Q. I noticed someone said if you are eligible for disability retirement, you can’t get a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment. There are many requirements to be eligible for or awarded disability retirement. It is a complicated application process. If you applied and/or if you have a disability, why should this mean you are automatically eligible for it and therefore not eligible for VSIP? A. The rules are clear. If you have a disability such that you are or would be eligible for disability retirement, you are barred from receiving a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment.
Browsing: DOWNSIZING
Q. I am a FERS employee. Under VERA/VSIP, does my sick leave contribute toward my length of service computation? A. No. It is added only after you meet the age and service requirements to retire; and, if you retire before Jan. 1, 2014, only half credit is given for it.
Q. I retired from the Department of Justice in 2007. I received a $25,000 VSIP. I returned to work before the five-year waiting period and repaid the entire $25,000. I am employed by a different agency and am now thinking about going out after only two years. Am I eligible for a new VSIP? A. Absolutely not. By law, payment of a VSIP is a one-time, non-repeatable event.
Q. Can an agency direct an employee not to submit a retirement packet prior to its Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay decision? Does an agency decision to grant VSIP affect an employee’s ability to pursue optional retirement? I’m a FERS employee with the Defense Department and was eligible for MRA+10 effective December 2011. My agency deemed my position surplus in 2011 and offered VSIP and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority to separate in 2012. I’ve opted to retire under MRA+10 effective Sept. 30, and to request VSIP. (I’m ineligible for VERA.) I’m prepared to submit my retirement packet to the Army Benefits…
Q. I worked for NAF from Sept. 1, 1970, to August 1990 in the Air Force. With no break in service, I ported into FERS. Early in my FERS career, I had the option of taking my NAF retirement in a differed annuity or transferring it into FERS with my NAF service. I chose to move all of my NAF retirement money ($6,500) into FERS, hoping it would combine with my FERS retirement. In November, I started looking at the possibilities of taking the VSIP. From November to April, I spoke with BEST counselors five times trying to get an…
Q. My wife was a CSRS clerk for the Postal Service for 30 years, and on June 30, 2009, she retired at age 54 under a VERA and lost 2 percent because she was younger than 55. Two months after she retired, the Postal Service offered a VSIP of $15,000 to any clerk who wanted to retire because they didn’t get the numbers they were looking for. Would she be entitled to the $15,000 because she left under a VERA? A. No. The purpose of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment law is to encourage employees to retire, not to reward them…
Q. I took my retirement money out in 1990. Can I use Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay money to pay that back? The Office of Personnel Management told me I would have the opportunity to buy back refunded money or time before final annuity payments were calculated, but I worried that if I retired, they would not count that time into my annuity before I had time to pay it back. A. What OPM told you is correct. And, since you will have your VSIP long before your annuity is finalized, you’ll be able to make the redeposit with time to…
Q. I am a career federal employee under the old CSRS who has approximately 37 years of federal service. I just recently put in my paperwork for Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment. I was wondering approximately how long it would be after I retire before I receive my lump sum annual leave and payment. I know there is a major backlog in the processing of “exact” annuity payments upon retirement, but can I assume these two payments are different in that regard? A. Your lump-sum leave payment and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment will come from your agency. Your payroll office can…
Q. I am not a disability retiree, but I was planning to apply for disability retirement. However, I may be offered a VSIP. Also, I have been out on medical leave now for about six months but don’t know if I am officially classified as disabled. Is this break in service going to be counted against me? Would I be eligible for the VSIP at this point? I was going to apply for reasonable accommodation and disability retirement, but now I am afraid to. A. According to the Office of Personnel Management, you would not be eligible for a voluntary separation incentive payment if you have…
Q. If I am offered an early-out and apply for disability at that time, why wouldn’t I get the incentive? This seems like discrimination. A. You can’t because the law specifically excludes “an employee having a disability on the basis of which such employee is or would be eligible for disability retirement under subchapter III of chapter 83 or 84 or another retirement system for employees of the Government.” See Public Law 107-296 and 5 U.S. Code 3521.