Q. I am 58 and will be retiring from the Defense Logistics Agency soon with 30 years of CSRS service. Before my government service, I earned 34 Social Security credits. I plan to work part time after CSRS retirement to earn the six credits needed for a small (windfall elimination provision) SSA pension. While the money won’t be much, is it important to get 40 Social Security credits to become eligible for a spousal survivor benefit from my wife’s SSA benefits? A. Because you’ll be receiving an annuity from CSRS, a retirement system where you didn’t pay Social Security taxes,…
Monthly Archives: October, 2012
Q. I am a 51-year-old FERS employee with 23 years of service. Under the Postal Service’s POStPLan, postmasters will receive a reduction-in-force notice in September 2014 if they have not been promoted or found another job. My post office will be turned from a full-time office to a noncareer part-time position, which I can’t work, abolishing my position. If I do not get a written job offer by Sept. 30, 2014, is discontinue service retirement available to me? A. Yes, because you will be at least age 50 and have at least 20 years of service.
Q. When retiring under 30 years/MRA under FERS, can the 30 years’ creditable federal service needed to qualify to receive the FERS special retirement supplement include years employed by the federal government under CSRS and/or military service or do the 30 years need to be FERS employment only? A. The special retirement supplement is based solely on the time that you were a FERS employee.
Q. In the last buyout the clerks had for $15,000, one of our clerks took that and said that she got paid for the holidays after her retirement date if her annual leave would have taken her through those dates. Back then, the retirement date was the end of November and she got paid for Christmas, New Year’s and Martin Luther King Day. Does this benefit apply all the time when a person retires, or is it just when a buyout is offered? A. Yes. Unused annual leave is projected forward as if you were still on the job and…
Q. I am getting ready to submit my retirement papers. I’m under CSRS, so I haven’t paid into Social Security. My husband receives Social Security disability. If I leave him a survivor annuity, will his Social Security disability be affected? If so, how much? A. No, his Social Security disability annuity won’t be affected.
Q. What percentage do FERS employees get for the retirement pay if they work until 62? A. If you have at least 20 years of service and retire at age 62 or older, your annuity will be computed using the following formula: 0.011 x high-3 x years and full months of service.
Q. I am a former federal employee and would like to roll over my FERS contributions to my new employer-sponsored plan. The plan, however, requires advanced approval before the rollover can be accepted. To initiate the preapproval process, I must provide a letter from the custodian or a recent account statement that provides the member’s name, plan type, account number, balance and contact number and the fund custodian’s mailing address. Where can I get this letter or account statement? A. Most applicants just request a refund of their retirement contributions and have them sent to them. Then they give the…
Q. I have been employed as a rehired annuitant under FERS for more than three years and will retire again. While re-employed, I received both my annuity and the salary of my new position. What is the procedure in reference to my annual leave? Will I be given a lump-sum payment for it? And as far as sick leave, will my hours incurred be added to my time as an annuitant. A. While you will receive a lump-sum payment for your annual leave, you won’t get credit for unused sick leave, nor will you be eligible for a supplemental annuity.…
Q. I retired from federal service in September. While I was working in Europe, I earned home leave, and it has remained on my leave and earnings statement since I returned to the continental Unites States in 2004. Will I receive pay for it when I retire? A. As a rule, home leave may be taken only during service abroad or within a reasonable period after you return from service abroad and are expected to return to service abroad immediately or on completion of an assignment in the U.S. Since home leave is grated at the discretion of an agency,…
Q. I’m receiving FERS Retirement Annuity payments (with survivor/spouse payments). I paid the deposit to have my military years (four years) added to my FERS annuity calculations. I may start receiving VA disability payments due to a service-related injury. Can I collect my FERS annuity payments and my VA disability payments concurrently? Will my benefits (health insurance, survivor payments, etc.) continue after the VA disability payments are received? If I receive both FERS and VA disability, are there any changes in FERS annuity payments, federal health coverage, etc., that would affect my wife’s medical coverage, survivor payments or FERS life…