Q. My mother is living in California and has Kaiser Permanente health care from my father’s retirement as a federal employee. He has passed. My mom is to the point of needing to move closer to my sister in Newport News area, in Virginia. Where can I find information about health care providers in that area? She always has been with Kaiser Permanente, so she is comfortable with HMO-type providers. She never applied for Medicare and says getting it now would cost her too much. She is 86. Is there an HMO her Kaiser health care would transfer to, or…
Monthly Archives: August, 2012
Q. A friend of mine will soon have 42 years of service. He was told he will receive a lump sum for his sick leave when he retires, since it can’t be added to his years of service at that point. Is this true? A. No. The reverse is true! Although he will have reached the 80 percent limit on the amount of annuity he can receive based on his actual service, he can’t be paid one red cent for his unused sick leave. Instead, that unused sick leave, which isn’t subject to the 80 percent limit, will be added…
Q. I am a GS civilian (non-Department of Defense) who was stationed in Germany and returned to the states in April. I am still with the same agency, so my leave transferred. However, I carried over about 275 hours of annual leave, and now my pay and leave statement states that I have to use about 250 hours (use or lose) before the end of the year. While stationed overseas, I had a 360-hour use/lose ceiling. Now my agency says I have only a 240-hour ceiling. I thought my ceiling could remain at 360 hours or, if applicable, and in my…
Q. I am a CSRS employee. At what number of years of service do one’s take-home retirement and working pay become equal? A. They don’t. If you work for 41 years and 11 months, you would be entitled to the maximum earned annuity, which is 80 percent of your high-3. For every month of unused sick leave (174 hours), you can add one-sixth of 1 percent to that amount (2 percent per year). If you work beyond 41 years and 11 months, any excess contributions would be returned to you with the option of buying additional annuity, which, like unused…
Q. I am receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits due to stroke, seizures and other medical issues. I am getting letters from the IRS for payment of taxes in 2008. Can they tax my SSDI benefits? A. Yes; however, you may have little or nothing to pay. To find out more, go to www.ssa.gov/pubs/10153.html, click on About Your Benefits and scroll to Paying Taxes on Your Benefits.
Q. I worked for NAF from Sept. 1, 1970, to August 1990 in the Air Force. With no break in service, I ported into FERS. Early in my FERS career, I had the option of taking my NAF retirement in a differed annuity or transferring it into FERS with my NAF service. I chose to move all of my NAF retirement money ($6,500) into FERS, hoping it would combine with my FERS retirement. In November, I started looking at the possibilities of taking the VSIP. From November to April, I spoke with BEST counselors five times trying to get an…
Q. Can annual leave be used in lieu of sick leave? If so, do the same requirements apply? A. Yes, the same requirements apply. And yes, you can ask your supervisor for approval to take annual leave instead of sick leave.
Q. I served nine years in the military and bought back that time. When I retire at 56, I will have 33 years in Civil Service. Will I be eligible to receive the FERS annuity until I am 62? Also, does the high-3 consecutive salaries mean for the last three years? My income has remained the same since the pay freeze was implemented. Will my high-3 include these years, or will it be based on the last three pay increases I received? I am close to retirement, and my decision to retire will be based on the answer to this…
Q. My wife retired from the USPS in 2003 under CSRS. Upon my death, will she receive the full Social Security survivor amount, or will that amount potentially reduce her USPS pension? Also will any retirement benefits from my private company plan affect her retirement pension? A. Because she is receiving an annuity from a retirement system where she didn’t pay Social Security taxes, any Social Security survivor benefit to which she is entitled would be affected by the government pension offset provision of law. The GPO would reduce that Social Security survivor benefit by $2 for every $3 she…
Q. After 30 years with Civil Service, I took an early out in April 2005 at the age of 55. I am subject to off-set since I had a break in Civil Service and was then rehired. When I reached age 62, my annuity was reduced by more than $1,000/month. I was under the impression that the (regular) Social Security fund to which I contributed would make up for the reduction. A Social Security customer service rep said Social Security will not make up the difference. I would prefer to not be disabled but cannot fix the issue. I feel…