Q. I’m 54 with more than 20 years in a FERS 6c law enforcement officer covered position and am considering a transfer to a noncovered position as a Department of Defense civilian. This will allow me to continue federal service beyond the age 57 mandatory retirement for LEOs. Can I expect the transfer between agencies to be smooth? Are there any transfer pitfalls I should be aware of? Will an agency transfer adversely affect my LEO retirement? A. While there is no guarantee, there’s also no reason to think your transfer to another agency wouldn’t be smooth. Because you already…
Monthly Archives: November, 2012
Q. I have been a part-time employee of DHS since September 2008. Not until fall 2008 was I told I could enroll in FEHB as a part-time employee. My FEHB was initiated during that open enrollment period and began in January 2009. If I retire next year at 70, will I be eligible to continue the FEHB Plan into retirement since I won’t have five years of creditable service but was not offered the plan earlier due to my part-time employment? A. The law is clear. You must be enrolled for the five consecutive years before you retire or from…
Q. I was a postal employee between 1983 and 1996. When leaving the Postal Service, I took a withdrawal from the pension system. 1. Could these funds be redeposited into the system so I could qualify to draw an annuity? 2. If I must return as an employee of the Postal Service AND redeposit the funds I withdrew from the pension system, how long would I have to work before I could qualify to retire? I also contributed funds into the TSP which I never withdrew. Those funds are still active with the plan. A. You cannot redeposit the refund…
Q. I’m preparing to retire and have a question concerning annual leave. Are you paid for all you have accrued, or are you limited to your carryover limit? A. Unless you are a Postal Service employee, you’ll receive a lump-sum payment for all your annual leave, but only if you retire before the end of the leave year. The 2012 leave year ends Jan. 12, 2013.
Q. I’m a 79-year-old single federal retiree in CSRS. If I marry a woman 10 years younger, what percentage of my retirement will she receive when I die? I also am a military retiree with Medicare and Tricare for Life, so I wouldn’t need the civilian health insurance. A. As a CSRS retiree, you could elect any amount of annuity for your spouse, from $1 a year to 55 percent of your annuity. To pay for it, there would be two reductions in your annuity. The first would be the standard reduction to provide for the survivor benefit. The second…
Q. I worked for an independent federal agency from 1977 to 1989 that had its own retirement system —neither CSRS nor FERS. I had a break in service for one year, then returned to work for the federal government (Transportation Department), where I was erroneously placed in FERS by HR. In 2006, following a FERCCA ruling that took more than 2½ years, I chose to be placed in the CSRS Offset program rather than FERS. I paid Social Security as a federal employee (plus through part-time jobs dating back to 1970) until I retired in 2010 with 32 years of…
Q. I worked for an independent federal agency from 1977 to 1989 that had its own retirement system —neither CSRS nor FERS. I had a break in service for one year, then returned to work for the federal government (Transportation Department), where I was erroneously placed in FERS by HR. In 2006, following a FERCCA ruling that took more than 2½ years, I chose to be placed in the CSRS Offset program rather than FERS. I paid Social Security as a federal employee (plus through part-time jobs dating back to 1970) until I retired in 2010 with 32 years of…
Q. I am trying to clarify Catch-62. I was hired in 1981 and I have 31 years in CSRS at age 55. I also have four years of military service that I have not bought back. If I have 24 quarters of Social Security, by age 62, will the four years of military automatically be added to my SSA quarters, thus reducing my CSRS pension? Or will I have to have the 40 quarters at age 62 beyond the 16 quarters paid while in the military? A. Since Jan. 1, 1957, every member of the military has had Social Security…
Q. I have 3¾ years military service and 2¼ years as a term employee. Recently I accepted a new position with the government. I am 65. Will I be eligible for retirement after completing three-quarter years in my current position? I was covered under FERS as a term employee and in my current position. A. No. You would need to have five years of actual FERS service to be eligible to retire. Even if you made a deposit for your active-duty military service, it wouldn’t count until you had those five years under your belt.
Q. I am a Border Patrol FERS employee (11 years) and Army National Guardsman (19 years) with prior active-duty military service. I have already purchased my active-duty time before federal employment (2½ years), as well as time from two deployments since my federal service (an additional two years). I am now approaching my military reserve retirement (20 reserve years) and have confirmed that I will begin receiving my reserve pension at age 60. I have also confirmed that I can receive this retirement along with my FERS retirement. I plan to retire from Border Patrol at age 55. Will I…