The “high-3” is an essential element in the formula used to calculate your annuity. But what does the term high-3 mean? And how do you figure out what yours is? The high-3 defined Your high-3 is the average of your highest rates of basic pay over any three consecutive years of creditable civilian service, no matter when they occur in your career, with each pay rate weighted by the length of time it was received. That three-year period starts and ends on the dates that produce the highest average pay. It starts on the first day that leads to the…
Browsing: Creditable service: CSRS
Q. My wife is under CSRS with 31 years of service, but we are concerned that she may be moved into CSRS Offset upon retirement. What is the minimum retirement age for someone in this position? A. CSRS Offset applies only to employees who had a break in service that exceeded a year and ended after 1983, and had five years of service as of Jan. 1, 1987. If that doesn’t describe your wife’s situation, then she is a pure CSRS employee. Like any CSRS or CSRS Offset employee, she can retire at age 55 with 30 years of service.
Q. I’m under FERS, and my Service Computation Date is Nov. 26, 1983. A co-worker in my organization has an SCD of Nov. 7, 1983 and is under CSRS. What is the SCD cutoff date for FERS vs. CSRS?
It’s that time of year, when employees start thinking hard about retiring. If you are one of them, you need to know the two factors that determine if you’ll be able to do that. The first is age. The second is years of service. In this column I’ll go over the rules for Civil Service Retirement System, and in the next one, Federal Employees Retirement System. CSRS requirements: Immediate retirement Age 62, five years of service. Age 60, 20 years of service. Age 55, 30 years of service. Early retirement Age 50, 20 years of service. Any age, 25 years…
Q. I am a CSRS offset, full-time, Term (NTE April 2015) federal employee. I am also a formal federal employee (all permanent positions) with breaks in service. My service comp date is 1983 and I am 60 years old. Can I apply for retirement now as a Term employee? I have paid into CSRS in my previous and current position.
Q: My husband and I are getting ready to retire and are both CSRS employees. My husband was actually hired in 1984, which would have put him in FERS, but he had Peace Corps service, so his SCD is 10/1982. He never made the deposit for Peace Corps service; he is now 64, and we believe he is eligible for Social Security. Can he make the deposit now? I understand that they take forever to process. Does the payment need to be received by the Office of Personnel Management before his separation date? If it is not received and he loses the credit for the 22 months…
Q. In 2009, I took the postal clerk buyout and retired. I am under CSRS with 32 years with 2 years of military Service included. When military buyback was offered some 25 years ago, I passed. In 2009, the same buyback was almost $10,000 so I passed on that. I am working and will have 37 credits of eligibility toward Social Security at the end of this year. If I continue and become Social Security eligible, how much of my monthly pension will I lose? A. If you become eligible for a Social Security benefit, you won’t lose a penny…
Based on the mail I’ve been getting, there’s a lot of confusion about the rules governing deposits and redeposits to get credit for prior service in determining your eligibility to retire and having that time used in your annuity computation when you retire. In this column, I’ll deal with the rules that apply to Civil Service Retirement System and CSRS Offset employees. In my next column, I’ll do the same for Federal Employees Retirement System employees. Deposits The term “nondeduction service” applies to any period of federal government employment where retirement deductions weren’t taken from your pay. If you are…
Q. I received nine years creditable service for Annual Leave accrual for non-federal work experience when first hired for federal service. A friend of mine recently told me that the creditable service will also be factored into my CSRS retirement date. For example, if I plan on retiring after 30 years of service, I would only need to work an additional 21 years for the government. I cannot seem to find anything on the internet to support his claim. Can you tell me if my friend is correct? A: Your friend is mistaken. You wouldn’t receive any credit for that…
Q. I was in the Kentucky National Guard for 7 years and was honorably discharged in 1976. During that time I attended basic training at Ft. Bragg and advanced training at Ft. Eustis from December 29, 1968 and June 23, 1970. I am currently in the FAA as a federal employee and I am near retirement. Does this time in the Kentucky National Guard training for almost 6 months count toward my SCD calculation? Will I need to “buy back” the time?