Q: If offered an early out by an agency, which presumably would allow for the special supplement to apply (the Office of Personnel Management website only says you “may” be entitled to), how is that computed? From what I read on the OPM website, the base amount figured on a 40 year pay into Social Security divided into the number of years of Federal Employees Retirement System service (in my case 24/40). Does the base figure assume I paid into Social Security up through 62 years of age (even though I haven’t); or the figure what I actually have paid…
Author militaryonline
Q. I am currently a Defense Department employee and also retired Air Force officer enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System. I served 21 years active military service. I am making deposits to Defense Finance and Accounting in order to potentially buy back my post 1957 military service time at time of my final retirement. During my military service, I sustained injuries performing hazardous duty (instrumentality of war). As a result, I have a 90 percent VA disability rating and Air Force Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) at the 90 percent rate. If I decide to combine my Military Service…
Q: What will my high-3 be if I retire at the age of 55 with 34 years of civil service? My computation date is Nov. 10,1980. My retirement date is planned for Nov. 10, 2014. A: I’ll give you the formula. You’ll have to do the arithmetic. 0.015 x your high-3 x 5 years of service, plus 0.0175 x your high-3 x 5 years of service, plus 0.02 x your high-3 x all remaining years and full months of service. Additional months are created if you have any unused sick leave. You can find out how many you have by dividing your total…
Q. 1) Suppose one retires under the Civil Service Retirement System on Sunday, Oct. 31. I like to ask whether that is an especially poor date because I heard: a) in computing the high-3, only 30 days are used and thus Day 31 is not used; b) if one retires any other day except for the 31st, an extra day is added in computing high-3; c) two days of annuity is lost since salaries are not paid/prorated on weekends while annuity is paid/prorated. Yet, Human Resources said that the above is untrue because by some complicated formula, Day 31 is considered…
Q: I retired at the end of 2007 but continued to work part time until February . I “failed” my first earnings test in June 2009, and my supplement was suspended that August. My earnings for 2009 were similar to 2008, but my earnings for 2010 will be below the threshold for a supplement reduction. When and how will my supplement get turned back on? A: According to the Office of Personnel Management, special retirement supplements are reviewed when it receives information on the annual survey they sent to retirees or from either the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service…
Q: I currently work for the federal government. I previously worked for a state hospital back in the ’70s. Will/can that state time count towards my retirement? A: No, your work for the state hospital won’t count.
Q: If I retire on Dec. 31 at the age of 56 with more than 20 years in law enforcement, would I immediately be eligible for any cost-of-living adjustment for retirees paid at the beginning of the new year, or would I have to wait another full year for the increase? A: No, you wouldn’t be eligible for any cost-of-living increase in 2011. You would receive your first COLA increase in your January 2012 annuity payment. The amount would be 11/12ths of that increase. To receive the full COLA, you would have to retire no later than Nov. 30, 2010.
Q: I know that unused annual and compensatory leave is paid in a lump sum upon retirement. Are unused credit hours also paid out as lump sum? A: Yes. Up to 24 credit hours may be paid in a lump sum at the hourly rate of pay you were earning on the day you retired.
Q: I retired four years ago as a state university extension service employee in the Civil Service Retirement System retirement as well as state retirement. My health benefits were and continue to be through the state retirement system. I now have an opportunity to work part-time for another Agriculture Department agency. If I become a part-time employee of that agency, will it affect my CSRS benefit? A: As a rule, the salary of your new position would be reduced by the amount of your annuity. You’ll need to check with the new agency to see if there would be an…
Q: I became fully eligible for Social Security at 66. I am now 67 and will work until I am 68. For each year, limited to five years, Social Security will increase the benefit by 8 percent a year if drawing Social Security is deferred. Is there a similar provision for Federal Employees Retirement System retirement? A: No. However, a FERS employee who attains age 62 and retires with at least 20 years of service will have the first number in his annuity formula increased from 0.01 to 0.011. The new formula would then be 0.011 x high-3 x years and full months of…