Q: Will the government windfall be adjusted? If I am forced out of the postal service, which I started in in 1980 and I am 52 years old, with only about 55 percent of my high-3 years (about $30,000 a year), this will not be enough for me to retire on. I will be forced to work at least part time, since I cannot collect Social Security. Without deducting 2/3 of my CSRS retirement, it seems I will be forced to work the rest of my life. This was not my plan. If we are forced to retire before we…
Monthly Archives: December, 2011
Q: I will have 29 years at the U.S. Postal Service, plus 2,200 hours of sick leave, three years in civil service and 27 under FERS in 2012. Am I eligible for the Social Security supplement at age 56? Does that decrease my FERS annuity or add to it? A: If you meet the age and service requirements to retire on an immediate annuity – in your case, your minimum retirement age plus 30 years of service – you’d receive the special retirement supplement. The SRS approximates the Social Security benefit you earned while employed under FERS, and is added…
Q: As A FERS law enforcement officer, I must retire at age 57. Am I eligible to receive unemployment benefits since it is not my decision to stop working, and I am forced to stop due to age requirements? A: Unlikely; however, the decision rests with your state unemployment office.
Q: I had some active-duty time for which I paid the deposit so it would count toward retirement after age 62. I had one period of 5 1/2 months that my local civilian personnel office said I didn’t have to make a deposit since I was on LWOP-US for this period. Even the CSRS Retirement Facts 3 dated October 1997 said the same thing. I received a letter from OPM shortly after I retired stating that since I didn’t make a deposit required under Public Law 97-253 for this time, my annuity will be recomputed to eliminate credit for this…
Q: How long can my current agency retain me when I have accepted a position with a different agency? I accepted a position at the same grade but at a different series. My new/gaining agency has requested a release date 17 days in the future, meaning I will remain with my current agency for the next full pay period. However, my current agency has requested that I remain in place for 31 days, which is two pay periods. This is unacceptable to me and is being done out of spite. An HR specialist in my current agency indicated that this…
Q: I worked for a federal agency that has offered a VERA/VSIP. If employees in positions identified as part of the buyout choose not to leave voluntarily, is there a chance that these jobs would be identified for RIFs or furloughs? Is there any history of this in the federal government? My thinking is yes. Here’s why. If your position is part of a buyout, but you choose not to leave, it would seem that if the agency needs to make further reductions, the positions identified for the buyout would be the first to be identified for other solutions to…
Q: I am a FERS employee with 20 years of federal service. My MRA is 57. I am 41 and I will have 30 years of federal service when I reach age 51, at which point I plan on resigning from federal service. Will I receive a full, unreduced annuity if I defer retirement until I reach the MRA of 57? From what I can tell, I will have an unreduced annuity, but will not be eligible for FEHB or the special retirement supplement. Am I correct in my research? A: Assuming you don’t take a refund of your retirement…
Q: I am considering retiring at the end of the year due to the possible changes to CSRS pension calculations from the current high-3 average to a high-5 average. I have been keeping abreast of proposals and know there is nothing definite from Congress yet. I am already close to my high-3 average and I am topped out in my pay grade. I don’t want to be put into a situation where I would have to stay two more years, until age 59, to get essentially the same average. Of course, this does not count the extra 2 percent per…
Q: I am a postal service employee under FERS with a work-related injury. I am permanently restricted to four hours a day at a Limited Duty Position. If I were to take disability retirement, how would my injury-related medical expenses get paid? On the other hand, if I were able to hold off until MRA and take regular retirement, how would they get paid? What would happen to the four hour a day OWCP compensation in both scenarios? Can I still take disability retirement after I have reached MRA? What happens if my condition worsens? A: If you retire, whether…
Q: I am 44 and I have 20 years in a 6C covered position and I am considering moving into a noncovered position. By not remaining with the covered position until I am 50 or have 25 years of a covered position, how will this affect my retirement? Will I be able to receive my pension when I am 50 and continue to draw a paycheck from the noncovered position? If not, how long would I have to go until I could retire? What hit would I take in the percentage in my annuity? I have never bought back my…