Q. I retired about a month and a half ago and haven’t even received my first annuity check yet. Can I cancel my retirement and go back to my old job? A. While you can withdraw your retirement application up to the point that it is finally adjudicated, your agency isn’t required to rehire you if you do that. Before you take a step you might live to regret, give your former employer a call and see if he or she is willing and able to take you back.
Monthly Archives: April, 2012
Q. I retired under CSRS in Washington state in 2011. Washington has no state income tax. If I decide to move to another state that does have state income tax, will my annuity be taxed by that state? What if I decide to become an expat and live in Mexico? Can I do that without affecting my pension? Do I have to have a U.S. mailing address? A. If you move to another state, the taxability of your annuity will be determined by the laws of that state. If you moved to another country, some of your annuity might be taxable under its…
Q. I worked for years for the Federal Aviation Administration, part of the Department of Transportation. My pay was handled by Employee Express, which sent me my leave and earnings statement and W-2s. In mid-June 2010, I left the FAA and went to work for the Missile Defense Agency, part of the Defense Department. My pay is now handled by Defense Finance and Accounting Services, which gives me my LES and W-2s. But the W-2 from DFAS covers only the second half of 2010. Where can I get the W-2 for my time at the FAA? I can’t get into Employee…
Q. I bought back 2½ years of service (about $2,500; $647 was principle and $ 1,857 was accrued interest) in 2011. The redeposit was for service provided from March 25, 1985, to Aug. 26, 1987. Is any of it is tax-deductible for this year’s taxes? A. No, it isn’t.
Q. My spouse turns 65 this year and will be eligible for Medicare. She currently is listed as my dependent in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. Because the federal government does not offer a husband/wife option in FEHB plans, could I drop her from my current FEHB and use her Medicare as primary and purchase a supplement on my own and change my FEHB status to single until I retire? I believe the overall cost would be less and most likely be to our advantage, with no more networks to deal with. A. You are making assumptions that may…
Q. I am receiving Social Security benefits. I am still a federal employee under FERS and having Social Security deducted from my pay. I get a statement from the Social Security Administration for the amount I received for taxes, but it does not acknowledge the amount deducted from my salary as being against the amount received. I called them, and they don’t know if it could be deducted or not. The IRS doesn’t seem to know either. Do you know? A. There is no reason why the statement of benefits you received would include any information about the deductions taken from your pay. The…
Q. In a few months, I’ll be collecting Social Security at 62. They’re going to take half of it because I only worked 14 years. That will leave me $300. Am I still under the wage limit where I can only make so much money? A. You bet you are. This year that limit is $14,640. If you earn more than that, your Social Security benefit will be reduced by $1 for every $2 you receive in your paycheck. In the year you reach your full retirement age, the reduction will be $1 for every $3 until the month in which you…
Q. My wife and I are both CSRS annuitants. I retired in October 1986 and am receiving both CSRS and Social Security benefits because I had significant years worked in the private sector. When I retired, I elected a reduced CSRS annuity to leave 55 percent of my annuity to my spouse in the event of my death. My wife is not eligible to receive Social Security because she retired after 1986. Will my wife be eligible to receive my Social Security benefits as a surviving spouse? A. First, let me correct a misunderstanding. If your wife accumulated at least 40…
Q. I retired from the Postal Service with 30 years of service at age 56.5. I am looking to apply to TSA as a transportation security officer but wonder if this will have any effect on my retirement being received from the Office of Personnel Management? Also, if I were to work for TSA for one, three or five years and then quit, would OPM recompute my retirement adding these years in (35 vs. 30)? I am applying for part-time work (25 hours weekly) and retired under FERS. I will have been retired for five years as of Dec. 31. A. You’ll…
Q. I have a friend who attended the Air Force Academy years ago and later retired as an officer, after which he had civil service employment and subsequent retirement from FERS. He was not informed at the time of his civil service retirement that his academy time could be credited toward his civil service retirement time if he paid the 3 percent. He recently found out about it but when he asked, he was told it had to have been done at the time of civil service retirement. This doesn’t sound right. Surely there is an appeal process. A. What he was…