Q. My husband worked for a company and retired after 31 years and was able to keep his group health plan coverage, too. He then began working for the post office and enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Blue Cross Blue Shield (105) health plan. He has now retired (FERS) from the post office with 18 years of service. We both have enrolled in Medicare Part A and B. The first employer required that we be enrolled in Medicare Part B to keep its group health plan coverage. We also kept his FEHB plan when he retired. When he worked…
Monthly Archives: April, 2012
Q. I retired from the Postal Service in August 2010. Do I need to keep all the paperwork, such as Forms 50, etc., from my 26 years of employment? I am assuming the Office of Personnel Management has all the records. A. Your employment files would have gone to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. However, if you are a belt-and-suspenders guy like me, you’ll hold on to that paperwork. More than once, I’ve needed to pull something out of my Official Personnel Folder and would have hated to go through the time and trouble of asking the NPRC…
Q. What is the limit of unused sick leave that can be accredited toward a CSRS employee’s annuity? It is widely agreed at 2087. However, I can’t find any documentation. If I have over 3,000 hours, what happens to the rest? Does it boost survivor benefits if the annuitant passes away? A. What is “widely agreed” is pure nonsense. There is no limit to the amount of sick leave that can be credited to a CSRS retiree’s account. The mistake in thinking that 2,087 is the maximum number is simply a byproduct of the fact that most sick leave conversion charts stop…
Q. I’m medically retired from the Air Force with more than 10 years on active duty. I was retired on disability, not on longevity. I have over 24 years in civil service. I’d like to be able to use those years to add to my service years. I’ve been told I can, but if I did I’d have to waive my disability retirement when I retire from civil service, which I would not like to do as it’s all tax-free. I entered service before 1978. So, can I use the years and still keep my disability retirement pay? A. What…
Q. I’m 59 years old with 27 years of continuous service under FERS. Due to the pay freeze and a brutal commute, I would like to retire with an immediate annuity as soon as I’m eligible at age 60. The Office of Personnel Management defines an immediate annuity as “one that begins within 30 days of your separation.” Does this mean I can retire at age 59 years, 11 months and remain eligible for an immediate, unreduced-for-age annuity? A. No. You would have to retire no earlier than age 60 to completely avoid the age penalty. If you retire at…
Q. I am a 55-year-old CSRS Offset retiree. I have 32½ years of Social Security paid in, with all but 4½ years being in the federal government. My first four years (1980-83) in federal job were temporary appointments where I paid Social Security only. I paid the 10-82 post deposit right before I retired. Twenty-three years (1984-2007) were CSRS interim and Offset. I know my offset annuity will be offset 57.5 percent when I turn 62. Because I have less than 10 years of Social Security paid in private sector, will my total offset and Social Security check only equal…
Q. I was hired as a federal employee in 1971 (my service computation date is March 12, 1971.) In 1976, I enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and attended basic training and technical school from April 1977 to September 1977. To attend this training, I used a combination of leave and leave without pay. During the next 30 years, I was either a member of the Reserve or National Guard, and I performed annual military training and/or periods of active duty using annual or military leave and LWOP (never in excess of six months.) I was never in the active-duty military…
Q. How does the expeditionary or campaign medal qualify an employee for the possibility of being in an increased leave category? I was under the impression that campaign and expeditionary medals only qualify for leave categories when an employee is a retiree from the military. Is this correct? In my scenario, I have seven years of active-duty Navy service and five years of civil service in FERS totaling 12 years. I am in Leave Category 2, which grants of six hours of leave per pay period until I reach 15 years of service. At that time, my leave jumps to Category 3, for…
Q. I would like to know if taking a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment under a round of base closure and realignment changes any of the issues with the minimum age requirement for receiving the FERS supplement. I thought I would receive the supplement, although I had not reached age 56 when I retired June 30, 2010. Information posted on the Navy’s Human Resources website reads: “The annuity supplement is a benefit paid, until age 62, to certain FERS employees who retire before age 62 and are entitled to an immediate annuity. The supplement approximates the value of…
Q. I will retire at the age of 58 with 34 years of service under CSRS and fewer than 40 credits in Social Security. My spouse is 56, still working, and is and has always been under Social Security. If I leave my spouse a survivor annuity and I die before him, will either his Social Security or the CSRS survivor annuity be reduced when he collects Social Security? A. No, they won’t.