Q. Can I retire with 17 years of federal service at 59 years old? A. Yes, you could retire under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 years of service). However, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year (5/12 percent per month) that you are under age 62. You could reduce or eliminate the age penalty by deferring the receipt of your annuity to a later date.
Monthly Archives: July, 2012
Q. I am thinking of retirement at age 62 years, two months and 10 days on Dec. 31. I am a retired Navy E-6 and draw a retired military pension. I will have just over 17 years of federal service and am covered by FERS as a GS-9 Step 10. I would like to apply for Social Security benefits at age 62. Would I be eligible to draw all three payments without reduction? A. Yes. However, your Social Security benefit will be less than it would be if you waited until your full Social Security retirement age, which, for those born between 1945…
Q. I am trying to verify that if I take the Social Security supplement at age 60 with 20 years federal service, does that mean when I turn 62 and I receive the increased Social Security benefit that my pension will be reduced by the amount of the supplement. I have friends who do not work for the federal government but are insisting this is the case. A. Your friends are mistaken. The special retirement supplement approximates the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a FERS employee. It stops at age 62, when you become eligible for a…
Q. I just turned 65 and have already applied for Social Security at 64. I am covered by my 64-year-old wife’s Blue Cross/Blue Shield through her employer. She plans to work until age 70, and we will both be covered by BC/BS until that time. Should I refuse Medicare A and B for now until she retires at 70? What are the consequences? A. Enrollment in Medicare Part A is automatic unless you decline that coverage. And it’s not clear to me why you’d do that because you have already paid for it through payroll deductions while you were working…
Q. I have been told that my Social Security benefits may be reduced under the windfall elimination provision. Why would this apply to a British-born citizen who worked and contributed to the government retirement benefit program there and now receives a small pension there? I did not become an American citizen until 1999, although I worked and paid Social Security until 2001 and have earned enough credits to quality for benefits here. The amounts of both pensions are too small to live on and I am wondering how the government can justify what, in effect, amounts to withholding money from a fund that I paid into all these…
Q. I took my retirement money out in 1990. Can I use Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay money to pay that back? The Office of Personnel Management told me I would have the opportunity to buy back refunded money or time before final annuity payments were calculated, but I worried that if I retired, they would not count that time into my annuity before I had time to pay it back. A. What OPM told you is correct. And, since you will have your VSIP long before your annuity is finalized, you’ll be able to make the redeposit with time to…
Q. Benefits Administration Letter 10-105 made changes to how accrued sick leave is used. As a federal employee participating in the FERS (27 years and age 57), I was approved for disability retirement. My reviews and subsequent understanding for the use of accrued sick leave is, if the disability retirement was approved, I could stay on the payroll and use up my sick leave and subsequently start retirement. So far, I have received a lump-sum payment of my accrued annual leave and was told by my human resources group that the accrued sick leave was used to add time to…
Q. I was employed under CSRS from 1970 to 1983. I had a break in service from 1983 to 1985. In 1985, I returned to government service and was placed in the regular CSRS. After retiring in 2005, the Office of Personnel Management apparently discovered that for many years, I was placed in the wrong retirement system. It then classified me as a CSRS Offset retiree. I received correspondence from OPM indicating they are reducing my annuity for Social Security benefits received. Since I never paid any Social Security during my civil service employment, is it right that I be…
Q. I retired in 1997 at age 62 under both CSRS and FERS and accumulated 40 credits with private sector and FERS. I was eligible to receive a small benefit from Social Security and a small amount of my husband’s Social Security benefits. If my husband dies before me, will I continue to receive that small benefit from his Social Security, or will the offset wipe it out? A. If he were to die, you would get the larger of your own Social Security benefit or the survivor benefit. Since you have already reached full Social Security retirement age, your…
Q. I am applying for FERS disability. My agency will approve a part-time schedule while this action is pending. However, when I visited Social Security to pick up an application for SSDI, I was told I might not qualify for benefits based on my income. If I am denied by Social Security for this reason, will I be denied FERS disability retirement? How can anyone qualify for Social Security if their disability retirement exceeds the income test? I am very confused. A. The rules governing FERS disability retirement aren’t as stringent as those for Social Security. For the former, you…