Q. I am a recently retired regular army officer. If I accept a GS position with the government, will I forfeit some of my retirement? A. The choice is up to you. If you take that job, you’ll have the option of making a deposit to the civilian retirement system to get credit for your active-duty service in determining your years of civilian service and have it used in your annuity computation. Then when you retired from your civilian job, you’d have to waive your military retired pay. Doing so would have no affect on any other benefits you are…
Browsing: annuity
Q. I retired from the Civil Service Retirement System in 2012, and was divorced at the time. My ex-wife won’t receive a survivor annuity based on my divorce decree. I am going to get remarried this summer and will elect full survivor annuity for my new wife. I know my monthly annuity will be reduced, but I want to know if the reduction would be the same as if I had been married all these years, or will there be an additional amount deducted to make up for the years since I retired? A. If you marry and elect to…
Q. I’m a 60-year-old CSRS employee with 38 years of service. I plan on working another few years. If I die before I retire, will my wife automatically receive a full survivor annuity? I plan on selecting a full survivor annuity when I do retire, but wonder what would happen if I die before that. A. If you die before retiring, your widow would automatically receive a full survivor annuity. The only exception to this rule is if there is a court order for a former spouse that would result in part or all of that benefit going to him…
Q. I’m a FERS employee who is planning to retire in December of this year. When is the best day to do that? A. Because you are a FERS employee, you’ll 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. 21, you’ll have satisfied that requirement and be entitled to any annual and sick leave you earned during that pay period. If you retire after that date but before Jan. 1, you wouldn’t have worked for a…
Q. I’m a FERS employee. When can I cash in my unused sick leave – only at retirement or before? A. Regardless of whether you are covered by the CSRS or FERS, you can’t cash in your sick leave. That’s because it has no cash value. However, any unused sick leave you have to your credit when you retire will be added to your actual service and – if there’s enough of it – used to increase your annuity.
Q. I am 46 and have 25½ years of service. If I accept an offer of an early retirement, do I have to wait until I reach my minimum retirement age to start receiving my annuity? Also, will my payment for unused annual leave hours be included in my last paycheck? A. Anyone who has at least 25 years of service can retire at any age if offered an early retirement opportunity. However, you wouldn’t receive the special retirement supplement until you reach your minimum retirement age. (MRAs range between 55 and 57, depending on your year of birth.) You’ll…
Q. I have 23 years FERS service and am age 47. If I am involuntarily separated, will I be penalized 5 percent a year for each year I am under 56 (my minimum retirement age)? Would my annuity commence on the day of involuntary separation? And would I be entitled to continue my FEHB coverage? A. Based on your age and service, you wouldn’t be eligible to retire. So, unless you later returned to government service, your only option would be to apply for a deferred annuity at age 60. As for health benefits, on the day you separated from…
Q. I’m retiring with 4 months of sick leave, bringing my total time in FERS to 32 years, 1 month at age 65. I feel I really didn’t accomplish much as far as increasing final annuity and I would have been better off to have used the time up and would have been ahead of the game. Correct? A. Since “burning off” unused sick leave would be a violation of law and regulation, your question is moot.
Q. If I elect to waive my pay and retire with 22 years military service and 20 years FERS, would I have any issues? A. As long as you waive your military retired pay and make a deposit to the civilian retirement system to get credit for that time, your civilian annuity would be based on your combined military and civilian service.
Q. I retired and my present benefit is $3,002 per month. What is the survivor benefit? A. The answer depends on your retirement system. If you are covered by CSRS, your survivor spouse would be entitled to 55 percent of what your current annuity would be if you hadn’t elected a survivor annuity. If you are covered by FERS, it would be 50 percent of what your current annuity would be if you hadn’t elected a survivor annuity.