Q. When the Office of Personnel Management states “total years of service,” are they are basing that on an SCD (service computation date) and not January of any given year?
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Q. I’m getting mixed advice about the maximum amount of time my current agency can retain me because it is not a transfer within the agency, but to an external agency. I have asked the human resources specialist to provide me with the Office of Personnel Management regulation that allows my current agency to retain me for 30 days. After two days, she indicated she is still researching it. I have scoured the OPM site and I have found nothing. Can you clear this up for me?
Q. If you have a negative balance for sick leave (i.e., -149.50 advance sick leave), and you are medically retired from the federal system, how is that deficit addressed? Is it repaid out of your earnings or wiped from the books?
Q. I am a retiree with 35 years of government service as a CSRS Offset employee. I am entitled to my full Social Security check because I have worked in private industry prior to working with the government and have over 30 years with government employment. So, I am an exception to the Windfall Elimination Provision. OPM has reduced my pension. Why is my pension being reduced?
Q. I resigned from the U.S. Postal Service in 2005 with 490 hours of sick leave. I started working for the Department of Homeland Security in 2013. I have tried to contact the Office of Personnel Management to see if I could get my sick leave back. Is the Post Office different whereas my sick leave can’t be restored?
Q. I retired in 1995 and included a small survivor benefit for my spouse. In 2014, we divorced, and I have since remarried. I would like to leave a survivor benefit for my new wife. Does the Office of Personnel Management permit me to provide a survivor benefit to my second wife? If yes, what is the correct way to proceed?
Q. Why wouldn’t the Office of Personnel Management give you an option to have taxes withheld if a survivor annuity is taxable? What a huge shock to find out that I owe $6,000!
Q. I’m a FERS employee covered under the law enforcement officer/firefighter provision. I have 25 years of service and have reached my minimum retirement age. If I get fired for misconduct, can they deny me my firefighter retirement benefit?
Q. If a voluntary early retirement is something that must be offered, it shouldn’t be called “voluntary.” To me, the term is a misleading contradiction in and of itself. “You can voluntarily retire; but [only] if we (your organization) offer it.” What are your thoughts?
Q. My mom just passed on. She was receiving a disability annuity. When we checked with OPM, we were shocked to find out they had taken all of her retirement contributions and used it for her disability payments. Is this really what happened? A. In all likelihood, yes. Annuity payments to retirees — whether regular or disability — initially come from the contributions employees made to the retirement system while they were working. Only when that money runs out does the government begin making those payments out of the retirement fund. A retiree who worked full time for an entire…