Q: How would I apply for credit or buy-back other federal service time (specifically Tennessee Valley Authority time) under the Federal Employees Retirement System? A: You would need to take a refund of the retirement contributions you made to TVA and deposit them, with interest, if applicable, in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. Your personnel office can help you complete the paperwork needed to do that.
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Q: I was an attorney for the Justice Department from 1998 to 2001, and then an attorney at IRS from 2001 to 2005. Then I quit the government, quit practicing law and completely changed careers. Here, five years later, I’m considering looking at federal employment again. My questions are: 1. What exactly is career status? 2. Do I have it? 3. Does it matter? 4. Does it apply even if I’m applying for a job that has little at all to do with my former career? A: In the federal government, anyone who is hired into a career-conditional position in…
Q: I plan to retire in December 2011. I will have 42 years in the Civil Service Retirement System with the U.S. Postal Service max annuity is 80 percent, but I will have 18 months of sick leave on the books. How will I be compensated for the sick time? A: At 41 years and 11 months of actual service, you will have reached the maximum annuity of 80 percent. The Office of Personnel Management will offer you the choice of receiving a refund of the additional month’s retirement contributions or using them to buy a little additional annuity. Like…
Q: I switched over to the Federal Employees Retirement System in 1986, with less than five years of service, and I withdrew my money from the Civil Service Retirement System, but not all of it. What happened to the money that I did not receive? A: You were automatically covered by FERS because you had fewer than five years of CSRS service, so that time was automatically converted to FERS service. Since the retirement deductions needed to pay for FERS service were less than those for CSRS, what you received was a refund of the difference.
Q: I am trying to figure out how Federal Employees Retirement System contributions deducted from my pay work. Are they included in retirement pay? I know about the high-3, the 1 percent or the 1.1 percent, and the total years of service and months used for computing retirement annuity. I just don’t understand the FERS subtraction and how it fits, or if it does, into the retirement annuity equation process. A: The retirement contributions that are deducted from your pay have no direct bearing on what you will receive in your annuity. It will be based on a formula that…
One of the more innovative features of the Federal Employees Retirement System is a FERS employee’s right to retire on an immediate annuity when he or she reaches minimum retirement age and has at least 10 years of creditable service. This early retirement option is called the MRA+10 provision. Minimum retirement age ranges from 55 for those born before 1948 to 57 for those born in 1970 or later. The 10 years of creditable service must include at least five years of civilian service. While that service may have been under either FERS or the Civil Service Retirement System, you…
Q: When does the leave without pay affect the service computation date? A: A total of six months in a nonpay status in any calendar year is considered to be creditable service and would be treated the same for retirement purposes as if you were still on the job. Any time spent on LWOP outside that window during a calendar year would not be creditable service and, therefore, not included when determining your service computation date. For more information about how LWOP affects other benefits, go to http://opm.gov/oca/leave/html/lwop_eff.htm.
Q: I plan on retiring Dec. 3. I am a Civil Service Retirement System employee. Can I delay my lump-sum payment for unused annual leave until January 2011? A: In most cases, lump-sum payments are made at the same time that an agency closes out an employee’s file and authorizes a final check covering his last days on the payroll. You’ll have to check with your payroll office to learn when they expect that to happen.
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System employee, with 35 years of service and meet the age requirement to retire. My agency is offering a buyout of $25,000 if we leave by Sept. 30. I am considering this offer as I was planning on leaving Dec. 31, but because Sept. 30 is in the middle of a pay period, should I leave at the end of the pay period which would be Sept. 25 in order to get all leave I would be entitled to and when would my first pension check be for. A: Yes, it’s true that…
Q: I served three years in the Army from December 1976 to December 1979. After my Army years, I worked for the government under the Civil Service Retirement System from January 1980 to December 1990. I left civil service in 1990 and returned in 1996. I am now under the Federal Employees Retirement System. In 1999, I wanted to payback my military time and was told that since I was under FERS I would pay it back under FERS rules. I paid $530 for my three years. In 2000, I was told that when I was hired I should have…