Q. I understand that the Office of Personnel Management will fund the SRS from when I retire (I plan to retire in 2017 with 30 years of FERS and at age 57½) until I turn 62. Several co-workers recently attended retirement classes with OPM and Social Security employees as instructors. The instructors have stated that at age 62, when the SRS ends, the employees must begin to take SS payments instead of allowing them to wait until age 66, for example. I understood that I could start receiving SS payments at an age that best met my requirements, not having them start…
Monthly Archives: July, 2012
Q. I qualify for a buyout with 25-plus years of service. If I take the buyout, it is my understanding that I must wait until my normal minimum retirement age of 56 to begin receiving the Social Security supplement. Would this prevent me from receiving increases in Social Security supplemental benefits that I would have received had I waited until 56 to retire? I believe I would get the increases at 62, in any event, when I could first draw reduced SS benefits. Also, what happens to my Thrift Savings Plan account? May I purchase an immediate annuity and/or take a…
Q. I was on active duty from September 1999 to September 2008. I was honorably discharged with 30 percent service connected disability. I became a civil service employee in December 2010 in a permanent position. I was in this position for 18 months and then transferred to a term position. It was a permanent position but switched to term when the person in it left. I was told that I could not be brought in as permanent because I hadn’t reached ‘career status’ yet, which they stated was three years as a civil service employee. I was told that had I been…
Q. We have GEHA high option (Code 312) for our family. I just got the letter from Medicare about choosing Medicare Part B. However, even if I am on Medicare after retiring, my wife will have seven more years before being eligible for Medicare. Thus, I am considering continuing GEHA high for both of us and not taking Medicare B, since GEHA 312 covers expenses quite well and my wife would need health insurance. If I take Medicare B and drop GEHA, I would have Medicare A and B, but she would have no health insurance. Is the above correct?…
Q. I am a full-time Veterans Affairs Department employee and would like to reduce my work hours. Is there a specific number of hours that is still considered full-time (such as 32 or 35, as is sometimes found in the “real” world), or is any number fewer than 40 hours considered part time? Fewer hours with full-time benefits would be nice if that option is available, as opposed to prorated benefits and increased premiums for health benefits. A. Per OPM’s rules (5 CFR part 340), a part-time work schedule is 16 to 32 hours a week. Once an employee works…
Q. I retired from the U.S. Navy with 24 years of active duty service. I understand that I do not get any credit toward retirement but was told by other personnel that my rate of earnings for leave/vacation at my federal position should be adjusted. I will have worked in a federal position for three years next month, and my rate of leave/vacation earnings is 4 (basic). Please advise if my military time affects my rate of earning for vacation time. A. According to the Office of Personnel Management, for military retirees, annual leave accrual credit is given only for: Actual…
Q. I’m a FERS employee in a permanent, salaried position with the Air Force. I’m eligible for immediate retirement in December at age 60 with 28.5 years. With all the civilian cuts in the Department of Defense (no official reduction in force yet), are there any safeguards that protect people this close to retirement so they don’t have to worry about losing their jobs (and well-deserved benefits)? All I’ve found is: 1) my seniority (for RIF purposes), and 2) CFR Title 5, Ch. 1, SubCh. A, Part 351.606 and Part 630.212. A. No, there aren’t any safeguards as such. However, because you would meet the…
Q. Why do former military (not retired military) have to pay a deposit back into the retirement fund, especially if they’re offset? I am a CSRS offset employee, and my retirement annuity will decrease when I turn 62, when my Social Security will kick in. A. Anyone first hired on or after Oct. 1, 1982, has the option of making a deposit for active-duty service to get retirement credit for that time. Anyone first hired before that can make the deposit or not. For anyone who doesn’t, retires before age 62 and is eligible for a Social Security benefit at…
Q. I am currently a federal employee and my career is as follows: I joined the military reserves at 17 and was activated for the Gulf War, received two years of credible service. I began my civilian career at age 23 as a customs inspector (non-6 (c) coverage) and was there for three years. At age 26, I became an 1811 with the INS for two years. At age 29, I joined ATF as an 1811. Now I am 39. If I buy back my military time now, would that allow me to retire at age 46 with 20 years…
Q. I’ve been getting mixed messages about whether service at the armed forces military academies is creditable for annual leave accrual purposes. I’ve read Q&As on your site that say it is, but my human resources people say that it isn’t. Who’s right? A. According to the Office of Personnel Management: “Section 1115 of the NDAA for FY 2008 is the applicable provision of law that explicitly makes academy service time creditable for retirement — and therefore for annual leave accrual purposes. “Section 1115 of the NDAA amended title 5 United States Code so that it explicitly made academy service time creditable toward retirement…