Q. If my mother worked 44 years with the Defense Department and died without retiring, will my brother and I receive her pension since my father passed away three years ago? A. While you won’t be entitled to a pension, you would be eligible to receive the contributions she made to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. You’ll need to call the personnel office where your mother worked so that they can advise you on how to proceed.
Monthly Archives: July, 2012
Q. Is there a specific time or age when a CSRS retiree can apply for Medicare Part A? A. To find out, go to www.medicare.gov/navigation/help-and-support/contact-medicare.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 and click on “eligibility.”
Q. I am 47 years old, and I’m a nurse in a government hospital. In 2009, I injured my back, which required surgery. I’ve been off sick since 2010, going in and out of doctors. Early this year, I was told by my superiors to come back to work, but I’m still not feeling well. I sometimes can’t even walk because of the screws put into my back. I have asked for early retirement because I have more than 25 years of service, but they won’t allow me. They say I must resign if I don’t want to work. Please…
Q. I am a retired federal worker who worked from 1972 to 1987 under CSRS then transferred to FERS in 1987. I left the federal government in 1995 with enough quarters to qualify for Social Security but with much less than 30 years of substantial earnings. In 2010, at age 60, I began getting my government annuity, part based on CSRS and part on FERS. This year at age 62, I am eligible to receive Social Security benefits. As I understand it, FERS transfers are not affected by the offset program but are affected by the windfall elimination provision. How…
Q. I have been working with the federal government for eight years. I am vested in a retirement program. I earn $69,000 a year. How much will my retirement income be after I retire? A. FERS employees can retire when they meet one of the following age and service combination: age 62 with five years of service; 60 with 20; at their minimum retirement age with 30; and at their MRA+10 (at least 10 years of service but fewer than 30) with a reduction of 5 percent for every year they are under age 62. MRAs range from 55 to 57,…
Q. I plan on retiring in 2013 under FERS immediate annuity with 30 years at my minimum retirement age with no penalty. I am FERS code 8, and my annuity computation date and retirement computation date are both Feb. 8, 1983. Is the earliest date that I can retire (to give me 30 years) Feb. 8, 1983? My 30 years will consist of FERS employment, “bought back” military time, and CSRS time “bought back” via a re-deposit). Will I qualify to receive the FERS annuity supplement even though I will not have 30 years of FERS-only time? Can I use…
Q. I am a full-time term federal employee. I had a service computation date of Feb. 5, 2005. It was recently changed to June 4, 2002, due to military service. Will this new SCD help when computing my FERS retirement plan as far as years? I have only contributed to FERS since 2005, when I became a scheduled full-time term employee. A. It will only affect your annual leave accrual rate. It won’t have any effect on your retirement eligibility or in your annuity computation unless you make a deposit for that period of active-duty service.
Q. I was told that if I had served in Vietnam in a combat situation and could prove it, I would qualify for additional leave accrual (over eight hours per pay period). If I submitted a copy of my decorations I had been awarded, that would be the proof needed. Turn that into the personnel folks here at Tinker [Air Force Base, Okla.] and they would fill out the paperwork and process the application. I am a Vietnam vet and was hired as a civil servant one year ago. Can anyone tell me if there is any truth to this?…
Q. Under CSRS Offset, I worked for the federal government from 1973 to 1987, withdrew my retirement, then worked for private industry, paying Social Security from 1988 to 2007. Finally, in 2007, I returned to work for the federal government and stayed with the CSRS Offset retirement. When I retire, how will my Social Security vs. CSRS Offset be paid? Since I have contributed to Social Security for approximately 20 years, would this not be a normal CSRS Offset situation? A. Yes. If you were already retired, at age 62 your CSRS annuity would be offset only by the amount…
Q. I moved to another base due to a base realignment and closure in 1994. I was told by my personnel office several years ago that it would be to my advantage to pay back my military time. So, trusting their advice, I paid it back. And because the interest accrued since 1986, the dollar amount tripled. I served in the Navy from 1974 to 1978. However, I attended a retirement class for CSRS employees and was told by the instructor I didn’t need to pay it back. I do not have 40 quarters and I will not be eligible…