Q. If they offer the early retirement this year to postmasters I will have close to 26 years, but I will be just 48 years old in August. Will I be able to retire and get the Social Security Supplement also? A. If you accept an early retirement offer, you would be eligible for the special retirement when you reach your minimum retirement age. Since you were born between 1953 and 1964, your MRA would be 56.
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 postal employee with 27 years of service. My retirement plan is CSRS. Can I transfer to another branch of the government and transfer this time with me? Will it count toward my civil service retirement? A. Yes, if you transfer to another government agency your service record will transfer with you and that time will count toward the total years needed to retire. A rare exception to that rule would be if you were to transfer to an agency that had its own retirement system and didn’t recognize your prior service.
Q. I retired three years ago under CSRS Offset LEO. I had 20.5 years under CSRS offset, five years under regular CSRS, six years military time, which I brought back and paid Social Security. Additionally, I have contributed another three to four years to the Social Security system. During this time I had significant earnings. Due to my military injuries I have decided to go on Social Security Disability. I’m 53. Will my federal annuity be reduced? I have been told by several people that it won’t. What is the deal? A. Your CSRS annuity won’t be reduced until age…
Q. I am still working and will turn 63 on April 14? When can I indicate that I want a reduction in my life insurance? A. You can do that when you retire, not before.
Q. I am retired from the postal service as a CSRS employee. I had already worked for private agencies and paid in enough quarters (40) and over to draw my Social Security before I ever started working for the federal government. However, even though these quarters were earned prior to any federal employment, my Social Security check has an offset on it. I have been told by a Social Security attorney that this should not have been done. Is this correct? A. Your Social Security benefit wasn’t offset. It was reduced because of the windfall elimination provision of law. The…
Q. I retired under the early-out retirement program at CSRS; currently, I am working part time and paying in to Social Security. Am I eligible for Social Security disability? A. Putting aside the question of whether you are sufficiently disabled to meet the Social Security Administration’s stringent criteria for granting disability benefits, to even apply you would need to have a certain number of credits under Social Security, the number depending in large part on your age and the onset of your disability. For more information go to www.ssa.gov/retire2/credits3.htm.
Q. I will soon be a CSRS retiree — no offset, no military service, just 30 years with the federal government. My wife has worked for many years in the private sector and is covered by Social security. If she dies before I do, will I receive her full Social Security or any of it? A. Any Social Security survivor benefit to which you are entitled would be affected by the government pension offset provision of law. The GPO would reduce that benefit by $2 for every $3 you receive in your CSRS annuity.
Q. I am a FERS employee and want to retire at age 56. Do I get my Social Security Supplemental and FERS retirement also? A. Yes, if you have reached your minimum retirement age and have the right number of years of service to retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity. On the other hand, if you are retiring under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with between 20 and 29 years of service), you wouldn’t be eligible to receive the special retirement supplement.
Q. I am an Air Force civilian serving a three-year tour overseas, I have completed four years of government service as of March 20, 2010 and I am 41 years old. However, I suffered a serious spine injury in March 2009 ,which caused me to be on Leave Without Pay due to a work-related injury beginning in April 2009 to January 2010. Since I have been overseas during my convalescence, my housing allowance was misreported and reduced and my post allowance was eliminated. My personnel office calls this an “government incentive for employees to return to work.” Because I was…
Q. I worked as a postal clerk from February 1970 to June 1975. I came back and have been a letter carrier since July 1985. I served in the military from February 1966 to December 1968. What’s the story on “buying back the time?” I’m still an active carrier and would like to know the effect on my FERS retirement and on my Social Security. A. To get credit for that period of active-duty service, you’d need to make a deposit to the civilian retirement system. The amount would be a small percentage of your military base pay plus accrued…