Q. I am 60, retired from USPS under CSRS. I was told I will receive my Social Security along with my postal pension at age 60. When I reach 62, I then will be dropped from this and can apply for Social Security directly. I have my 40 quarters in Social Security. Is this true? A. Whoever told you that was mistaken. He may have thought you were covered by FERS. FERS retirees receive a special retirement supplement that approximates the amount of Social Security benefit they earned while FERS employees. As a CSRS retiree, you would be eligible for…
Monthly Archives: September, 2012
Q. I am a FERS employee (postal) with 16 years in with four years Air Force. If I took a full-time state job, how would that affect my federal retirement? My minimum retirement age is 56 years and 6 months, and I am 44. A. If you resigned from the government, left your contributions in the retirement fund and took a non-federal job, you’d be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62. You’d be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 60 if you have made a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service, giving you a total…
Q. I am 51 and a postmaster with 29 years in CSRS. I was told my office at USPS will go to four hours in 2014 (I will be 53). If I don’t find another job in the Postal Service before 2014 and am terminated due to reducing my office to a non-postmaster office, can I collect a immediate annuity and keep my health insurance? A. If you are involuntarily separated, you will be eligible for an immediate annuity. The same is true if you are offered an opportunity to retire early. If you have been covered under the Federal…
Q. I resigned from federal service with 21 years of service — 20 in FERS, one in CSRS. When I resigned, I was not at minimum retirement age. I now meet the MRA+10 rules and am ineligible for CSRS refunds. Can I wait until age 60 and qualify for an unreduced annuity under age 60 with 20 years of service provision? Is it better to take the reduced annuity today? A. You don’t have a choice. Because you have 20 years of service, you can only apply for a deferred annuity at age 60. Note: Because you had fewer than…
Q. The high-3 method for computing an annuity under FERS requires computing the three consecutive highest-earning years for computing the annuity payments. What effect does Leave Without Pay have on this? In other words, if you had four months of LWOP during one of the high-3 years, is the base pay used in the computation or are the actual earnings (accounting for the LWOP) used? A. As long as you don’t exceed six months of LWOP in a calendar year, your high-3 will be calculated on your base pay, not on the pay you actually received.
Q. I am turning 65 and, although professional and educated, am struggling with the “right” choice for Medicare. My service was 15 years CSRS and 18 years FERS. I pay approximately $100/month for excellent HMO coverage. Taking Medicare Part B seems to be doubling my cost without seeing much return on investment other than to appear to be over-insured. Is there any legislation pending or any other compelling reason to take Part B in addition to maintaining FEHBP? A. Signing up for Medicare Part B is a personal decision. No one is pressing you to do that by either persuasion…
Q. I noticed someone said if you are eligible for disability retirement, you can’t get a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment. There are many requirements to be eligible for or awarded disability retirement. It is a complicated application process. If you applied and/or if you have a disability, why should this mean you are automatically eligible for it and therefore not eligible for VSIP? A. The rules are clear. If you have a disability such that you are or would be eligible for disability retirement, you are barred from receiving a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment.
Q. I am a U.S. Army reservist activated for 56 months and returned to federal service in November. I asked to buy back my active-duty time as a federal employee then and was instructed to fill out the form to DFAS and provide all my DD214s, which I did. I just got a ridiculous letter from DFAS last week telling me to pay a whole lot for those months, and I know it is wrong. I found a reference in USERRA that National Guard and Reservists do not pay either the 3 percent of base pay under FERS (or the…
Q. I am 58 and will be retiring soon under a VERA with the Postal Service. I have back, foot and knee ailments that have been diagnosed and that give me constant pain. If I take a VERA with the special retirement supplement before age 62 but am unable to find or perform work after retirement, could I apply for Social Security Disability Insurance instead of regular Social Security? I have 27-plus years of service. A. You could apply for SSDI. However, whether you would be approved for it would be up to the Social Security Administration. You can learn…
Q. I am a CSRS employee with 30 years of service. If I marry a retired federal employee, will this reduce my monthly retirement benefits? Also, in the event of death, are we entitled to each other’s benefits? A. Marrying either a federal employee or retiree would not affect your retirement annuity. Whether you would be eligible for each other’s survivor benefit would depend entirely on whether you elected to provide such a benefit and accepted the reduction in your own annuity to pay for it.