Q: I retired Dec. 31, 2010. Before I left, a retirement counselor calculated my annuity at around $51,000 per year based on 36 years and 9 months service and 56 years of age. I left the government in 1991 and returned after 6 months. I withdrew money. The break in service was noted and I assumed the money I received was accounted for in the calculation of my annuity. After retiring, I received a notice from OPM that my annuity would be reduced if I didn’t pay back the money, plus interest. I contacted my former employer and they informed…
Monthly Archives: December, 2011
Q: The CPAC people at my organization are unhelpful and unknowledgable. My SF-50 does not reflect my 70 percent disability for veterans preference for a reduction in force. I have brought the paperwork in but was told I was not hired under veterans preference and don’t qualify because I retired with more than 20 years from the Army. They say if I had not retired, then I would be eligible, but refuse to give me the source of that rule. A: Based on what you’ve written, your agency is probably right. You’ll find the information needed to confirm or rebut…
Q: FERS is a retirement plan for my benefit. If I choose to forego or opt out of this “benefit,” regardless of whether officials stipulate an increase, is this possible? A: No. While you could forgo receipt of the benefit when you retire, you would have already paid for it through mandatory retirement deductions from your pay.
Q: I retired from government at 57 in August 2009 under CSRS with 30 years of service/DoD Excepted Service. Due to the economy, I would like to go back to “regular/full time” government employment. Can I re-apply for government jobs (knowing I will give up my annuity) for a full-time GS position and salary? A: There is no bar to you becoming a re-employed annuitant. However, you won’t have to give up your annuity; instead the salary of your new position will be reduced by the amount of your annuity.
Q: I plan to retire under CSRS within the next year at age 61 with 40-plus years of service. My husband is under PERS (Public Employee Retirement System) and will continue to work and retire with a PERS retirement annuity. Since he has his own retirement annuity through PERS, is it still a wise decision to leave him a partial survivor annuity? His health insurance will continue into retirement. A: As long as each of you has entitlement to continued health benefits coverage, it boils down to a comparison between what it would cost you to provide a survivor benefit…
Q: In March 2012 I will be eligible for full military retirement. I am retired from the Army Reserve and will be 60 in March. I have BCBS. Is there an advantage to maintaining BCBS coverage rather than dropping it and going with Tricare, which would be less expensive? A: Many of those who are eligible for both an FEHB plan and Tricare elect to suspend – not drop – their FEHB coverage. If you were to drop it and then lost Tricare coverage, or found that changes in its structure and benefits made it less appealing, you wouldn’t be…
Q: I am a 47-year-old CSRS employee with 29 years of experience. I am thinking about applying for a position at another federal agency, but I am wondering if I would still be eligible for an early out as a new employee at another agency? A: Yes, if one were offered.
Q: My husband has four years active duty, 12 years as a reservist and 18 years as a civilian federal employee. He paid his military deposit in full. He was injured in a nonmilitary-related and noncivilian-related accident, and as a result the reserves put him on TDRL. Can he or will he have to waive his TDRL pay if he wants to use his military time to help him meet the years of service eligibility requirements for a civilian retirement? Or, does the fact he’s receiving TDRL pay prevent him from using his military service for civilian retirement purposes? A:…
Q: I started government service in 1973. I quit in 1985 and came back in 1986 as CSRS offset. I worked a second job from 1987 until the present. For many of these years my basis for Social Security was at or above the max. I retired from government service in 2009, and I receive the CSRS offset pension based on 32 years, and of course it is not being offset yet. I am still working that second job, and also, I am working full time as a contractor now. How much of my Social Security benefit will count to…
Q: If a person on CSRS disability retirement is under age 60 and his doctor believes he can return to work, can he return to the governement and maintain the same status as he was before he retired? Or will he have to start at the bottom like a new empoyee and start over just as if he had never worked? A: While you may be re-employed in any position for which you are qualified, the law doesn’t require that your former agency or any other agency offer you a position. If you are rehired, your prior service – but…