Q. I retired on a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program after 27½ years of service. I worked 19 years under CSRS Offset. I’m working in the private sector now and continue paying into Social Security. When I turn 62, even if I’m still working, will an adjustment be made to my annuity for the amount of my Social Security benefit at that point? And what can I expect if I continue to work to my full retirement age for Social Security, which is 66? By then, I’ll have 28 years that I’ve paid into Social Security. I don’t necessarily want to retire at 62. A.…
Monthly Archives: April, 2012
Q. I am a FERS employee who retired Jan. 31. I know I will receive pay for half of my sick leave. When will I be paid? A. You won’t receive a payment for half of your unused sick leave. That’s because it has no cash value. Instead, you will get credit for it in the computation of your annuity.
Q. I am 58 with 33 years of civil service benefits. Is there a big advantage to waiting until I have 35 years in to retire? A. If you are covered by CSRS, your annuity would be increased by 2 percent for every additional year you worked. If you are covered by FERS, the increase would be 1 percent per year. It’s up to you to figure out whether that’s an advantage.
Q. I am a Postal Service FERS employee with 24½ years of service. If the USPS offers early retirement with an additional two years of service, will I be eligible to retire with 26½ years of service? Or must an employee actually have 25 years of creditable service prior to being offered retirement? A. How many times do I have to say it? Neither the U.S. Postal Service nor any other agency of government can add years to increase the amount of an employee’s service nor tack them on to increase his age.
Q. I’m 71 and have been working under FERS since 1991. I started collecting Social Security benefits when I turned 67. My husband worked for the federal government under FERS since 1991, as well. He retired three years ago and collected Social Security benefits. He passed away in November, and Social Security benefits got cut off. Am I entitled to any of his benefits, like a percentage? A. To find out what your survivor benefit would be and how to apply for it, go to www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/ifyou5.htm.
Q. I am a FERS employee, have 28.7 years of service and am 56 years old, which put me in that MRA+10 provision and am eligible for the “federal supplement” check. I’m seven months away from having my five years under my health insurance. Why is it that I can get the OPM to sign a waiver so I can take my health insurance with me under a VERA, yet if I want to go now, I lose it? Or is there a way I can take it with me now regardless? If I could take my health insurance with me…
Q. I am retired under CSRS. If I were to accept a temporary or term position (i.e. NTE one year), would my salary be offset by my retirement or would I be able to collect both? A. Unless you were hired into one of those rare positions that allowed you to receive your annuity and the salary of your new job, your salary would be offset by the amount of your annuity.
Q. Do former CSRS employees eligible for a deferred annuity receive an annual cost-of-living increase for deferred annuity payment, or is amount static? A. Those who apply for a deferred annuity will have it calculated as though they had retired on the day they left government. It will not be increased by any cost-of-living adjustments that were applied to annuities between that time and the date on which their deferred annuity begins. However, from that point forward, those annuities will be increased by any COLAs that are applied to other annuities.
Q. I started work for the federal government in 1999 at age 54, which gives me 13 years of service as of November of this year. I had worked in the private sector for 24 years. I am now covered under FERS. I would like to continue working until 70. Would I be able to file for Social Security payment either at 62, 66, and 70 while still working? A. Based on what you’ve told me, you are either age 67 or close to it, so retiring at age 62 is out of the question. However, because you have reached…
Q. I am in the process of “buying back” my active-duty Army time, but I also have a couple of years in the active Air National Guard. Can I buy that time also? If so, what is the contact info? A. Service performed in the National Guard has never been considered military service unless the individual was called or drafted into the actual service of the United States. If your active-duty service in the National Guard was recorded on a DD 214, that should be sufficient proof that the time you were on active duty is deemed to be federal service. If…