Q. I’m a FERS employee who is planing to retire in December of this year. When is the best day, Dec 30, 31 or in January 2011? A: As a FERS employee, you have to retire no later than the last day of a month to be on the annuity roll in the following month. If you retire at the end of business on Dec. 31, you will have satisfied that requirement and also completed a pay period. Therefore, you would be entitled to any annual and sick leave you earned during that pay period, and paid for any annual…
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 with both CSRS and FERS pension plans. If I die before I retire, will my husband collect my pension? Will my husband will be covered under a federal health care plan? A: Yes, he will receive a survivor annuity based on your service. He will be covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program if he was covered by it on the date you die. If he wasn’t covered under the FEHB, he won’t be able to enroll in it as a survivor.
Q. I retired with a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority on Dec. 31, 2008; am I entitled to one-half of my unused sick leave? I heard that if the bill passed within one year of your retirement date you would be entitled, and, if so, how do I go about receiving compensation? A: You are misinformed. The provision allowing FERS retirees to get credit for unused sick leave applied only to those employees retiring on or after the date the law was enacted, which occurred on Oct. 28, 2009.
Q. I am a FERS employee who, prior to having five years of current life insurance through the federal government, will be required to file for FERS disability retirement. Does the period of Leave Without Pay qualify for purposes of continuing accrual toward the five-year mandatory period? I will enter into LWOP, awaiting the OPM decision, about five months prior to having the requisite five-year period. A. Yes, periods of LWOP up to 12 months count toward meeting the five-year requirement. Further, that coverage is provided at no cost to you or your agency.
Q. I am considering retirement from the Postal Service after 35 years (includes military time) and am would like to become a TSA agent. Would I be able to collect my CSRS pension and work FERS if hired? A. You’d need to check with the Transportation Security Administration to confirm that you would be able to receive both, without a reduction in either.
Q. Why is Medicare Part B premiums increasing for retirees who currently have Part B? I thought only “new” enrollees would be paying the higher rate in 2010. A. Most Medicare beneficiaries will not see a Part B monthly premium increase as a result of a “hold harmless” provision in the current law. This allows for 73 percent of beneficiaries to be protected from an increase raising the 2010 Part B monthly premiums. Approximately 27 percent of beneficiaries are not subject to the hold-harmless provision because they are new enrollees during the year (3 percent), they are subject to the…
Q. I have never been able to find the formula for calculating the FERS Special Supplement for those employees who retire at their minimum retirement age under FERS. As I transferred from CSRS to FERS during a previous open season, I would like to know if the Windfall Eliminations Provision is applied when calculating the Special Supplement. I will have less than 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. So will the 40 percent multiplier (rather than 90 percent) be applied to the first component of my Social Security calculation? A. The WEP doesn’t apply to the special retirement…
Q. I am on CSRS disability from the Postal Service. In June 2010, I turn 60 years of age. Am I obligated to report any earnings I make in 2010 in the private sector for the whole or part of the year? Or will I still be under earnings and medical restrictions as I am now in 2009? I am under the impression that when I turn 60 some things change. Is this true? A. Up to age 60, the Office of Personnel Management says you are subject to periodic medical re-evaluation to determine if you are still disabled, and…
Q. I retired from DoD in 2007 under Civil Service Retirement System at age 56 with 31 years of service. In 2008, I went back to work for DoD as a part-time employee working 16 hours per week (832 hours per year). I was hired to fulfill functions critical to the mission of my agency. My SF 50 lists me as a permanent employee and my Annuitant Indicator is CS-No Reduction. My question is: Assuming my employer wants me to continue working, how long can I work on my current part-time job? I have read that an appointment cannot last…
Q. The U.S. Postal Service has given employees retiring voluntarily on Oct. 31, 2009 an amount of $15,000. Will the first check of $10,000 have everything taken out for federal and state taxes, Medicare, Social Security, health benefits, etc? When would my first annuity check start? I am a Civil Service offset employee with 12 years under FERS. I had a total of 30 years of both civil service and FERS but I left and came back to the USPS in 1997 (7 years). I took out the money in the retirement fund and so lost 20 years credit to…