Q. I worked as a WG-10 for the Air Force from November 1985 to July 2000, after fours years of active duty. I already rolled over my Thrift Savings Plan 401(k). I was under the Federal Employees Retirement System, but I remember contributing a small amount each pay period toward retirement. Where can I find out what benefits I will receive and when I am eligible to collect? A. Assuming that you didn’t get a refund of your retirement contributions, at age 62 you could apply for a deferred annuity. It would be computed using the following formula: 0.01 x…
Monthly Archives: January, 2012
Q. You have indicated that when an early out is offered, Federal Employees Retirement System employees with more than 25 years are eligible at any age. So in theory, a potential annuitant could easily be less than 50. If the employee is not at the mandatory retirement age but has the 25-plus years of service accepts the offer, is he or she entitled to the Social Security makeup benefit? If not immediately, when? A. Unless they are special category employees, such as law enforcement officers, they won’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement until they reach their minimum retirement age. MRAs…
Q. I submitted the paperwork to Army’s Defense Finance and Accounting Services via fax several months ago. I have not received the amount that I have to pay back to receive credit for the 16 years, seven days of military service from March 19, 1969, to March 25, 1985. I am a civil service employee. Is there a contact number at DFAS, or an email address with which I can follow up on this? I am currently assigned to Okinawa, Japan. I have asked my personnel office in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., but have not received an answer yet. A. You…
In my first column of the year, I used to confidently write that whether you were an em-ployee, retiree or survivor, there would be positive changes in your pay and benefits in January. That was before the freeze on employees’ pay raises and the zero adjustment to retirees’ cost-of-living adjustments. Here’s what’s ahead in 2012. Although employee take-home pay can still be increased by within-grade increases and promotions, the freeze on annual pay increases continues through this year. Some in Congress would like to see the freeze continue past 2012. To see what you are making, go to the salary…
Q. I am currently a federal employee under FERS. I am also a retired reservist eligible to receive retired military pay when I reach 60. Right now I’m age 50. I would like to buy back three years of active time toward federal time. Do I have to waive my military retirement pay when I reach 60? A. No, you don’t. Only those who are receiving military — not reserve — retired pay are required to do that if they want to get credit for that time.
Q. I am a federal employee and a Marine Corps veteran. I am considering buying back my 3.5 years of active-duty service. However, I am also considering going into the Marine Reserve. Should I buy back my active-duty time toward my civil service retirement if I am going into the Reserve? Or would I lose the points for retirement in the Reserve? A. Making a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service would have no effect on your reserve points
Q. I retired in May 2011 under the CSRS program as a Title 32 competitive employee, GS-12. I had 2,665 hours of sick leave when I retired. I received an additional 15 months, 12 days of length of service. The 12 days were dropped for calculation purposes since it didn’t add up to a full month. I came back to work as a rehired annuitant as a temporary employee receiving both my salary and my retired annuity. Am I entitled to get the 12 days (104 hours) reinstated to me to use in my current position, or are those hours…
Q. Is the CSRS pension annuity calculation calculated and paid without any Social Security penalty (windfall elimination) “prior” to the CSRS retiree applying for Social Security benefits (age 62 years and older). In other words, is it the Social Security component or the CSRS annuity component that is penalized with a reduction factor in the total calculation when they are both finally combined? A. The windfall elimination provision applies solely to the Social Security benefit. The WEP reduces the Social Security benefit of anyone receiving an annuity from a retirement system where he didn’t pay Social Security taxes, in whole…
Q. I am considering rejoining federal service and have a question about whether a prior temporary appointment is creditable service toward retirement. In the summer of 1970, I had a three-month appointment (summer job) at the U.S. Postal Service. Would this time be creditable toward CSRS retirement? A. If you returned to work for the government, you would be covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System, not CSRS. I don’t know if your particular appointment in the Postal Service would be considered to be creditable service. You’d have to check with a benefits specialist in the agency that is considering…
Q. My sister, who has been disabled with cerebral palsy since birth and is almost 49, has been receiving Social Security Income for many years. She is totally disabled, has never been employed, and never will be employed. Both of our parents are now deceased. She started getting a survivor annuity from OPM earlier this year — our dad died last November. She was getting a little over $650 from SSI and about the same from mom and dad’s annuities (both mom and dad worked in the government. We recently got a letter that says because of this income, her SSI…