Q. I am a FERS retiree since 2003. May I work as a temporary fire lookout for the same agency?
A. There is nothing that would prevent you from being rehired by your former agency if it wanted to do so. However, you need to find out what the effect of taking that job would be. As a rule, the salary of a re-employed annuitant would be reduced by the amount of his annuity. If that turns out to be the case with the temporary lookout position, you’d end up working for nothing.
5 Comments
I feel that my rights are violated by the employer because the employer was never given me a chance to talk about how I feel.
If you feel your rights were violated, you can file an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Tp find out how to do that, go to http://www.mspb.gov and click on File Appeal.
I retired from the federal government in 2011. After 18 years of working as a registered nurse, I incurred an on the job injury which prevented me from working
as an RN again due to not being able to meet the physical requirements of the job. I was required to undergo a day long physical challenge assessment which concluded I had a permanent partial disability
and could work a sedentary job 4 hours/day. After several months, a job was located for me within the same facility which was a much lower grade of pay. I worked in that position for 15 years and
and also a compensation check each month.
When I was 57 1/2 years old, I decided to retire and was notified about 4 days before my actual date of leaving that I was eligible to receive workers’ comp
benefits instead of retirement. The workers comp benefits were considerably higher.
When my husband turned 69 years old 2 years ago, we decided to have him pick up Medicare (at a higher rate due to not signing up at age 65). We still
had my federal BCBS insurance. We thought Medicare would now be his primary insurance. However BCBS informed us he is not eligible for Medicare
(as a primary insurance) because as I was told “you are still employed.” I explained that I had not been employed since 2011 and had retired. They informed me I needed
to have the agency I retired from correct this in the computer. I called the agency who stated they had nothing to do with this. I spent many hours on the
phone contacting the Dept of Labor, OPM, Medicare, Social Security & Workers’ Comp. No one knew the answer to this question. I then called the workers’ comp nurse at the
facility where I had worked and left many messages for her asking this question. After a few months she informed me she had been informed that I am considered
’employed’ because I am Workers’ Comp with the idea that I may be able to return to work. We are now paying very large amounts of money for my
husbands’ health insurance which we wouldn’t be if Medicare was his primary insurance. (In fact the amount is even higher since BCBS raised their
catastrophic limit from $6000 per year to $10,000 per year.) I will turn 65 in 2017 and am worried about this too. I have contacted that nurse at the
facility where I was employed several times to see if she can give me a statement in writing that I will be considered “employed” as long as I receive
workers comp but she never returns my calls. BCBS is now his primary insurance and Medicare is the secondary insurance. As a secondary insurance,
it does not pay very much toward the bills and we have more to pay. We are contemplating having him drop Medicare. However, if what I have been
told (that I am still considered employed) is not true, we may be unable to sign up for Medicare again for him and may have to pay at even a higher rate.
I undergo medical treatment 1-2X/week continuously for this injury and it has continually become worse over the years.
It seems a real disservice to someone who was a hard working, conscientious employee for so many years and received outstanding evaluations every year to be ‘penalized’ in this manner.
I am asking if you can help me get to the bottom of this issue and if there is anything you can do to help me rectify this situation.
Thank you.
Your question falls outside the boundaries of this forum. You may find the answer you’re looking for at http://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/csrsfers-handbook/c102.pdf?nocache=1.
Thank you for your reply. Since this situation falls outside the boundaries of the forum,
would you kindly remove my email.