Q. I am a full-time letter carrier with 25 years of service at 50 years of age. I am having health issues and have trouble completing my job. I am considering deferred retirement this month. As I understand, I’ll lose my health insurance, but I can apply for my FERS retirement at my minimum retirement age of 56 with no penalty. What is your opinion?
A. Unfortunately, you are mistaken. If you resigned and applied for a deferred retirement at age 56, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 60 (5/12 percent per month). If you wanted to receive an unreduced deferred annuity, you’d have to wait until you were age 60. If health issues are making it difficult for you to carry out the essential elements of your job, you should apply for FERS disability retirement. If you do that, you’d also need to apply for Social Security disability benefits, otherwise the Office of Personnel Management wouldn’t review your application.
