Q. My husband was retired from the U.S. Forest Service 12 years ago and receives a pension. His first wife died a year after he retired, and the pension plan was still deducting the survivorship amount from his pension. We married in 2007, and he realized that I am not eligible for the survivorship because he did not change the spouse information in the time allowed. They are going to refund the survivorship deduction over the last 11 years, but is there anything else we can do to become eligible? What if we divorce and then remarry?
Author Reg Jones
Reg Jones
Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.
Q. I’m 24 years retired from the military and currently a federal employee under FERS. The Employee Benefits Information System reflects I am eligible for MRA+10 by December 2024. By then, I am 56 years old. Will I be illegible for SRS if I retire at my minimum retirement age?
Q. I am a FERS employee and retired from the military. I’ll have 18 years of service by the end of August 2017. I never bought back my military time. Is that something that I can do now, or is it too late?
Q. I am retired 23 years from the military, working now as GS and did not buy back time. By the time I am eligible for full retirement at 67, I will have about 15 years in FERS. Am I entitled to military, FERS and Social Security separate payments?
Q. I’ve been with the government for 32 years and have based my TSP contributions on having the special retirement supplement when I’m eligible to retire in six years. Can Congress approve the budget and eliminate something that’s been promised to millions of federal employees just like that? This seems like a breach of contract and illegal. Am I wrong about that? Wouldn’t current employees have to be grandfathered in?
Q. I am 63 and retired from Tobyhanna Army Depot. I have coverage with Geisinger Health Plan as part of my retirement package. I have Tricare standard, being retired military. How do I drop Geisinger since I receive Tricare at no monthly cost? It makes no sense to pay for one that is close to $300 per month when I have Tricare that has a much lower deductible, and I will have to come under Medicare Part B in the near future. How do I do this?
Q. If reinstated after a break in service, is there a minimum amount of time that I’d have to work in order to be eligible for the FERS supplement at full retirement age?
Q. I am a GERS employee with the U.S. Postal Service. I have 18 years of service and will reach my minimum retirement age next year. Would it make sense to retire and take the annuity, or postpone it until I’m 60 or 62? I can be covered under my husband’s insurance.
Q. I left federal employment after 20 years of service under the CSRS retirement system at age 45 with about 1,600 hours of sick leave on record. I will be applying for deferred pension at age 62. Is the sick leave balance considered in the retirement calculation? It is my understanding that it is not because I left service early.
Q. I am retiring under discontinued service at 54 years old. I will get my FERS annuity, and when I reach my minimum retirement age, the special retirement supplement. I want to work part time. What is the max amount that I can earn? What will be the difference in loss of benefits between a federal job and a nonfederal job?