Q. I have been covered by my wife’s GEHA plan for the past 10 years, and I continue to be covered under her policy (as do our two kids; we are in a self and family plan). Two new variables are coming into play for my health care: 1) I will be eligible for Medicare coverage in two months; and 2) I just started receiving a federal annuity. (Note: I am eligible to receive Social Security but have not yet signed up). I have two related questions: 1) If I continue to remain under my wife’s Federal Employees Health Benefits…
Monthly Archives: February, 2013
Q. Does retiring under a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority meet Pennsylvania’s requirement that the “taxpayer must have been eligible to retire by meeting the age or service conditions of the retirement plan” for a pension to be tax-exempt? I was 53 years old when I retired and had 33 years of service under CSRS. A. That’s a matter between you and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Q. I find the Michigan tax code for CSRS Postal Service retirees confusing and murky. I believe I am exempt but find no section that spells it out. A. According to our information, the state of Michigan exempts the total amount of civil service annuities.
Q. I am a Postal Service craft employee in Hawaii planning to retire this year. We receive a 25 percent T-COLA on our base salary ($56,508) that also includes our annual leave as we use it, so our checks don’t shrink when on annual leave. Is the 25 percent T-COLA included on the terminal leave I wish to sell back at retirement? If not, I will burn my annual leave before retiring. A. Only if it is included in your basic pay and retirement deductions are taken from it. Note: You don’t have the option of “burning off” your annual…