Q. I remember reading somewhere that the best date for a CSRS Offset to retire is Jan. 10, 2013 because you can have a big lump sum of the annual leave. When is the first annuity check, then? A. The 2012 leave year ends Jan. 12, 2013. While retiring on that date would mean that your lump-sum payment for unused annual leave would be paid at the 2013 rate, you wouldn’t be on the annuity roll until February. You have to decide whether the potential increase in you lump-sum payment would be worth the loss of a month’s annuity. I wrote potential because…
Monthly Archives: April, 2012
Q. I am a civilian employee who accepted a permanent Defense Department GS-07 Target 09 position overseas. The salary in the letter of offer/acceptance that I signed was $66,941 per year, which is the salary I was receiving from my former command, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The $66,941-per-year salary included the cost-of-living adjustment. Because the position is an emergency essential (EE), it took me several months to complete all the requirements. Three days after my household goods were picked up and two days before my original flight schedule, I received an email from the human resources specialist notifying me the change of my pay to $52,642 per year. Nothing…
Q. I am 46 years old. I retired from the Air Force with 21 years, five months. I receive a 60 percent Veterans Affairs Department disability, and I am currently an Army GS-12 civilian. I was hired as a new GS employee on Jan. 19, 2010. So if I understand the new pension contribution, it would include anyone who was hired after Dec. 31, 2007, or those who do not have five years of government service by Dec. 31, 2013. 1. If I make a military deposit, does it change my “new” employee status? 2. Would I still be required to pay…
Q. I have been receiving federal workers’ compensation since February 2007 for an on-the-job injury. I never applied for Social Security disability. I turned 66 on Feb. 3 and applied for my full SS retirement benefits. If I hadn’t been injured on the job, I would still be working and would continue to work while receiving my full retirement benefit from Social Security (as allowed by SS). Can I continue to receive the OWCP monthly benefit and get my full retirement benefit? I would like to supplement my SS retirement benefit and continue to work, but my injury keeps me…
Q. I am on my last three years before my retirement under FERS. I am planning to take five months of leave without pay on each of these three years. Will my LWOP affect my high-3 average? In other words, is my high-3 based on my income as if I had not taken LWOP for five months each of those years? A. If — and I repeat if — your management is willing to let you take five months of LWOP in each of three years, that time would be creditable in determining your length of service and in your annuity…
Q. My sister is an employee of the District of Columbia government. She’s been there for a few years, and I’ve been urging her to get a position within the federal government. If she were to get a federal job, would her time with the D.C. government count toward her federal service in calculating her leave and retirement dates? Does this apply to any other state government employees? A. Only employees of the District of Columbia government who were hired before Oct. 1, 1987, can get credit for their service if they accept a job with the federal government. Anyone…
Q. A CSRS employee is 62 years old, has 33 years of service, and has been eligible for retirement for four years. If said employee is fired due to misconduct, how is the annuity affected by the discharge? A. It would have no effect on either his eligibility to retire or in the amount of his annuity.
Q. I will have a total of 448 hours of accumulated and unused annual leave (240 hours carried over from 2011 + 208 hours earned in 2012), as well as 32 hours of restored annual leave (from 2011) on Dec. 31, 2012, when I plan on retiring. May I receive a lump-sum payment for the entire 480 hours of annual leave, or am I not allowed to receive a lump-sum payment for the 32 hours of restored annual leave that will be under the two-year lose-or-use window? A. If the time limit for using that restored annual leave hasn’t expired, it…
Q. I am in CSRS Offset. If I wait until 66 to retire from the government (with 32 years as a fed), will I still have a reduction in my government retirement and a reduction in Social Security at that time? I am 60 now with 27 years government service, and I have approximately 22 years of Social Security time now. A. The annuities of all CSRS Offset employees are reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit they earned while covered by CSRS Offset. The amount you receive should be the same. It will just come from two different sources,…
Q. Does the 5 percent annual penalty for retiring under the MRA at age 56 cover the lifetime of distributions, or only until one reaches age 62? A. If you retire under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 but fewer than 30 years of service), your annuity will be permanently reduced by 5 percent (5/12 percent per month) that you are under age 62.