Q. I am a Postal Service carrier in the Federal Employees Retirement System, but with a Civil Service Retirement System component. Before I became a career CSRS employee, I had 3 years as a sub (from 1980 to 1983), for which I have made a deposit. My question is: Is that time covered under CSRS or FERS? I was told by a retirement specialist that it is considered FERS time, which is reflected on my current annuity estimate. An older estimate gave me credit under the CSRS. I am planning on retiring soon and would like to be sure that…
Monthly Archives: January, 2012
Q. I have been an Army reservist for 18 years, with two overseas deployments. I am in the middle of a Medical Evaluation Board. If the Army forces me to retire due to medical reasons, will I start drawing retirement right away or would I still have to wait until age 60. A. Since you have at least 18 months of creditable civilian service, if you are disqualified for military duty, you would be eligible for disability retirement benefits. For more information, go to http://www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C046.pdf and scroll down to Section 46B4.1-2.
Q. I am covered under my wife’s Blue Cross/Blue Shield federal plan, even though we both retired from the Postal Service. I am now on Medicare, and Medicare is my primary health coverage (I have plans A and B), with BCBS being secondary. My wife is 62. My question is: Should my wife’s (our) BCBS coverage premium be reduced since BCBS is now secondary and not covering me like it did before I went on Medicare? A. No. There isn’t any provision in law that would permit that.
Q. Is it possible to buy state time to count toward current federal retirement? I was a state prosecutor cross-designated and appointed as a special federal prosecutor for five years. I was paid by state/county authorities, yet went through an FBI background check and completed time sheets for federal authorities, too. Is there any way to buy my state time and have it count as part of my federal time that I am now accumulating since I’ve become a federal prosecutor? A. No. State time cannot be counted.
Q. I retired from the military with 20 years of active duty, and receive a military retirement. I currently work as a civil service employee and am considering paying my military deposit to increase my civil service retirement. My question is: If I waive my military retirement pay to get the credit, what impact does it have on all my other military retiree benefits? I do know I still must make Survivor Benefits Plan payments if I don’t elect the SBP through civil service, but what about Tricare for Life, commissary, exchange, etc.? A. Waiving your military retired pay will…
Q. I turned 65 on July 6, 2011. I was advised prior to my birthday that I did not need to sign up for Medicare Part A until my retirement in July 2012. Is this correct? I am covered by a group policy at this time. A. While you don’t need to sign up for Medicare Part A, I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t want to do that. Although you will continue to have deductions taken from your salary to pay for that benefit, you wouldn’t have to pay any premiums for that coverage. If you did…
Q. My wife started working under the Civil Service Retirement System in July 1982 and continued to work under CSRS until August 1989. She is re-entering the government workforce. She plans to stop working in eight years when she will be 57, and will have 15 years of government service. It appears she would be eligible for deferred retirement benefits at age 62. How will her benefits be calculated? A: It all depends. When she returns to work for the federal government, she’ll be covered by CSRS Offset (CSRS and Social Security), with the option of transferring to the Federal…
Q. I will turn 62 in August 2012. When will my special retirement supplement end? Will I receive the SRS in my August retirement payment? A: Your special retirement supplement will end on the earlier of 1) the last day of the month in which you turn age 62 or 2) the last day of the month before the first month on which you would be eligible for a Social Security benefit, whether you apply for it or not.
Q. I am a GS-14 Step 6 Federal Employees Retirement System law enforcement employee with 3 1/2 years to go to before I’m eligible to retire. With locality pay and availability pay, I am capped and have about $133 per pay period withheld from my paycheck. My question is, what is being used to calculate my high-3? The money I should have been paid or what I am actually paid? A. Your high-3 will be based of what you actually received, which is the amount from which retirement deductions were taken.
Q. I am in the Senior Executive Service and am eligible to retire in March. I will have over 700 hours of accumulated annual leave at that time. Is there a straightforward way of calculating whether it makes more sense to take a lump-sum payment in March or remain in the government and take several months of annual leave before resigning. In addition to extending my time in service by a few months, are there other factors I should consider when deciding which course to take? A. You start with the assumption that you have a choice about whether to…