Q: If you accept an early retirement with VSIP at age 54, then there is no COLA increase until age 62. How is the annuity computed at 62? Do the COLA increases accumulate over those eight years? A: No, they don’t accumulate. The annuity you receive when you retire will remain frozen until you reach age 62, at which point you’ll be eligible for your first cost-of-living increase.
Monthly Archives: November, 2011
Q: I am single, 53 years old and have worked for the government since 1992 under FERS. I am unclear as to whether my heirs are entitled to any portion of my pension/annuity, since I will not have a surviving spouse, children or parents. Please list all the forms I should have on file with OPM to ensure that all my bases are covered. A: You can either allow any benefits to be distributed using the standard order of precedence found in law or, to specifically designate your beneficiary or beneficiaries, fill out a copy of Standard Form 3102 (retirement),…
Q: I am retired military and also a DoD civilian under FERS. I use Tricare as my health insurance. When I retire, I would like to also have FEHB as a “backup” to Tricare, just in case something changes with Tricare. Do I have to have FEHB for five years prior to my retirement or can I get FEHB at any time once I retire? Also, can I include my family with FEHB coverage after retirement, even if they are not covered now? A: To carry FEHB coverage into retirement, you would have to be enrolled in it before you…
Q: I work for the post office, I have 20 years in service and four years military that I have bought back, so 24 years total time. I have a 76-year-old mother who is recovering from cancer and will need in-home care. The post office offered early outs, 25 years of service at any age, to clerks and management but not to carriers like myself. Is there someone I could petition to have the post office extend the early out to me so I can take care of my mother? Hardship retirement? A: By law, offers of early retirement are…
Q: As a postal employee, I would like to take a deferred retirement. I am under the FERS plan. Under the OPM website it states, “If you have completed at least 10 years of creditable service, including 5 years of civilian service, then you are eligible for deferred annuity beginning the first day of the month after you reach the MRA. What is mean by civilian service? Are postal employees civilian or federal employees? A: Postal employees are federal employees. The word “civilian” is used to distinguish that federal service from military service. In other words, you have to have…
Q: I served in the Marine Corps on active duty from January 1968 to October 1969 and received my statement of earnings after requesting a statement from the Marine Corps Finance Center. I was also activated while in the Marine Corps Reserve from December 1990 to September 1991 in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a Marine reservist. I sent the Marine Corps Finance Center both of my DD214s for both active-duty tours but it only sent me one statement of earnings for the initial active duty and did not get one for the active duty performed as a reservist.…
Q: My husband is a federal employee working for OPM under FERS. We cannot find any reference to long-term disability insurance. Is LTD standard with FERS? If so, is there a link to the policy description/handbook? Also, I heard that the program only kicks in after a year of disability and falls to 40 percent in second and subsequent years. Is there some sort of supplemental insurance that is recommended? A: The federal government doesn’t provide short- or long-term disability insurance to its employees. What it does provide is disability retirement to anyone who qualifies. To find out who can…
Q: My spouse is 56 and has 17 years in FERS. If she were to die prior to retiring, would I get a monthly annuity benefit or only the lump-sum benefit? A: Because your spouse has 10 or more years of service, if she were to die while still an employee, you would receive both a lump-sum death benefit and a survivor annuity equal to 50 percent of her basic annuity. That annuity would be based on her high-3 and years of service on the day she died.
Q: At the start of 2011, my taxes for my FERS retirement went up about $100. Imagine my surprise. It was right after reinstituting the Bush tax cuts. Why? A: The Making Work Pay tax credit expired Dec. 31, 2010. As a result, many retirees saw an increase in the amount of federal tax being withheld from their monthly annuity payments. The tax withholding tables published by the IRS were adjusted to provide for the correct withholding amounts without this credit.
Q: I am CSRS and I have been taking just under six months of LWOP every year for the past 10 years. Is the calculation of my high-3 years the actual pay I received or the pay that I would have received if I had not taken any LWOP. Example: Let’s say my basic pay with locality is $55,000 per year but I have only been receiving $45,000 per because of the LWOP taken. Is the high-3 based on the $55,000 or the actual pay of $45,000? A: It’s based on the pay you would have received, not the pay…