Q. I am 47 years old with 27 years of service with the Postal Service. I have been offered a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority so that an organizational restructuring can occur. Would this be considered the same as a reduction in force? Would I be eligible for the special retirement supplement because I am a FERS employee? If so, what age would I be eligible to receive the SRS? Immediately upon retirement, or down the road? Also, how would this affect my Social Security benefits?
Browsing: Creditable service: FERS
Q. I am a 51-year-old Defense Department employee with 13 years of continuous service under FERS and considering leaving federal service and working in the private sector. Since my minimum retirement age is 56, I am ineligible for the MRA+10 retirement option at this time. If I return to federal service at age 56 or later, is there a minimum duration that I would be required to work before I can retire under MRA+10? I have been continuously enrolled in Federal Employees Health Benefits for the past 13 years and would re-enroll immediately upon returning to federal service. I would…
Q. I joined the Navy on Sept. 1, 1988. I joined the federal government (FERS) in December 1997. I was on terminal leave from the active-duty Navy for an overlapping 80 days (until March 1998). I paid my deposit for the military time. My agency wouldn’t change my service computation date back to June 1988. I argued that I paid a deposit for all of my time and should be “dual credited for those 80 days.” My case went to the Office of Personnel Management for a ruling, and I won. My SCD was changed to June 19, 1988. In…
Q. I had just over five years of federal service before resigning and moving out of state. So, I had a break in service. I am now back in the federal service and want to know if the prior years will count toward my retirement. And if I leave the federal system again, will I still get an annuity check at age 62 because I was vested? I did withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan, but I did not get a refund of my FERS retirement deductions. Can I get a refund of my FERS retirement deductions because I had a…
Q. I am a Veterans Affairs Department employee. I am almost 61. I plan to retire when I am 62. I worked for six months at another VA location in 1996 and 1997, then quit. I worked outside VA for 1½ years) I took out my Thrift Savings Plan (bad move — it was only $150). And I paid taxes out of it. I have tried without success over the past year to find out from human resources if I get credit for service at the other location. I will have 17 years of service. Six more months would be…
Q. I am a law enforcement officer, born 1967. My 6(c) service computation date is Nov. 1, 1989, and I plan to continue to work as a 6(c) until Dec. 31, 2014 (but not retire, simply change jobs/agency). I would like to continue working as a FERS regular employee until Dec. 31, 2020, when my youngest is out of college. If I change from 6(c) to regular FERS either now or at the end of 2014, do I mess up my ability to retire with the 6(c) computation of my 20 “good years,” or lose the ability to retire before…
Q. I have been working for the federal government for just over five years. I am in need of my third spinal surgery. This one will be a doozy and will put me out of commission for over a year, and I will no longer be able to sit comfortably, which will make it impossible to do my eight-hour desk job. According to Social Security, I would qualify for full disability, but I have not applied yet. Would I be eligible for both Social Security disability and the early disability retirement under FERS being only 41? If so, which is…
Q. I saw the following in an article about federal retirement: “For any military veterans out there, you should note that if you are looking to draw on the special retirement supplement between the age you retire and age 62, only retirees with 30 years of civil service (not civil service and military service combined) are eligible for the supplement.” Is this true? I will have 22 years of civilian service under FERS and eight years of military time when I retire this year. Will I be eligible for the supplement if I retire?
Q. I am looking for any successful challenges to the five-year rule. I began federal service July 1984, 2½ years before FERS became effective. I was placed originally in CSRS offset and then placed fully in FERS due to the five-year rule. I want to be under CSRS. I am 56, and I have 29 years of federal service and four years military service (Air Force, 1975-1979). Is there any way to beat this five-year unfair decision?
Q. I recently retired from the Air National Guard with 20 years. I’m a federal employee. Can I use my active-duty time toward the retirement with the federal government?