reduced for Social Security entitlement immediately or only after I apply for Social Security? When am I required to apply for Social Security benefits? A: The reduction in your CSRS annuity will be automatic. As for when you apply for a Social Security benefit, that’s up to you. You can do it at any time or not at all.
Q. My husband is getting close to retirement with civil service and I’m reading a lot of conflicting information regarding civil service retirement which I need clarification. I am a military retiree and while I was on active duty, my husband was a civil service employee. He started in 1976 at the Naval Shipyard in Guam and when I was assigned to Kaiserslautern, Germany, in 1978, he subsequently joined me in 1979. He obtained a civil service position in Kaiserslautern until my assignment to Army Recruiting Command at Fort Sheridan, Ill., in 1981 but was further transferred to Seattle Recruiting…
Q. I spent three years working for the Veterans Affairs Department at a work-study position. Does this time qualify as nondeduction service (that is, temporary or intermittent service) performed before Jan. 1, 1989, that would be creditable under 5 U.S.C. 8332 if a deposit for such service is made. Does this count toward my Federal Employees Retirement System retirement eligibility or annuity computation? If so how do I make a deposit for this time if necessary. A. To find out if that time is creditable, fill out a copy of Standard Form 3108, Application to make Service Credit Payment, and…
Q. I am a federal military technician with 30 years of service and I am looking to retire at age 56. If I retire, do I get a FERS retirement and the special retirement supplement in two separate checks? A. The special retirement supplement will be included in your annuity check. However, you won’t receive it while you are in interim pay. When your retirement application is finally adjudicated, you will receive a lump sum SRS payment along with any underpayment of your annuity. From that point forward, the SRS and your annuity will be included in a single monthly payment.
Q. Can you tell me if my time on workers compensation is credited to my retirement at age 62 as it is if I were collecting my OPM disability benefit. I was approved for OPM disability retirement and Social Security and I elected to receive workers compensation benefits in lieu of OPM disability retirement. A. According to OPM, “If workers’ compensation benefits terminate, or the former employee elects to receive an annuity in lieu of compensation, the time spent in receipt of workers’ compensation after the date of retirement is not counted in computing the disability annuity or, if eligible,…
Q. I retired from Federal Civilian Service on June 3. I received my final pay check which included my lump-sum payment for annual leave on Friday June 10. I was paid my regular earnings at my pay grade, GS-12, but my lump-sum payment for unused annual leave was paid at the pay rate for a GS-09. Thinking it was a mistake I called the activity payroll office and to my surprise I was told this was because my promotion to GS-12 was temporary and when I retired I was reverted back to my permanent grade GS-09 in order to pay…
Q. My friend is the second wife of a deceased federal retiree. When he died, his first wife, as per the divorce decree, received the maximum annuity. If she dies, is there any way my friend can receive an annuity? A. Only if her late husband elected a survivor annuity for her in order to protect her rights should his former wife lose entitlement to a survivor annuity. She should call the Office of Personnel Management’s Retirement Information Office at 888-767-6738 and provide it with her late husband’s CSA number and other pertinent information, such as his dates of birth and…