Q. My agency is offering a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. I am just a few months shy of meeting the 20-year requirement to qualify for the VERA. If further reductions are still needed and a reduction in force occurs, thereafter, would I be able to retire during the RIF without a reduction in annuity and with the supplement? (I am FERS and will be at my minimum retirement age of 56 with 20 years in July.) Also, is the FERS supplement being taken away by Congress?
A. If you met the age and service requirements when the RIF occurred, you would be able to take early retirement. There wouldn’t be any reduction in your annuity, and you’d be entitled to receive the special retirement supplement.
As for your other question, Congress hasn’t taken away the special retirement supplement. Whether it will pass a bill that does that and the president will agree to sign it remains to be seen.
