Q. I am a part-time regular with 14 years of service in the U.S. Postal Service under FERS. Can I retire at age 61 at any time and defer my pension until age 62 without penalty? Can I continue my health care coverage?
A. You could retire under the MRA+10 provision and defer the receipt of your annuity to age 62, thus avoiding the age penalty. While your FEHB coverage would end 31 days after you retired, you could re-enroll when you applied for your annuity. In the interim, you could continue your coverage for up to 18 months under the Temporary Continuation of Coverage provision, for which you’d pay 100 percent of the premiums plus a 2 percent administrative charge.
