Q. Regarding when my COLA will start: If I retired Jan. 31, 2011, am I a January retiree or a February retiree? I know that the 2012 COLA is 3.6 percent. Because I wasn’t on the annuity roll in December, will I get 3 percent or 3.3 percent? A. You won’t be eligible for any cost-of-living adjustment until January 2013. Because you will be on the annuity roll in February, that COLA will cover only the 10 months you were on the annuity roll, and equal 5/6 percent on whatever it turns out to be.
Monthly Archives: January, 2012
Q. Is it true that those of us that joined Medicare Part B in 2010 or 2011 will see our premiums reduced from $110+ and $115+ to $99.60? I had feared that we would be stuck with the higher premiums forever. A. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, “In 2012, the ‘standard’ Medicare Part B premium will be $99.90. This is a $15.50 decrease over the standard 2011 premium of $115.40 paid by new enrollees and higher income Medicare beneficiaries and by Medicaid on behalf of low-income enrollees. The majority of people with Medicare have paid $96.40 per…
Q. I have two years of military service that I bought back. How does this time count in regard to FERS retirement? Does it count toward meeting FERS retirement civilian service eligibility requirements as one of your answers seemed to indicate? Does military service count in the annuity calculation if you don’t buy the time back? A. It all depends. If you are covered by FERS, you won’t receive any credit for your active-duty military service unless you make a deposit for that time. If you are covered by CSRS and were first employed on or after Oct. 1, 1982, you’ll…
Q. I am planning to retire during second half of December 2012 and would like my unused annual leave payment to be paid during 2013. What is the earliest day to retire in 2012 for me to accomplish that? Will it be during pay period 25 (Dec. 2-15) or pay period 26 (Dec. 16-29). I am a civilian in the Department of the Army on the regular leave and pay schedule. A.You’ll have to check with your agency’s payroll office. All I can tell you is that your lump-sum annual leave payment won’t be made until your agency has closed…
Q. I recently sent out a 3108 form to see if my time in the federal government can be repaid. I worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1983 to 1984 and the U.S. Postal Service from 1985 to 1988. Since most of that time was spent in the old CSRS Retirement System, I was told by Human Resources that this would count toward my annuity if I buy back my time and if I had in fact paid FICA during the times in question. Is this true? A. If retirement deductions were taken from your pay during those years,…
Q. Under CSRS, I worked 17 years as a full-time employee. For the past 17 years, I worked part time only 24 hours per week. I would like to retire in two years with 35 years of service. How is the calculation done? With the new amendment in 2009, I was told by my HR that my retirement is based on my full-time salary rate ($111,000 as a GS-14). But this doesn’t make sense. I will be making more when I retire. Can you help me understand this? A.Here’s how you annuity will be calculated: 1. The actual hours you…
Q. You clearly state in your blog that buying back active service and putting it toward FERS will not affect reserve retirement. Can you pinpoint references? Where can I find that in writing? A. Employees receiving reserve retired pay are not required to waive that pay. See 10 U.S. Code, Chapter 67.
Q. I took early FERS retirement at age 59 to take care of a family member. That problem has passed. Can I withdraw my retirement and come back to work for the government? A. While you can’t withdraw your retirement, you can apply for a job with the federal government. If you get one, your annuity would continue and your salary would be offset by the amount of your annuity.
Q. I am a Civil Service Retirement System employee who will soon have enough service to retire at 80 percent of my high-3 salary, not including sick leave. I will have in excess of 2,080 hours of sick leave at the time of retirement. Can I receive an additional 2 percent above the 80 percent for the unused sick leave? A. Yes. When your annuity is calculated, any leftover hours of actual service will be combined with any unused sick-leave hours and used to increase your annuity above the 80 percent limit. To increase your annuity by 2 percent, that total number of hours would…
Q. I am an employee with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. I am not an inspector, but I am under their pay scale, ISLE (Inspection Service Law Enforcement). It is basically the same as the GS scale. I am an ISLE-14 and a Civil Service Retirement System employee. Is there any chance that the postmaster general and USPS will offer all CSRS employees an early-out? A. Under current law, neither the Postal Service nor any other agency of government can offer all CSRS employees an opportunity to retire early.