Q: I plan on retiring on Jan. 1, 2011. I am eligible to retire on Oct. 1, 2010. I am a Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee. I will have 30 years, 3 months of civil service and will be 60 years, 3 months of age. I have 240 hours of use-or-lose annual leave, and I will also have gained another 200 hours for the year. If I retire on Jan. 1, 2011, can I receive payment for my unused annual leave? I believe by doing this, I will receive a large lump sum payment and won’t be taxed until…
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 federal employee under the Civil Service Retirement System. My wife was a Federal Employees Retirement System employee who left the government after 10 years (1985 to 1995). Is she eligible for a pension, and, if so, at what age? Should I leave her contributions in the retirement system or withdraw them? A: Because your wife had at least five years of creditable service and left her contributions in the retirement fund, she will be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62. That annuity will be based on her length of service and her highest three…
Q: Is there a cap on how much sick leave can be applied to calculating a pension? Is there a 2,087-hour limit? A: No, there isn’t any cap on how many hours of unused sick leave can be applied when calculating an annuity. However, for the time being, Federal Employees Retirement System employees will only get credit for one-half of their total hours, while Civil Service Retirement System employees will continue to get full credit.
Q. In 2005, I resigned from my position as a civil servant. At the time I was 51 and had 24 years of service. It was not explained to me that I could retire and defer. I am now 55, and since I am under 30 years of service still could not withdraw without a penalty. Do I have any options in order to still receive a retirement that I earned via 24 years of service? A. As a FERS employee with at least 10 years of service, the earliest age at which you could have retired was 56, your…
Q. I plan on retiring on the close of business, Friday, Dec. 31,2010. I am a FERS employee. Since that day is the New Year holiday, I will have completed my 80-hour work week. But I will retire prior to the end of the leave period, which is Saturday. Will I accrue the eight hours of annual leave and the four hours of sick leave for that pay period, or will I forfeit it because I did not remain an employee for the entire pay period? A: According to OPM, you only need to complete your 80-hour work week to…
Q. I am a FERS employee who is 58 1/2 years old with 27 years of service. Can I retire now and defer my retirement annuity to age 60 without a penalty? A: You can retire now and, because you have at least 20 years of service, postpone the receipt of your annuity until you reach age 60. That way you can avoid the 5 percent per year age reduction penalty.
Q. I left the Postal Service in February 2006 and took my annuity at 55 years and 10 months old. I just read that FERS employees could convert 50 percent of their sick leave to compute annuity, I had 180 hours of sick leave balance; can I still get credit for this or would I have had to reach a certain age, and/or time in service, before leaving to get credit for this time? A: No, you cannot get credit for that unused sick leave. The change in law allowing FERS employees to get credit for it was prospective only,…
Q. I am a FS medical technologist serving the Department of State overseas. I am slated for mandatory retirement in 2012 and am considering retiring overseas (West Africa) somewhere. Are there any benefits for retiring overseas and how can one really find out about the job market for a person interested in taking their time and talents and trying to make a decent living overseas? A. This set of questions falls outside the boundaries of our forum.
Q. The Defense Authorization Act was signed in October 2009. When does this act go into effect and do current FERS employees retiring in 2010 have this option? A. The provision allowing FERS retirees to get credit for unused sick leave applies to those employees retiring on or after Oct. 28, 2009, the date the law was enacted.
Q: Because I’m a retiree who isn’t receiving Social Security benefits, I didn’t get the $250 included in the Economic Stimulus tax credit package. I’ve heard that I can get it when I file my income tax for 2009. How do I do that? A: You’ll need to complete Schedule M and then enter the dollar figure you come up with on line 14 on either line 63 of form 1040, line 40 of form 1040A or line 60 of form 1040NR.