Q. I have read if there is no spouse, former spouse, or some other insurable interest named to receive a survivor annuity upon the death of a FERS annuitant, then a lump sum of the employee’s contributions to the FERS Retirement and Disability Fund will be paid (tax free) under the order of precedence (i.e. designated beneficiary; widow; child). What does this mean? Does it mean any monies left in a FERS retiree’s account at the time of his or her death will be paid out to the people as listed in the order of precedence? A. Yes. It means…
Monthly Archives: March, 2012
Q. I took early retirement in 1999 but have been re-employed with the federal government since May 2004. Currently I am a permanent employee in the competitive service per my SF-50. One of my employees filed an IG complaint regarding my re-employment. The IG person told me that at the anniversary of my hiring that I would be let go since there was a one year limit or a waiver to the one year mandate would have to be sought. I am a CSRS Offsetr etirement individual. Does the DoD have a limit of one year for its rehired annuitants?…
Q. Is there a regulation regarding a timely retirement annuity estimate from human resources at an agency or for OPM to later finalize the estimated annuity amount ? A. While there are no governmentwide rules or regulations governing the provision of annuity estimates, your agency may have established some performance standards for doing that. You’ll have to check to see if yours has. Although the federal government hasn’t developed any software for computing annuity estimates, others have. You might want to try those at www.FEDbens.us, which are free.
Q. I am a FERS employee. I will be retiring soon from the Postal Service with 35 years service at age 56. How will one year of sick leave (to turn in) affect my retirement? Will my retirement pay increased by 1percent? A. If you retire before Jan. 1, 2014, you’d only receive half credit for your unused sick leave, which would result in one-half-percent increase in your annuity. If you retire on or after Jan. 1, 2014, you’d receive full credit, which would increase your annuity by 1 percent.
Q. I have 20 years of military time and get a monthly check. I also have worked 19 years for civil service under FERS. Will I still be able to get Social Security at age 62 without losing some portion of my retirement check? A. Neither your military retired pay or FERS annuity would be reduced if you applied for a Social Security benefit at age 62. Note: If you are still employed when you reach age 62, you’d be subject to the Social Security earnings limit, which would reduce your Social Security benefit by $2 for every $3 you…
Q. I retired from civil service in 2002. I am now 59 and my wife is 55. She is on Disability Medicare Part A only. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employees Plan health insurance. My wife wants to go into a treatment center for pain meds. BCBS says she is not covered because she has Medicare, even though it is part A only. I can’t find enough info to file an appeal. Can you help me or tell me where to look? A. Go back to your plan and appeal that decision. If it comes back with the same…
Q. I am eligible for both CSRS Disability Retirement and Workers’ Compensation; therefore, I have the right to choose benefits from either. I am receiving workers’ compensation. I am 64. Although medical evidence and evaluations, including second opinion examinations, show that I will never be able to work in any capacity (this has been the case for many years), OWCP does not consider me to be totally disabled according to its definition. If I return to CSRS disability annuity, will my retirement still be considered “disability retirement”? I know that I no longer have to provide annual medical reports; but I…
Civil Service Retirement System employees with 41 years and 11 months of creditable service have reached the point in their careers when they have earned the maximum annuity payable under the law — 80 percent of their high-three, the average of their three highest consecutive years of basic pay. Many of them want to know: What happens now? First, CSRS annuities are the sum of three multiplication calculations: 1.5 percent of the high-three, multiplied by the first five years of service; plus 1.75 percent of the high-three, multiplied by the next five years of service; plus 2 percent of the…
Q. I’m approaching five years of federal service, which means I will be vested in my FERS annuity. I have a job offer with a state government entity that would like me to start before I am vested. Can I use annual leave to get me to the five- year mark for vesting purposes? If not, what happens to the .8 percent, do I get it paid out? Does making it to five years affect a future return to federal service? A. Your unused annual leave can’t be added to your service time to make you eligible for a future…
Q. Next year I will be eligible for CSRS retirement (30 years of service at 60). Would my election of partial or full survivor annuity for my wife affect her earned Social Security benefits after I die? A. No, it wouldn’t.