Q. My wife and I are postal employees. I am CSRS, and she is FERS. If we choose the survivor benefit, upon either of our deaths, can the other of us collect our retirement and the other’s survivor benefit? A. Yes.
Monthly Archives: August, 2012
Q. I am a federal employee and will retire under CSRS next year. I have kept up my medical benefits with Kaiser (self only) (FEHB) but I am also under my spouse’s medical plan with her private employer. When I retire, I plan to continue with Kaiser (self only) and with her medical plan until she retires. At the time of her retirement (she will not be offered health insurance from her employer in retirement), will she be able to enroll in FEHB as my spouse under my FEHB plan (I would change my enrollment to self and family) or…
Q. I have been working for the same government entity for close to 40 years. I recently turned 60 and discovered unexpectedly that I am now paying practically twice as much for my insurance every two weeks. I elected five times my salary plus benefits for my family. I am told that I should have dropped this insurance a long time ago and bought coverage through private insurance. I am looking into getting insured but am afraid my premiums are going to be kind of high due to my health. Is it wise to drop FEGLI and seek coverage elsewhere?…
Q. Can I withdraw my basic retirement after working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons for five years (July 2002 until August 2007)? I resigned in August 2007. A. Yes, you can get a refund of your retirement contributions. You have to fill out a copy of Standard Form 3106, Application for Refund of Retirement Deductions, and send it to the address on the form. To download a copy of the 3106, go to www.opm.gov and click on Find Form(s).
Q. I was hired by the USFS in June 1995. I served in a full-time temp position for two years, after which the same position became permanent. Should this time count toward retirement? A. Unless retirement deductions were taken from your pay, that period of employment isn’t considered creditable service for retirement purposes. If they were taken out, it is creditable.
Q. I received a survivor annuity when my first husband died at age 32 (he worked for the Capitol Police). I remarried before I turned 55 and the annuity stopped. Was this correct? A. Yes, it was. You would have been allowed to continue receiving the survivor annuity only if you had been married to your spouse for at least 30 years before he died.
Q. I work for the government under FERS. I retired from the military after 20 years but did not buy back my time for retiring from the federal government. I will be 62 next year and will also have five years working for the federal government. Will I be allowed to draw a retirement from VA and Social Security and also continue to draw my military retirement pay? A. Yes.
Q. I retired at age 55 in 2007 from the federal government under 6c special firefighter retirement. I am getting a FERS benefit supplement with my pension. When does this go away, and will my Social Security, which I can collect at age 62, be an equivalent amount? A. The special retirement supplement ends on the last day of the month in which you turn 62. Since the SRS is a projection based on the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while covered by FERS, it won’t include additional benefits to which you are entitled based on other Social…
Q. I am a dual-status Air National guardsman with 26 years of service in FERS. I started a medical worldwide duty evaluation in September 2011, and the clinic has been gathering information from my doctors via me. In May 2012, I was told that I was being non-retained on the military side due to restructuring. I was told that since I had 26 years of federal service, I would draw an immediate pension and that would disqualify me for FERS disability, which would be better for me. Is this true? A. Yes.
Q. I’m a current CSRS employee with 34 years’ federal service and also have 15 years of “substantial earnings” for Social Security. My plan is to continue to work until age 70 under the CSRS retirement system. At age 66, can I apply and draw full Social Security retirement benefits? Is it correct that the WEP reduction will take effect only once the individual retires from federal service? I read that WEP does not affect an individual who continues to work and is drawing Social Security benefits. A. Yes, you can begin receiving your unreduced Social Security benefit when you…