Q. On Sept. 2, I will be eligible to retire (age 56 with 30 years of service) under FERS. I plan to retire in September 2014 and would like to know if I will receive/be eligible for the special retirement supplement. When using the Employee Benefit Information System to calculate my benefits and after annotating my salary history, I am not provided an estimate on the special retirement supplement. A. Yes, you would be eligible for the special retirement supplement. To estimate what that would be, use the following formula: Multiply your estimated Social Security benefit by your total years…
Monthly Archives: January, 2013
Q. I have questions on calculating the FERS annuity. Assume for simplicity’s sake that my high-3 is $50,000. When you say years and months, is that decimal — i.e., 20 years and six months would be 20.5? If so, 20 years at age 60 (multiplier of .01) is $10,250 and if 62 (multiplier of .011), $11,275? Second, this is the annual annuity, so the monthly check is that amount divided by 12 or $854.16/ $939.58 per month and then taxes, etc., are deducted? Am I missing anything here? A. Well done. You are right on all counts.
Q. I’m 58 and my wife is 64. My dilemma is that my wife has never worked since she had to take care of our disabled son. I would like my wife to apply for Social Security benefits from my account so we can have extra income. My major concern is that if my wife is approved and she begins receiving the Social Security benefits, what would happen if I died? Would she be stuck with the benefits she agreed to, or would she be able to receive the amount meant for me? According to what I would receive, that…
Q. I retired from federal service under CSRS in 2004 with full survivor benefits provided to my spouse following my death. Will my spouse still be able to receive her Social Security benefits at their full value? If my spouse passes on before I do, are there Social Security survivor benefits that pass on to me or our unmarried daughter, who is dependent on us for support? A. Your spouse would be able to continue receiving her earned Social Security benefit. If she were to die before you, any spousal or survivor Social Security benefit you would otherwise be entitled…
Q. Will VSIP income, upon retirement, count toward credits earned for Social Security eligibility? I served in the military for four years in the early 1970s. I never bought that service time back. I have earned only 30 Social Security credits and thus won’t be eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62. I am 60 and federally employed with 42 years under CSRS. If I accept a VSIP ($25,000 gross) upon retirement before age 62, will that money count toward Social Security credits earned? If so, how many? And will the credits reduce my annuities at age 62, having…
Q. I have been a federal firefighter for 12 years. I am looking into going contract as a firefighter for two years. I turned 35 in October. Is there a cutoff age to where I can no longer return to the federal service as a firefighter? I have heard several things and am not sure which is right. I even spoke to my personnel office, which could not give me an answer. I heard you cannot get rehired once you turn 37 and that you can add the years you have been in the federal service to 37 and that…
Q. I am 42 with 21 years of 6C FERS retirement service. I have been offered a non-6C position. If I take this position, can I still retire at 46 with 25 years’ total service and with all of the 6C retirements perks, such as the Social Security special retirement supplement? I have heard that if I leave 6C, I would then have to work until age 50 and might lose some of the 6C retirement benefits. A.If you stay in a covered position, you can retire when you have 25 years of service. If you leave for a noncovered…
Q. I could be the only VA employee who lives in one of a handful of towns in the southern tip of Maine that are grouped in with the high locality pay percent (24.8 percent) of Boston et al.: Boston-Worcester-Manchester, Mass.-N.H. Combined Statistical Area, plus the Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, R.I.-Mass. Metropolitan Statistical Area, Barnstable County, Mass., and Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, South Berwick and York towns in York County, Maine; but I’m not paid at that rate! Nevertheless, I am one of the statistics used to determine the justification for the higher rate, i.e., federal employees that commute from one of…
Q. I am a federal employee who worked for the Navy from 2002 to 2006, then had a break in service, and have been back working as a GS employee for the Navy since June 2009. From 2004 to 2006 and June 2010 to February 2011, I was involuntarily mobilized and returned to active duty with my Marine Corps Reserve unit. Am I able to count this time toward the five-year vesting requirement for FERS? A. No, not even if you make a deposit to get credit for that time.
Q. I retired from the VA hospital three years ago with 25 years in FERS. Can I apply for a position advertised as open to internal employees only? A. I doubt it because you aren’t a current employee. However, you’ll have check with your agency to see what it has to say.