Q. My wife is 51 years old with 28 years of service and is being fired for misconduct. Will she lose her pension/annuity if she applied at age 56 1/2?
A. She won’t lose her retirement benefit. However, if she applies for it at her minimum retirement age, she’ll be retiring under the MRA+10 provision. As a result, her annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year (5/12 of 1 percent per month) that she is under age 60.
1 Comment
Technically this is a deferred retirement. If she elects to collect at her MRA, the age reduction is for each month she is under the age of 62. If she defers until the age of 60, there is no age penalty. The CSRS FERS Handbook, Chapter 45, page 13 states: A deferred annuity is reduced by five-twelfths of 1 percent for each full month by which the commencing date of annuity precedes the 62nd birthday of the employee. The reduction is 5 percent for each full year the employee is under age 62. The annuity is not reduced if the employee: • Completed at least 30 years of service. (The unreduced annuity can begin as early as the first of the month following the employee’s attainment of the MRA); or • Completed at least 20 years of service and postponed the annuity commencing date until age 60; or • Completed at least 10 years of service and postponed the annuity commencing date until age 62.