Q. I will be eligible to retire at age 60 with 20 years and five months in January 2012 as a FERS employee, because of Parkinson’s Disease that is slowly progressing and under my neurologist advice will prevent me from working any further. I would like to know how the Social Security Special Retirement Supplement (SRS) is calculated and if my military pension and purchasing a TSP annuity with a small partial withdrawal will have any effect on that supplement. Also, by doing so will it decrease the amount of Social Security when I reach age 62? A. You can…
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. If I have six years of service as a grade school teacher for the New York City Board of Education and I decided to go work for the DoD as a teacher, would those six years count towards a DoD retirement? A. No, they wouldn’t count.
Q. I will be covered by a Civil Service FERS/CSRS Component retirement & am currently considering an overseas assignment where a cost-of-living allowance (COLA)/post allowance (PA) will be paid. Since I lose my current stateside locality pay when overseas, will this COLA/PA be included in computations for my high-3 retirement calculation? A. No, it won’t be included when computing your high-3.
Q. Do you think there will be a buyout for the carriers if there’s a move to five-day delivery? A. Making a prediction tied to something that might happen would be a foolish waste of time.
Q. Will I lose my federal years of service for retirement if I get out of the military after nine years and continue my education, then decide to join the U.S. Marshals or a federal agency after a three-year break. Does my 20 years of service have to be continuous? A. You would only be able to get credit for your period of active-duty service if you made a deposit to the civilian retirement fund after being hired. Even then, those years would not qualify as covered service under the enhanced benefit provision for law enforcement officers. To retire under…
Q: I have a question about minimum retirement age-plus 10. I am 55 and have 27 ½ years of service. If I retire at age 56, am I to understand that my annuity would be reduced by about 30 percent if I started collecting it right away? Also what would happen to my health benefits? Could I still use them immediately upon retiring? I have 14 years of frozen service under the old Civil Service Retirement System so how would that be affected? A: If you retire under the MRA+10 provision and begin receiving your benefits immediately, the Federal Employees…
Q: Are Defense Department buyouts for fiscal 2010 forthcoming? If so, when? A: We haven’t heard anything.
Q: I hired on with the federal government Oct. 15, 1985. At that time, I wasn’t given a choice of Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System, everybody was FERS. However, I did buyback my Air Force service and my service computation date is April 15, 1982. This maybe fishing, but should I have been given the option to go CSRS if the service computation date is in 1982? I also had about four months of civil service in a temporary job in 1978 if that makes any difference. Is there any circumstance that would ever allow someone…
Q: I will be leavening the Marine Corps after 13 years of service. I will be getting another government job at the U.S. Postal Service. Will my 13 years count toward my retirement? Will I only have to work for another eight years? Or will I start over and have to work for 20 more years? A: Your 13 years of active duty service will only count if you make a deposit to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability fund. The deposit will equal a small percentage of your basic pay while on active duty. Your civilian personnel office can…
Q: I retired as a Federal Employees Retirement System annuitant Feb. 1, 2006 at age 62 plus a couple of weeks. If I am rehired: Will my current FERS gross annuity before taxes be deducted from the new gross salary before taxes? I suspended my federal health insurance but now have Medicare and Tricare for Life. What is my best option if I am rehired by the government? A: Unless you are hired under one of the special authorities that would allow you to receive both your annuity and your full salary, the gross amount of your annuity would be…