Q. With 20 years of federal civilian employment at age 50, would I be eligible for Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay if it’s offered? I am under FERS. A. Yes, because anyone who is offered a VSIP can accept it, whether or not he is eligible to retire. In your case, you have the years and service to both accept the payment and retire.
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Q. If a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay is offered, how can a Defense Department employee find this info if the agency does not announce the news? A. You can’t. You’ll learn about it when the offer is made.
Q. I have 26 years of uninterrupted federal service, am 58 years old, in FERS, no military service. 1. Is Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay ever offered without Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, or VERA without VSIP? 2. Can I, at less than 60 years old, accept the VERA/VSIP and retire if one or the other is offered? 3. If I take VERA and am not 60 years old but have over 25 years of service, will I be eligible to receive the special retirement supplement immediately or have to wait until age 60? How about under VSIP only? 4. If I…
Q. I was just offered a $25,000 Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment. I have -153 sick leave hours due to an auto accident. Are waivers available prior to accepting the VSIP offer? If so, what is the procedure? A. The decision about granting a waiver is entirely up to your agency. Check with your personnel office to learn how such requests are handled where you work.
Q. My position was not listed as eligible under the last Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay round offered by the Department of Energy. I was told that, before another round of VSIP can be offered, the department must request or renew its buyout authority. How and when is this done? Where can I find a description of the process that departments must go through to request buyout authority and how eligibility lists are determined? A. For basic information and legal and regulatory background, go to www.opm.gov/hcaaf_resource_center/assets/Tal_tool9.pdf. To learn how your agency establishes eligibility lists, you’ll have to check with your own…
Q. I am getting ready to retire should we be offered early retirement. I am working for the Defense Department and planning on retiring under a disability. Would this affect the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay? I would, of course, wait to get accepted with that and then retire under disability. A. Because you have a disability such that you are or would be eligible for disability retirement, you aren’t eligible for a VSIP. On the other hand, if you were offered an opportunity to retire early and met the age and service requirements to do so, you…
Q. I have retired from the Postal Service in Jan. 31 on a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority with an incentive payment. I recently was awarded Social Security disability. I am 54 years old. Am I required to apply for federal disability? I understand the offset. Will I lose my voluntary separation incentive payments in May? A. You don’t have to apply for disability retirement. However, the fact that you are or would be eligible for disabiltiy retirement would bar you from receiving the VSIP.
I am a 58-year-old Postal Service employee with 34 years of service who was sent home during the National Reassessment Process. I was thinking about retiring but choosing workers’ compensation over my civil service retirement. I would like to know if I would be eligible to receive the incentive if I did this. I would also like to know if I would be able to elect the spousal annuity if I retired OWCP. A. No, you wouldn’t. No one who has a disability such that he or she is or would be eligible for disability retirement can receive a Voluntary…
Q. Our installation is offering a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay. My service computation date is in November 1988, and I will be 52 this May. I have 15 years of part-time employment. A majority of these years were at 40 hours, biweekly. Approximately three to four years were 48 hours, biweekly. How can/do I calculate my estimated retirement pay, other than contacting ABC and requesting calculation? I’m afraid they will not be able to provide info before the deadline to apply for the VERA/VSIP. A. You’ll find out how to do that by going to www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/csrsfers-handbook/c055.pdf and…
Q. Will VSIP income, upon retirement, count toward credits earned for Social Security eligibility? I served in the military for four years in the early 1970s. I never bought that service time back. I have earned only 30 Social Security credits and thus won’t be eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62. I am 60 and federally employed with 42 years under CSRS. If I accept a VSIP ($25,000 gross) upon retirement before age 62, will that money count toward Social Security credits earned? If so, how many? And will the credits reduce my annuities at age 62, having…