Author 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 plan to retire at age 63. I was in the Civil Service Retirement System for 11 years and did not take out my CSRS retirement contribution. I took a 14-year break. I re-entered the federal government under the Federal Employees Retirement System offset and was told that I should be in FERS. I agreed to be in FERS, as I wanted to be able to retire with a retirement system in place. I transferred to the FERS system and now have been in it for 13 years. I plan to retire in the next few years. Will I…

Q: I am a 78-year-old federal employee and will retire at the end of this year. Medicare has been deducted from my paycheck for several years now. As I understand it, I am only eligible to benefit from Part A, which I also understand to be cost-free. As long as I am working, I cannot benefit from Part B. Why have I been charged for a plan that I cannot benefit from? I also carry federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield. After retirement, my BCBS premiums will remain the same, and I am wondering if it is advantageous to continue to pay…

Q: I am a letter carrier in the U.S. Postal Service. How much annual leave can I “sell” back at retirement? A: Because you are a bargaining unit employee, you can only receive a lump-sum payment for any unused annual leave that does not exceed the carryover limit for your bargaining unit. As a rule, that limit is 440 hours.

Q: I plan to retire next year at age 62. I had 10 years of service under the Civil Service Retirement System. I took a 15-year break and returned under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I have 19 years under FERS. I will receive retirement benefits under both systems. I understand my Social Security benefits will be reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision. My question is, will the reduction be based on just the CSRS portion of my annuity or on the full annuity (FERS and CSRS)? A: The reduction will be applied to your entire annuity, not just…

Q: My agency is considering offering buyouts. I am over 50 and have 26 years of government service. Typically, government buyouts are extended to those who have at least 25 years of service and are at least 50 years old. If I go to full retirement at 30 years of service, I would retire with a special federal Social Security supplement until I reach the age of 62, at which time the special supplement would end. If I accept a buyout, would I still get the special Social Security supplement with my federal retirement? A: If you accepted the buyout,…

Q: How will the new rules that allow for crediting sick leave to Federal Employees Retirement System employees for retirement calculation purposes affect those who transferred from the Civil Service Retirement System to FERS during a previous open season? A: For those CSRS employees who transferred to FERS, when they retire, any unused sick leave up to the amount they had when they transferred to FERS will be credited to the CSRS component of their annuities; half of any unused sick leave above that amount will be credited to the FERS component. Only those who retire after Dec. 31, 2011,…

Q: I retired back in February on an early out. Will we receive the incentive eventually that the union is fighting for all employees to receive? Plus, will we receive something for our unused sick leave? A: I have no idea what incentive your union is fighting for; however, if they get it, it’s unlikely that it would apply to those who have already retired. The same goes for the unused sick leave credit for Federal Employees Retirement System employees. That credit is only available to those who retire after the effective date, and only half credit at that, until…

Q: If you retire, will you be paid for any earned hours over the 440 annual leave hours? A: No. Because you are a Postal Service bargaining unit employee with a maximum carryover limit of 440 hours, that’s the maximum amount for which you can receive a lump-sum payment.

Q: I was hired by the Defense Department under the National Security Personnel System. Will I be converted to a Federal Employees Retirement System grade, and how will that grade be determined? A: You’ll have to be patient. The law ending the NSPS was just enacted and the phase-out won’t be completed until Jan. 1, 2012. How grade levels will be determined has yet to be decided.

Q: I transferred to the Federal Employees Retirement System from the Civil Service Retirement System during the 1998 open season. At the time of my transfer, I had accumulated 1,675 hours of sick leave. I understood at the time that the credit for sick leave to be applied toward my retirement would be the lesser of my balance at the time of my retirement or the 1,675 hours, whichever was less. This amount would be applied to the CSRS component. I now have 2,544 hours of sick leave accumulated. I have accumulated an additional 869 hours of sick leave since…

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