Q: I am 57 with five years of SES federal service under FERS. I am planning to leave federal employment soon and have two questions about deferred retirement. Will I have an opportunity to continue my federal health care insurance after separation from federal employment? I have about 12 weeks accrued sick time and six weeks accrued leave time (18 weeks total). What options do I have with these balances upon separation? A: If you leave government, you’ll receive a lump-sum payment for your unused annual leave. Your unused sick leave, which has no cash value, will simply disappear. Under…
Monthly Archives: October, 2011
Q: Which is better and what are the advantages of taking a FERS disability retirement or a VERA. I am eligible for both but want to take the one most advantageous to me. I am a 26-year employee suffering from Parkinson’s disease and am going to retire either way. A: I’ll give you the formulas, you can do the math. However, I’ll include a couple of facts along the way that may help you to decide which is better. If you accept an offer of early retirement, your FERS annuity will be calculated as follows: 0.01 x your high-3 x…
Q: When calculating high-3 for a FERS annuity, which number is used for the calculation – taxable wages or Social Security wages? Taxable wages do not include TSP contributions. A: Your high-3 will be calculated using the highest three consecutive years of average base pay. In other words, the total amount subject to retirement contributions before taxable or non-taxable deductions are taken out.
Q: I will be 62 in November. Can I receive Medicare if I continue to work? A: You won’t be eligible for Medicare until you reach age 65 unless you have end-stage renal disease or are, in some cases, disabled. Anyhow, if you are still working when you become eligible for Medicare, you can receive its benefits.
Q: I have 40 years of service under CSRS as of June 28. I wanted to work toward 80 percent, which would be another two years. With no cost of living increase scheduled for 2012 and talk of computing retirement at high-5 rather than high-3, I am nervous about getting caught up in the process. Once I retire, I wanted to sign with a Contractor and return to my agency as a contract employee for two to three years. I don’t know, with all the uncertainty, if I should retire sooner (to be safe with high-3 computation); or gamble and…
Q: I recently heard the post office would like to break the collective bargaining contracts that had been ratified by union members and/or change the benefits as new contract talks are starting between them and the NALC. I have 30-plus years as a letter carrier plus three years in the Army and a year of sick leave. I will turn 60 in December. My plan was to work till the end of May 2014, but if they change my retirement benefits I’ll go now rather then risk losing what I know that I’ll get rather than work longer and get…
Q: I have 12 years under FERS and plan to retire in three to four years at 59 or 60 and then take early Social Security at 62. I’m also receiving military retirement for my 23 years in the Air Force (enlisted E-8). Someone mentioned I might receive a reduced amount from what is listed on the Social Security projection because I’m retired military and will be drawing both FERS and military retirements. Can I expect to receive the amount listed on my annual Social Security statement or will it be reduced because of my military and FERS retirements? A:…
Q: If have more than 240 hours of annual leave when I retire, will I be allowed to cash that amount in also, or will I have to take the leave before retirement? If I retire at the end of a calendar year, will I be able to cash in my annual so that it is taxed the following calendar year? Obviously, I do not want to cash in the same year as my retirement year. A: If you retire before the new leave year begins – January 1, 2012 – you’ll receive a lump-sum payment for all your annual…
Q: If I am of retirement-eligible age, and there is a reduction in force, can I ‘bump and retreat’, or can I be forced to take retirement? A: You cannot be forced to retire. The RIF rules will apply to you just as they do any other employee. FYI: If it turned out that the RIF would result in your separation, you would have the choice of voluntary or involuntary retirement.
Q: I’m a CSRS Offset employee. On my most recent LES, my cumulative retirement shows 4,547.67. I believed that cumulative meant for the present year and so did not worry. However, my co-worker and I compared LESs (I was showing her that I contribute both to Social Security and CSRS retirement) and in doing this noticed that her cumulative retirement (CSRS) is close to $40,000. She then explained that it is cumulative overall (not just for this year to date). My service computation date is March 13, 1984. I was originally hired in 1979, traveled with my spouse but always…