Q. I currently have FEHB Blue Health insurance. I am eligible for Tricare in November 2012. I plan to switch to the cheaper health plan next year during open season at the time Tricare starts. I plan to retire from the VA in May 2013 with 5.5 years’ service. I will meet the -five-year requirement but can I change from the expensive plan to the cheapest plan six months before I retire? Or is this even allowed? If not, can I switch to the cheaper plan this year during open season? Neither my wife nor I have any major health…
Monthly Archives: September, 2011
Q. I plan to retire at my MRA of 56 with 31 years of service. I plan to get my FERS pension, as well as my TSP annuity immediately. I know my FERS annuity is not subject to the minimum earnings test. Is my TSP annuity subject to that? Is the TSP annuity considered income? A. No. it isn’t. Only earnings from wages or self emloyment are counted.
Q. I will be 62 next June 20 and am planning for my FERS retirement. I thought I read somewhere that for retirement purposes, you can retire anytime in the month you turn 62 (anytime in June, in my case), and still receive the 10 percent extra credit for time worked (to receive 1.1 percent of your high-3 for each year worked if you wait until you are 62, instead of the 1 percent for each year if under 62). Or do I have to actually wait until my birthday (or more likely the end of the month to get…
Q. When I turn 56 I will not have 30 years in as a letter carrier for the Postal Service. Can I still retire without a penalty or do I have to work until age 62? A. Because you’ll have at least 20 years service, you can retire at age 60.
Q. I was a federal employee for two different federal agencies, one from September 1973 through July 1976 and another from May 1979 through January 1986. By my calculations, I have a total of 9 1/2 years of federal service. I withdrew all of my retirement contributions when I left each job. If I can find a federal job now for six months or longer, can I buy back my time and get CSRS pension and health care benefits? I’m 59 years old, if that makes a difference. A. If you returned to the federal government, you’d be placed in CSRS Offset…
Q. I started planning on retirement hoping to hold out for my 80 percent next year, but my recent illness has changed my plans. I have used up all my sick and annual leave, which is one of the major reasons for retiring. I am at the Defense Department. While still at work, I was put in contact with a “mentor” for lack of a better word — I contacted her from home with no replies. I do not want to mess up my retirement, TSP and everything else. Any advice? A. If your objective is to retire now, go to…
Q. I am currently receiving disability benefits from FERS and Social Security. I am aware that the FERS benefit will be recalculated at age 62 to reflect my high-3 adjusted for inflation and years of service adjusted for the time on disability to what they would have been had I worked to 62. What I can’t find is whether the Social Security benefit will change at age 62 or 65? I have a vague memory that it may, and my wife needs to know to plan her retirement age and preparations. Is there a Web page with info about this? A. Social…
Q. I retired from CSRS in 1999. Since then (2000-2011) I have had 12 years of “substantive earnings” under Social Security. I was also a commissioned officer in the Air Force Reserve and served from 1976 to 2006. During those 23 years that I was a civil servant and a reservist I earned military pay when I went on active duty. In the years I was not mobilized or deployed I only served on active duty for two weeks plus 12 weekends. I received Social Security credit for all of my active-duty service as a reservist. However, for many of…
Q. Can I get a buyout with seven years to go before retirement? A. Any employee who is offered a voluntary separation incentive is free to accept it, whether or not he is eligible to retire. The purpose of the offer is to get employees to leave who wouldn’t do so without the incentive. To also be eligible to retire would require that you meet one of the following age and service criteria: age 50 with 20 years of service or at any age with 25.
Q. For a CSRS employee with more than 30 years of service (and over age 55) how much difference in their retirement pension would a full year (2,087 hours) of accumulated sick leave make? Is there a user-friendly formula that employees can use to determine how much their accumulated full months of sick leave will affect their CSRS retirement pension? Do you think the current debate over deficit reduction could result in changes to CSRS retirement credit for accumulated sick leave? A. Here’s the rule of thumb. Your annuity would be increased by 2 percent for every year of unused sick…