Q. I retired with 28 years of service at age 51 (voluntary early retirement), was rehired as a retired annuitant with my current term ending Jan. 31 after 4 ½ years and collecting both my pension and salary. Now, I wish to come back (reinstatement) to my old field position at the same grade level and wish to rescind the collection of my pension and receive my old salary. Will I have to pay back anything and will there be any off set to my salary at Grade 12 because of receiving a pension in the past? A. Because you retired…
Monthly Archives: November, 2011
Q. I am a federal employee under CSRS with 36 years of service. I’m thinking about retiring the end of this year. Is there any advantage to retiring on Saturday, Dec. 31, which is the beginning of the pay period versus Tuesday, Jan. 3, after the New Year holiday? A. Saturday, Dec. 31, is the end of a pay period, not the beginning. If you retired then, you’ll receive a lum-sum payment for any unused annual leave you had to your credit. If you retired after that, any unused leave that exceeded the limit (usually 240 hours) would be lost. That’s…
Q. I have been out of federal service since Jan. 1, 1994, and got a buyout then. I am looking to re-enter federal service. Do I have to repay my buyout or do I have to put money back in my CSRS or can I just start with FERS? A. Since you have been away for at least five years, you do not have to repay the buyout you received. When you return to government service, you will automatically be placed in CSRS Offset (CSRS and Social Security) with the option of transferring to FERS. Because you took a refund…
Q. have been a postal employee for 28 years under CSRS. I just turned 56. If the Postal Service were to offer a retirement package, what would I be penalized? Would it be 4 percent because I do not have the 30 years. A. There wouldn’t be a penalty, You’d get exaxcty what you earned. To see what that would be, use the folliwing formula: 0.015 x your high-3 x 5 years of service, plus 0.0175 x your high-3 x 5 years of service, plus 0.02 x your high-3 x all remaining years and full months of service.
Q. As a CSRS Offset employee, I understand that once the FICA limit is reached, my retirement contribution will increase as the FICA withholding is decreased as discussed in the following paragraph: CSRS Offset employees contribute 0.8 percent (.008) of their after-taxed wages to the CSRS Retirement and Disability Fund, and 6.2 percent of their wages is subject to the FICA tax up to the maximum Social Security wage base ($106,800 in 2009). If a CSRS Offset employee earns more than the maximum wage base, then FICA taxes will stop being withheld until the end of the calendar year. CSRS…
Q. My mother was married late in life to a retired U.S. Post Office employee who received an annuity under CSRS. He died in 2006 and my mother in 2010. She never applied for survivor benefits before her death. I am the executor of her estate. OPM has taken the position that her failure to apply before her death waived her claims. Can this be correct? A. Assuming that your stepfather elected a survivor annuity for your mother, her entitlement to that benefit ended with her death.
Q. I am CSRS employee with 31 years of service and I am 61 years old. I just went on leave without pay because of extended health problems. Would that cause problem if my agency offers buyouts? Also, can I ask for retirement figures without submitting retirement papers and would that cause problem if buyout is offers? A. The fact that you are on leave without pay would not prevent you from being offered a buyout if your position was among those that your agency wanted vacated. Neither would asking for an estimate of what your annuity would be. You…
Q. I am 54 with 20 years of service under FERS. I’ve been offered the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments/Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, but do not want to retire yet. I would not receive much in retirement. What are my rights under involuntary separation? A. If you were involuntarily separated, you would be eligible for immediate retirement, just as you would if you accepted an offer of voluntary retirement and/or a buyout. In the same way, you’d receive the special retirement supplement when you reach your minimum retirement age. Because you would be eligible for an immediate annuity when you separated, you wouldn’t…
Q. I am 56 years old and have been a FERS federal employee of the U.S. District Courts for almost seven years. I was offered a $25,000 buyout along with four others in my department. I submitted my letter of intent. Today I was told that they’d made a mistake, that even though the agency head had offered me the amount of $25,000 and the paperwork had been approved, it’s now been decided that I can be offered only just under $10,000, the amount equal to or lesser than my severance pay. They said GAO won’t let them give me $25,000. This doesn’t seem right to…
Q. If a military technician loses his military affiliation due to cause, how does it affect his technician retirement? I am looking for a hard reference as well. A. If you are asking about losing your affiliation due to a disability that would otherwise not qualify for true disability retirement, you’ll find all you need at www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C046.pdf. Just scroll down to Section 46A4.1-1C (CSRS) or 46B4.1-2 (FERS).