Q. I’m a current civil service employee under CSRS with almost 40 years of employment. I may retire next year and am currently 64 years old. My question is, can I collect my deceased husband’s Social Security benefits? He worked in the private sector. If not, please explain why? A. If you are still working, you’d be entitled to a reduced Social Security survivor benefit at age 60; however, when you retire, you’d be subject to the government pension offset provision of law. The GPO will reduce that survivor benefit by $2 for every $3 you receive in your CSRS…
Monthly Archives: January, 2012
Q. I have now passed the 42-year mark and still pay deductions to CSRS. If I request a refund or additional annuity when I retire, does the government contribution (which seems to be continuing according to my earning statement) become part of the equation? A. No, it doesn’t. When you retire, you will only receive a refund of your own contributions, plus accrued interest. OPM will notify you about the amount and offer you the option of accepting a refund or using the money to buy additional annuity, which isn’t subject to the 80 percent limit.
Q. I’m planning to retire early this year. After carrying a 240-hour leave balance into 2012, I’d like to work until mid-February, then use up the 240-plus hours of leave until I return to the office on my separation date the last Friday of March. Over the past five years, my unit has consistently hassled me when I request leave well in advance of the desired dates; I’ve reason to be concerned it could be much worse this time. My question(s): Is an employee entitled to take earned leave in this way, as a sort of “terminal leave?” Can an organization…
Q. I served in the Navy from 1982-1987, then worked for the Postal Service from 1987-2003. I resigned from the Postal Service in 2003, hence, a total of 21 yrs of service. Am I entitled to any retirement benefits? A. Because you were employed under FERS for at least five years, you would be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62, but only if you didn’t take a refund of your retirement contributions when you left. You wouldn’t receive any credit for your active-duty service in determining your length of service or in your annuity computation unless you had made a…
Q. I am a Postal Service employee under the Federal Employees Retirement System who will have eight years of service in April. If I decide to retire with 10 years of service in 2014 at the age of 58½, would I receive health benefits from the USPS, and could I receive a full annuity if I waited to draw the annuity at age 67, or would this affect insurance benefits? A. If you retire with 10 years of service, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 62. Assuming that you were enrolled in the…
Q. I was injured at work (for the Department of Labor) in 2003. I am now 64 years old and still receiving workers’ compensation. When will it stop? A. Assuming that you are still disabled, it can go on for the rest of your life. However, some members of Congress are trying to change that.
Q. I am 58 years old, and I have a service date of 1975. I am under the Civil Service Retirement System. I recently retired from the military after 33 years of reserve service (no active duty service over 90 consecutive days). My reserve pay was subject to Social Security withholding. What impact will my military reserve retirement pay have on my CSRS annuity? Will my CSRS or military retirement be subject to a reduction, or do I have to redeposit money? How do I determine whether I have to redeposit any money? Do I still get to Social Security at…
Q. For a high-3 calculation, do the three consecutive years have to be continuous? I’m a Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee who was reinstated in March 2011 after an 18-year break in service but would be eligible to retire at age 60 in about 14 months. Would my high-3 be the two years since my return to federal service and then my last from 18 years ago? A. The three years have to be consecutive, but they don’t have to be continuous. Therefore, assuming that the current salary is higher than the one you had when you left government,…
Q. If I do a full retirement under the Civil Service Retirement System and accepted a buyout offer as an inducement for electing voluntary early retirement, will I be able to collect unemployment compensation insurance if I look for employment outside of federal service? A. No.
Q. I have a question regarding adding sick leave to complete partial months of creditable federal service. I’m a federal law enforcement agent with over 20 years of Federal Employees Retirement System time and am over 50 years old. My service computation date is April 22, 1985, which means as of Dec. 22, 2011, I had 26 years, eight months of service, including military time. By Dec. 31, I’d have nine extra days of service that will be lost because the Office of Personnel Management only recognizes years and full months. I want to add sick leave days to complete a…