Q: I transferred from the Veterans Affairs Department to the Defense Department and my service computation date was not carried over. How do I fix this? A: You will have to put pressure on your new agency’s personnel office to obtain the necessary information to correct your records. While it will be sorted out in the long run, it’s better to settle the matter ASAP.
Browsing: EMPLOYMENT
Q: I am a retired Civil Service Retirement System annuitant with 32 years of Defense Department service. If I accept another civil service position (DoD or otherwise), what are the pay limitations? In my case, what is the pay cap for San Diego, under the 2011 pay scale? Would my pension be considered as part of a total compensation package (Level 1 cap), or part of pay only (level IV cap)? Also, is consideration as a re-employed annuitant feasible? I understand pay-cap limitations are considerably less stringent, but the DoD guidelines are extrememly difficult for the hiring agency to…
Q: I was employed in January 2006 on a term position. Having been prior civil service, my service computation date was 1989. In August 2007, I was involuntarily laid off and received compensation for 148 hours of accrued annual leave in the amount of $3,877.60. I recently was charged by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service as being overpaid and was told my SCD was the reason, and that I received too much money when I left the job. I was told I was not entitled to receive eight hours per pay period, therefore I owe the government money. I…
Q: The secretary of Defense authorized agencies to rehire annuitants with full pay and full annuities on March 18, 2004. If I retire under disability (through the Federal Employees Retirement System) and am rehired under this authority, am I still subject to the Office of Personnel Management’s 80 percent rule, whereby I would lose my disability annuity if I earn more than 80 percent of my former salary? A: Disability annuitants cannot be hired under this authority.
Q: I am in FERS and work full time in the Veterans Affairs Department. In 1991, I bought back my four years of active-duty time. In 1995, I joined the Army National Guard. In 2009, I retired from the military and I currently receive military retirement. I plan to retire from VA in 2013 with 23 years of service. I know that I cannot add the four years of military time that I bought back in 1991 to my VA time. But is there a procedure to get back the money I deposited in 1991? Is there someone or a…
Q: Can I apply for an annuitant position while I’m still a regular CSRS employee? What does management have to do to open a job to allow an annuitant to apply? A: There is no such thing as an annuitant position. If an agency needs to fill a position, it may do so with an annuitant if there is a match between the job’s requirements and the annuitant’s skills. However, there is no requirement that it do so. FYI: In most cases, the salary of a re-employed annuitant will be offset by the amount of his annuity.
Q: I recently had my retirement pay calculated. I was a part-timer during my first three years of employment — approximately 25 hours per week. I subsequently have had 13 years of full-time federal employment. It appears that I will incur a 10 percent penalty in my retirement pay because of those part-time years. Do you know if that will always be true no matter how long I stay as a federal employee? A: The longer you work, the smaller the reduction in your annuity will be.
Q: I have a question on returning back to work part time in a federal job. I retired in February 2004 from the Postal Service. I retired in the Federal Employees Retirement System. I am thinking of returning back to work with the Transportation Security Administration. If I do, will it affect or reduce my annuity and my supplemental allowance? A: Unless you are hired into a position that allows you to keep both your annuity and the full salary of your position, your new salary will be reduced by the amount of your annuity. Check before accepting the job.
Q: Can we hire a current Veterans Affairs Department employee who is a well-qualified police officer (now serving under the regular Federal Employees Retirement System) as a firefighter if he is 58 years old? He also happens to be preference-eligible. Are we required to do a waiver for his age, which would mean he would retire at age 78? Is there an option for him to elect the regular retirement system and work as long as he wants? What if he’s not interested in retiring and just wants to work for a while? A: Under 5 USC 3307, agencies are…
Q: I can retire in February with 31 years of service under the Civil Service Retirement System as a part-time/flex employee in the U.S. Postal Service. My “high-3” years were from 2006-2009. Will they use these years to calculate my annuity? Is it always the last years? Is it always three consecutive years, or is it the highest consecutive three years? As a PTF, my hours changed yearly as to how many offices I worked in. Also, when I was hired in 1979, I never heard of “buying back” or anything related. Since I made no deposits, or didn’t know…