Q: I took an immediate retirement at age 51 under the law enforcement provision of CSRS with 30 years of service. Mandatory retirement is age 57. After one month, I returned to federal service in a term position as a re-employed annuitant with a dual compensation waiver (pension plus salary). My term position may expire in the next 12 months. Can I forgo my CSRS pension and compete for a law enforcement position again? Assuming the new position is a promotion over my last permanent position, would my CSRS pension be recalculated upon my final retirement? Would I be obligated…
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Q: I worked for the Navy as a GS-11 for five years but left in 1991. I have an SF-50 that says “completed service requirement for Career Tenure from 07-17-88 to 07-17-91.” However, I actually started with the Navy on Aug. 28, 1986 and my resignation papers have an effective date of Sept. 24, 1991. I’m hoping to return to federal service but want to know if I am eligible for any future retirement benefits. A: If you completed at least five years of creditable service and didn’t take a refund of your retirement contributions in the retirement fund when…
Q: I have 2.5 years of credible service with the U.S Postal Service. I will be accepting a GS/GG job very shortly. Does the time count toward vacation or retirement time? What type of documentation do I need to provide when I’m hired in three weeks? A: Yes, it counts. And the information about your prior employment will be included in your official personnel folder (OPF), which either will be forwarded to your new agency or given to you to do that.
Q: I am curious about Section 9902(h) of Title 5, United States Code. I retired Dec. 31, 2010, but I have since gone back to work part time as a contractor. I would like to go back full time as an annuitant but I am not sure of all the requirements. Can you give me all the criteria? A: The main requirements are simple. First, the position needs to be identified as a hard-to-fill position and be one that is critical to the accomplishment of the organization’s mission. Second, the candidate for the position has to have unique or specialized skills or unusual…
Q: I have close to five years of service under CSRS. I took a refund. I also have about a year under FERS and took a refund of that when I quit. Now, I’m re-entering federal service. Can I buy back from both plans; total would be just more than five years. A: Because you had fewer than five years of CSRS service, when you returned you were automatically placed in FERS and that CSRS service became FERS service. If you come back to work again, you may make a redeposit and get credit for all that time under FERS…
Q: I worked full time for a federal grant (awarded by the Department of Justice) from 1977-1981. I am now employed full time by the Department of Treasury/IRS. Does the time I worked on the DOJ grant count toward my federal service time? A: No.
Q: I am a new civil servant, hired in April of 2011 after 24 years of active duty time in the Air Force (combined AD and Reserves). If I understand the leave accrual policy correctly, I am not eligible for an increased leave accrual rate unless I served during a war declared by Congress or during an expeditionary period where a medal is authorized. Am I correct in assuming if I was on active duty orders but did not deploy to a Global War On Terror area (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.) I am only eligible for four hours per pay period? I…
Q: I will retire from the federal probation system in July 2012 at the mandatory age of 57. Can I be hired by the TSA in a non-law enforcement position and continue to receive my federal retirement? If not, what will be the arrangement? A: In most cases, the salary of your new position would be offset by the amount of your annuity. If you worked for at least one year, you’d receive a supplemental annuity based on that service. If you worked for at least five years, your annuity would be recalculated as if you had never retired. On…
Q: Do you know where and who can be contacted to determine time in service BEFORE you retire? I just received a 20-year federal service award dated March 31, 2011. My pay slip states my service computation date as 5/31/1991. What is the difference? How can I find out exactly the amount of time I currently have that will be used for my pension calculations? A: Your service computation date (SCD) is the one that will be used to determine your years of service. You’ll have to check with your personnel office to find out why they selected the earlier…
Q: If someone accepts a buyout, can they come back and work as a part-time contract employee? A: According to OPM, “An employee who receives a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment and later accepts employment for compensation with the Government of the United States within five years of the date of the separation on which the VSIP is based, including work under a personal services contract or other direct contract, must repay the entire amount of the VSIP to the agency that paid it — before the individual’s first day of re-employment.” You’d need to check with your agency to learn…