Q: I am a 58-year-old physician with 16 years of military service from 1978 to 1994. I am taking a job with the Veterans Affairs Department. In the benefits booklet I received, there is a note as follows: “Physicians and dentists covered under Title 38 provisions must complete 15 years of creditable service in order to use Physicians/Dentists Special Pay as basic pay in determining the high-3 average salary used in the computation of a [Federal Employees Retirement System] annuity. If I buy into FERS for my 16 years of military service, does this count toward “creditable service,” or is…
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 am a GS-11 who has my overtime hourly rate capped at $38.31. Is there a calculator available that will help me decide how many overtime hours to take pay for as opposed to taking compensatory time? At a certain point, it is not worthwhile to take overtime pay because of the increase in the amount of federal tax withdrawn? A: I’m not aware of any such calculator. However, if anyone out there is, please let me know and I’ll share the information with our readers.
Q: I am under the Civil Service Retirement System and plan to retire Dec. 31. I have already paid my military deposit on my 20 1/2 years of service; my civil service time is 33 years and nine months, which would give me more than 54 years of service at the time of my retirement. That is well beyond the 41 years and 11 months required for the 80 percent maximum retirement benefit. At my time of retirement, it is my understanding that the Office of Personnel Management will automatically refund the excess retirement contributions I will have made for…
Q: I am a retiree under the Civil Service Retirement System. I had five years of military time which I did not make the deposit for and 26 years of federal service. I am not eligible for Social Security at this time. I have been told that if I return to work and qualify for Social Security, on my 62nd birthday my annuity will be recomputed and my five years of military service will be removed. Also, I was told my Social Security would be reduced to zero. Is all this true? A: The post-1956 military service rules are simple:…
Q: I have some medical expenses paid for under workers’ compensation because of an on-the-job accident. When I retire, will these medical expenses continue to be covered? A: If your workers’ compensation benefits terminate or you elect to retire instead of remaining on workers’ compensation, payment for your medical expenses by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs will end.
Q: My wife and I are federal retirees and annuitants. We continue to enroll in the CareFirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield standard option. We do not have Medicare Part B. The Blue Cross 2010 Plan Booklet and several explanation of benefits from Blue Cross explain that by law, physicians who do not accept Medicare can only charge us up to 115 percent of what Medicare allows. The law applies to federal retirees and annuitants without Medicare Part B. Please confirm that what I summarized above is correct. A: What you read on Page 23 of your plan brochure is correct.
Q: I’m on Civil Service Retirement System disability retirement. Will my annuity be affected if I return to work for my local county government or the federal government? A: If you were to be rehired by the federal government, the salary of your new position would be offset by the amount of your annuity. If the salary for that position was equal to or exceeded 80 percent of the current pay for the position you held before retiring on disability, your disability annuity would be suspended. If you went to work in a nonfederal position, there wouldn’t be any offset…
Q: I am 53 years old with 30 years of service under the Civil Service Retirement System. If I were to die before I reach age 55, what would happen to the money I have contributed to CSRS? My wife has been a homemaker with no retirement plan, and I plan on having the spousal support when I do retire. A: If you were to die while still employed, your wife would be entitled to a survivor annuity equal to 55 percent of the annuity you would have received had you retired. There would be no age-based reduction if you…
Q: I have a co-worker who is under the Federal Employees Retirement System. She has a little more than 24 years of federal service and just turned 49. She has gone through two performance improvement periods and is facing the possibility of involuntary separation because of performance issues. She has been given a notice of intention to separate her from service. She responded with some reasons why it shouldn’t happen at all and also with other possible solutions, such as a downgrade and/or transfer, or putting her on leave/leave without pay until she is eligible for a discontinued service retirement.…
Q: Is it better to retire at 42 years old with 22 years of service ($2,900 a month), or go for 30 years and be 50 years old ($5,200 a month)? I feel it would be smarter to retire at 42; it would allow me to start another career. A: As far as this site is concerned, you’ve come to the Department of Unanswerable Questions. Only you can decide what makes better sense, always keeping in mind that the future is unknowable. What might seem like a good decision now might not look as good somewhere down the road. What…