Q. I will be 55 years old in a couple of months with 35 years of CSRS service. I would like to retire and return to work as a contractor. Is it possible to return as a contractor for my current organization or will I need to be separated from my current organization for a period of time? Also, would my retirement pension be reduced if I return to work as a contractor? A. You’ll have to check with your agency’s ethics officer to find out if there would be any conflict that would bar you from doing that.
Monthly Archives: September, 2011
Q. I am a mailman covered by FERS. I was born in 1957 and have almost 28 years of service. It looks like the Postal Service will soon force some retirements . Can I get my Social Security portion at a reduced annuity payment to help with my monthly income? With roughly $1,200 from the first phase from the Post Office and then a roughly $200 retirement health care benefit payment, I’ll need all the help I can get. A. Your options are limited. If you accept an offer of early retirement, you’d have to wait until you reach your minimum…
Q. Due to the latest news from the Postal Service a lot of us old-timers are worried about the future of our CSRS retirement. I have been a Postal Service employee for over 32 years. I am under the CSRS system. I am 52 so I cannot retire for three more years. One of the proposed items on the Postal Service agenda is to look at taking over the retirement system and health care plans. This is a big mistake. How can they manage those systems if they can not even manage the company? My question is: First can they…
Q. I have served in the Army Reserve and National Guard for seven years on weekends. Once a year, two complete weeks. The first year I had six consecutive months in training. When added up, it’s about a full year. Can this time be counted as a year toward my retirement time? A. The six months when you were on active duty is potentially creditable. Weekend drills are never creditable, nor are two-week periods of active-duty training if they were with the National Guard. They would only be potentially creditable if they occurred before you were employed by the federal government. Your personnel office…
Q. I am retiring on Feb 29, 2012. I will be 55 with 33 years of service. I am in CSRS offset. Since I have a 10 percent VA disability and I can use the VA for medical purposes, should I still pay for FEHB or should I drop it? A. I can’t tell you what to do. I can tell you that if you drop your FEHB coverage, either during the upcoming open season or after you retire, you won’t be able to re-enroll unless you return to work for the federal government. Even then you’d have to work for five…
Q. If someone was to apply for the VSIP (because they are not eligible for VERA) and separates, would they be eligible for some type of priority status for placement with another organization/agency/ etc? An example of what I am thinking about would be BRAC/RIF/ICAP. A. No
Q. I am a current federal employee with 1 year and nine months to go before I can retire (20 years at age 50). I also have bought back 11 years military time. I was injured on the job in 2006 and have had several recurrences with my fifth disc. Been on OWCP, back to work, OWCP back to work, etc. My question is, if I were to elect a FERS disability retirement, would my military time that I bought back still figure into the equation or would you recommend trying to get to the 20 years and do a…
Q. My husband retired under the CSRS in 2003; he died in 2006, at the age of 58, leaving me a CSRS annuity. He had paid in to Social Security his full 40 quarters and would have been entitled to Social Security, had he lived. I also am a federal employee, under the CSRS and still working. I am 62 years old. I’m told that I might be eligible to draw some of his Social Security Benefits at this age until I retire from my current employment. Is this true? A. Yes, while you are working, you are entitled to…
Q. I retired under CSRS in 1988. How can I find out how much survivor benefit reduction I am paying? A. When you retired and elected a survivor annuity, your own annuity was permanently reduced to pay for it. Here’s the formula that was used: * 2.5 percent of the first $3,600 used as a base for the survivor annuity, plus * 10 percent of any amount over $3,600 used as a base. Just remember that the reduction is made to your base annuity. In other words, the amount to which you were entitled before any deductions were taken out for…
Q. I am thinking about retiring at age 62 with 25 years of service in FERS. I would like to continue working with my current employer after retirement by getting rehired. I have heard that there may be a cap on the the amount of money I can earn after I am rehired. I have been told that my retirement plus my salary cannot be more that GS 15-10. Is there a cap on earnings? If so, what is that cap? A. With rare exception, rehired annuitants have the salary of their new federal position offset by the amount of their…