Q. I am a 53-year-old FERS employee who requested to buy back my military service time through payroll deductions. The intent was to retire at 62 from federal service, at which time the years of military service would have been completely bought back. Now, my agency is offering Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments. I am tempted to accept one and opt for a delayed retirement. I don’t believe the VSIP would affect my projected future retirement benefits (please verify that). However, must I continue to make monthly payments to the Office of Personnel Management to complete the buyback prior to age…
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Q. I am a FERS employee working at an Air Force base with the Defense Department. I have about 31½ years service and am 62 years old. During the last year, my base has offered two VSIP/VERA opportunities to reduce the manning levels to what they were in 2010 and accommodate some reorganizing, and I hear they will be making a third offer in May. I applied for the last two and was denied for both. I was told by my management that our wing organization had vacant slots they could give up so a person could be offered a…
Q. I was just wondering if there is a list of people in civil service who are being offered a buyout but for some reason can’t take it. I have 40 years in service, and if they could qualify for my job, can we exchange their buyout for my job? I work for FISC out of Norfolk, Va., and I haven’t heard of any buyouts being offered through them yet. I was just wondering if someone needed another 6-10 years in service and was being offered a buyout because of downsizing or whatever, then maybe we could swap. If so,…
Q. I work for a federal agency that has offered a VERA/VSIP. I have 31 years of civilian service under CSRS, and I’ll be 53 years old on July 12. Employees who accept the buyout offer are to be off the agency payroll by June 2012. I’ve applied for the offer, but I’ve only been enrolled in the health insurance program for 2½ years. I’ve also discovered that the estimated annuity calculated through Employee Benefits Information System is not accurate because it is based on working 40 hours a week for 31 years (I was part time for 17 years,…
Q. I am a FERS with 21 years service and age 51 with an minimum retirement age of 56. Say I retire under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or Voluntary Separation Incentive Program prior to the end of 2012 and work elsewhere (not federal). Since I would not be receiving an annuity between retirement at age 51 and annuity eligibility at age 56, would any earned income above $14,640 during those five years have a delayed effect on my annuity from 56 to 62? A. No. The earnings limit only applies when you are receiving either the special retirement supplement…
Q: After receiving a buyout, would employment with a government contractor require repayment of the buyout? A: You would only have to repay the buyout if you later accepted employment with the federal government (including work under a personal services contract or other direct contract) within five years of the date of the separation on which the VSIP is based.
Q: It looks like our agency is going to offer buyouts/early outs. I know I would have to pay back the buyout pay if I go back to work for the federal government within five years. Does this restriction apply to quasi-governmental entities such as the Federal Reserve and the bank regulatory agencies that are funded by the regulated community? A: The restriction applies to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the FDIC because they are federal agencies. Federal Reserve banks aren’t.
Q: I am a federal employee with the Air Force. I am 52 with 29 years of service in CSRS. I just received notice that my position is in the first round of cutbacks and is to be abolished by Sept. 30. My question is, since my position is to be cut, if I am offered the VERA-VSIP and accepted, will they waive the 2 percent penalty for each year of early separation? My separation would be Sept. 10, 2014, without the VERA-VSIP. A: The 2 percent penalty (1/6 percent per month) for being under age 55 is a matter of…
Q. If I receive and/or apply for disability retirement, how does this affect an incentive to retire? If I apply now for disability retirement and an incentive is announced, will I be able to get the incentive? A. No, an employee who has a disability such that he would be eligible for disability retirement may not receive a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment.
Q. I am a Civil Service Retirement System/Federal Employees Retirement System offset employee with 31 years of service, and I have been offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VERA/VSIP). I would like to know how a VERA/VSIP would affect my retirement. I have been depositing the maximum in my TSP account, and I see that the government is not required to match it. Does government matching or not matching my deposit depend on the agency I work for? A. To estimate what your annuity would be, use the formulas for each retirement system: FERS: 0.01 x…