Q. Are new employees automatically enrolled in FERS, or do you have to make an election? A. All new federal employees first hired on or after Jan. 1, 1987 (and most employees first hired after Dec. 31, 1983), are automatically covered by FERS.
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 under CSRS –- 13 years on Capitol Hill and with no break in service 33 years in the Executive Branch. When do I reach 80 percent? My high-3 is $152,000. Also, I reside in the District of Columbia; what portion of my CSRS annuity is taxable? A. I’ll give you the formulas. You can do the math. Your congressional employee service will be computed as follows: 0.25 x your-high-3 x all years of congressional service. Your remaining service will be computed this way: 0.02 x your high-3 x all non-congressional CSRS service. To determine what the federal…
Q. I’d like to know if buying your military time back if you’re a disabled vet is the same process ? I’m told that if I’m not going to receive Social Security I still get credit and don’t have to buy it back. A. Because you were first hired as a civilian before Oct. 1, 1982, you will get credit for that period of active-duty service in determining your eligibility to retire and in your annuity computation, whether or not you make a deposit to the civilian retirement fund. However, if you retire and are eligible for a Social Security…
Q. When I retire under FERS, I understand I will have two survivor annuity options (50 percent or 25 percent of my full annuity) to cover my wife when I’m gone. My question is, what is meant by “full annuity?” Does it mean my wife will get 50 percent of what my annuity would be before the 10 percent reduction to pay for it, or will she get 50 percent after the 10 percent is taken out to pay for the full survivor annuity? A. She will get 50 percent of what your annuity would be but for the reduction…
Q. My husband is retired from the Army and is now working as a FERS employee. Once he can retire at 62, does Social Security offset his military? I am medically retired under CSRS. Since I did not pay into Social Security, can I collect Social Security under my husband? A. Any Social Security benefit to which he would be entitled will be in addition to his military retired pay. That benefit will be based on his total years of Social Security-covered service. If he meets the age and service requirement to retire under FERS, based solely on his FERS…
Q. When I retire as a CSRS retiree, how can I assure myself that upon my death, my retirement annuity shall transfer over to my immediate spouse and continue to receive it? A. When you fill out your Application for Immediate Retirement (Standard Form 2801), Section E, Marital Information, requires that you provide the name of your spouse and Section F, Annuity Election, requires that you check one of the boxes. By law, nearly everyone with a current spouse is required to check Box 1, which will result in your own annuity being reduced to provide a full survivor annuity…
Q. I have often thought about leaving the federal government, but I don’t want to leave the possibility of an early retirement on the table. I was hired by the federal government in May 1999 and I bought my prior military service (eight years of active duty). My minimum retirement age is 56 and my service computation date is in January 1991. By January 2011, I will have 20 years of federal employment and will be about two years shy of my 50th birthday. In prior years, the agency that I work for has offered OPM-sanctioned voluntary early retirements (VERA).…
Q. I am now eligible as a CSRS/FERS hybrid for a maximum pension for my previous service, since I am over 62. I understand there is no more actuarial adjustment (higher annual benefit) after age 62 for delaying receipt. My last employment was about 20 years ago. If I take my annuity and am later rehired, I understand that I cannot have my high-3 and high-5 years recalculated unless I serve more than 5 years. However, what if I just don’t take my annuity? Aren’t I then eligible for redetermination for each year of re-employment? Is there any age at…
Q. I plan on retiring in September at age 60. I left service for a period of years and took the amount I had in my retirement that had accumulated for the two years I was under CSRS. When I came back I was put into the FERS. How will taking that money out affect my retirement? A. As a rule, you won’t get any credit for that time unless you redeposit the amount you took out with accumulated interest. Because that short period of CSRS service will automatically be treated as FERS service, you’ll need to check with your…
Q. I have over 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. My spouse has 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. She also falls under the windfall elimination provision (WEP) because she is an educator and will receive a pension. My benefits are such that if she accepts the spousal benefit, rather than her own, it will be higher than her regular payment. That would then be subject to WEP. But, since I have over 30 years of substantial earnings, should she be eligible for the full spousal benefit? If she had over 30 years she would receive…