Q. I am a Postal Service employee who has been under CSRS since 1980. Am I under Medicare? Do I apply for Medicare at 65? I understand that, at 65, Medicare becomes primary and pays 80 percent, but since I am in the federal health care system, is that actually primary? My confusion is that we pay the same for health care under the federal health care system while working as we do when we are retired, so I am thinking that our health plan remains primary. So do we even need to apply for Medicare? Why would we need…
Browsing: EMPLOYMENT
Q. I want to see if I can suspend my medical insurance (I am retired FERS). I have taken a part-time job that offers medical benefits if I want them. I need to make a decision soon and was told that when I retired, I would be able to suspend my medical if I found work. What is the amount I can earn before I have to pay back to the Social Security (as I am 59), and do I pay back dollar for dollar?
Q. I am 61 years old. I want to know, if I retire from the Veterans Affairs Department at age 62, after 14 years of service, will my health benefits still have the same government contribution?
Q. My husband will be retiring for the Postal Service in November. Should he get a spousal annuity for me, a CSRS employee who will be retiring in 2016? Will I be eligible to draw Social Security benefit from his retirement and my CSRS retirement upon his death?
Q. Are air traffic controllers who are forced to retire under mandatory retirement rules eligible to collect unemployment in New York state?
Q. Husband, age 54, is retiring under Voluntary Early Retirement Authority on Dec. 31. He has 31 years with the Postal Service under CSRS and three years with the military and did not pay back his military time. He has 19 quarters earned for Social Security. He does not intend to earn the full 40 quarters of Social Security prior to age 62. If he earns the full 40 quarters after age 62 — say, at age 64 — what will happen?
Q. I am 47 years old with 20 years in the Postal Service and am planning on separating soon. Will I be eligible to keep with my current insurance? How/where do I find how much more my premium will be? Will I get my 400+ hours of annual leave in a lump sum? How long does that take to process? (I can stay employed longer if the lump sum would still be applied to this year’s income for tax purposes.) Would I be eligible for any pension at age 59½? Would my seven months of unused sick leave count toward it?
Q. I am age 66 in a Level 13 office as postmaster. My retirement date on Form 50 is Jan. 21, 2014, with 20 years of service. If I do nothing, I will be separated Sept. 30, 2014, with no problems. I don’t want to be offered a position which I won’t take and leave the post office with nothing.
Q. I worked 20 years and one day with the Postal Service, stopping work in 2007. I worked a private job from 2007 through 2012. I have suffered leukemia since 1996. It became severe in 2012, which stopped my work. I am applying to Social Security to include my disability that is killing my mind function and limiting my life expectancy. I am 49 years old. If Social Security disability is awarded, what is available through FERS and how should I proceed?
Q. My fiance is a retired federal government employee under CSRS. We are getting married this month, and he would like to add me as his wife to his insurance. However, when we called and asked about the monthly cost of adding me (I have never worked for the federal government), we were told his premiums would jump from approximately $155 a month to $450 per month because I have never worked for the government. Is it correct that what we pay for insurance can climb by a huge amount because I never worked for the government, or would the…