Q. I started with the U.S. Postal Service in May 1994 as an rural carrier associate. I became a regular employee in 2001. If I quit my job, would I lose my health benefits? What about any of my other benefits? A. If you quit your job before being eligible for an immediate annuity, your health and life insurance coverage would continue for 31 days at no expense to you. You would be able to continue your health benefits at your own expense under the temporary continuation of coverage provision. You would have the option of converting your life insurance…
Browsing: annuity
Q. I’m a FERS employee. Before I got a career position, I was in a temporary appointment for a year. I’ve been told that I could buy back my temp time by making a deposit to the retirement system. Is that true? A. Unfortunately, no. Under FERS, periods of non-deduction service performed on or after Jan. 1, 1989, aren’t creditable for either length of service or annuity computation purposes.
Q. I’m a FERS retiree. If I die and don’t have anyone who would be entitled to a survivor annuity, what happens to the money that I had deducted from my pay while I was working? A. Any money that had not already been returned to you in annuity payments would be paid out according to the standard order of precedence found in law: First, to the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated; If none, to the widow or widower; If none, to a child or children, with the share of any deceased child distributed among the descendants of that child; If…
Q. I am 40 years old and have seven years of federal service under FERS. Is it worth my time to keep on working three more years so I’ll qualify for the MRA+10 benefit? A. Even if you had 10 years of service, you couldn’t retire under the MRA+10 provision because you wouldn’t have reached your minimum retirement age, which is 57. However, because you have at least five years of creditable service, you could leave government at any time. If you didn’t ask for a refund of your retirement contributions, you could apply for a deferred annuity. If you…
Q. In November I will have five years of service and I bought back my Army time of three years, which gives me eight years of service. If I pass away, will my spouse be eligible for a monthly annuity check? I’m 58 and would have 10 years at 60, which should be my minimum retirement age. A. When you have five years of actual FERS service, you’ll be vested in the retirement system. If you die after you are vested, your widow would be entitled to a survivor annuity. If you were to die before that, she wouldn’t. Then…
Q. My agency was downsizing, so I accepted an early retirement offer at age 50. I was covered by CSRS Offset. When I turn age 62, do I have to apply for a Social Security benefit? A. No, you don’t have to apply for a Social Security benefit. However, whether you do or don’t, at age 62 your CSRS annuity will automatically be offset (reduced) by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while covered by CSRS Offset.
Q. If I go on annual leave for 30 days before I retire, is there an effect on my annuity? A. The more important question is this: “Can I go on annual leave for 30 days before I retire?” The answer to that question is no. The Comptroller General has ruled that employees may not take terminal leave. While your supervisor might approve your use of some periods of annual leave, he or she would need to schedule it so that it didn’t interfere with the needs of the government. Further, most agencies require that a retiring employee be at…
Q. I’m a GS employee and have made a deposit to get credit for 10 years of active duty. Would that deposit be refunded to me if I’m called back to active duty? A. No, it wouldn’t. That would only happen if you resigned from the government and asked for a refund of all your retirement contributions. However, if you did, you would void all future entitlement to a retirement annuity.
Q. I will be 68 next year when I retire as a CSRS annuitant. I’m having Medicare deductions taken from my paycheck. Will I continue to have them taken from my annuity check? A. No, you won’t. Premiums for Medicare Part A are only deducted from earnings from wages or self-employment. They aren’t deducted from annuities.
Q. I was a CSRS Offset employee who retired at age 55. Since then, I’ve been working in the private sector. I’ll soon turn 62 and plan on continuing to work and not applying for a Social Security benefit until I retire again. When will my CSRS Offset annuity be reduced? A. When you turn 62, it will be automatically reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while covered by CSRS Offset.