Q. I am a retired CSRS employee with survivor benefits for my wife. She is FERS and will retire this year. If I die, will my survivor benefits affect/reduce her FERS and/or Social Security benefits?
Browsing: Creditable service: FERS
Q. I worked for the House of Representatives for 17 years under FERS) and have worked for the Department of Labor for five years. I plan on retiring in April, when I will be 60. In calculating my retirement, will my 17 congressional years be calculated at the higher rate (1.7 percent), and my DOL service at the 1 percent rate, even if I don’t retire directly from the House?
Q. I started working for the Postal Service in August or September 1977 and resigned in June or July 1997 without withdrawing my retirement money. I have been working as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District since July 1997. 1. Is there any way to get specific counseling on my benefits? 2. How could I calculate my pension since I don’t know the salary rates I earned? 3. If I fill out my retirement papers now and write my wife’s name as beneficiary, what would happen if I divorce before or after starting to receive my pension?
Q. I retired as a reservist and am drawing a monthly retirement check from the Army. I am also planning to retire as a FERS employee. I have been told by one personnel specialist that I can buy back my military time (active duty 11 years as a reserve officer) and add it to my civil service time to increase the number of years in civil service. This personnel specialist said that since I retired as a reservist, all my time serving on active duty reverts to reserve time, and I can buy back the 11 years and it will…
Q. I have worked for the Postal Service for nearly 15 years. If I resign and go work for the state of California, will I be able to claim annuity when I am old enough to retire? I am 42. Will I lose the time I spent with the Postal Service, or will I be able to get both federal and state retirement?
Q. In February, I will have 29 years of service as a postal clerk. It is my understanding that after Dec. 31, I can have 100 percent of my sick leave. I know they won’t pay it to me. I have saved more than 2,600 sick leave hours. In what form will I get it back? I still have to work my full 30 years.
Q. I am a federal firefighter (GS-10-00) with 27 years of service plus four years active-duty military (bought back). I will be 52 years old this year (2014). If I retire, when will the earned income rule begin to apply to me? At age 57 to age 62? Also, 2014 marks the year that FERS employees can begin receiving credit for unused sick leave toward retirement. I have gotten preliminary estimate of retirement but they calculated over 1,000 hours less than what I have. Is the sick leave supposed to be creditable for full 100 percent, or is it less?
Q. When given the chance to convert from FERS to CSRS Offset due to the Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act, I jumped at the chance since it is a better retirement. One issue I never got fully resolved was that I assume since I was in a 6(c) law enforcement covered position as a physical security specialist (0080 series) I must have been paying into the retirement at a higher rate to cover the early retirement option of FERS law enforcement. I now have more than 25 years with the USSS and six years of military time, which I…
Q. I transferred from CSRS to FERS in 1999. I was employed by the Department of the Interior from 1981 to 1987 and then the Justice Department since 1987. During my DOI time, I had temporary employment from 1981 to 1983, at which time I didn’t pay retirement. I still need to buy back my time for that credit. Will the time be credited as CSRS or FERS time?
Q. I am a 12-year (1987-1999) Air Force veteran who got medically retired with full benefits. I have been with the federal government since 2006 in FERS. If I bought my military time back, how would that affect my medical, ID card, and all the perks of being military retired?