Browsing: EMPLOYMENT

Q: After 25 years’ service, I retired from a USG agency in February 2008, accepting an early retirement offer which included a Voluntary Severance Incentive Payment of $25,000. (After withholding tax was deducted from this VSIP, I actually only received just more than $16,000.) I was told that, for five years, post-retirement, I was barred from working for the federal government, unless an agency obtained a waiver to employ me directly or unless I repaid the VSIP. Otherwise, I would have to work for and as a contractor. My situation raises a few related questions: 1. If I wanted to…

Misperceptions abound about the pay and benefits that members of Congress enjoy. One example is this misleading e-mail that has been making the rounds: “For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn’t pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to…

Q: At the age of 54, I would like to retire. It is then when I will have 20 years as a federal civilian nurse. I will be retiring under the Federal Employees Retirement System. Once retired, I would like to work for the Forest Service part-time or seasonally. How will this affect my retirement? How will my retirement income be computed? Can I collect my FERS retirement while still working for the Forest Service? A: As a FERS employee, you aren’t eligible to retire. The earliest point at which you could do that is when you reach your minimum…

Q: I retired from the military, and have worked in civil service since June 2008. Am I entitled to receive credit for leave based on my time served from either the Persian Gulf War or based on any one of many service medals that I have been authorized to wear? A: For non-disability retired members of the armed forces, leave accrual credit is only given for actual service during a war declared by Congress or while participating in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign ribbon is authorized. Your branch of service can tell you which periods of service…

Q. On 11/29/2003, I was forced to retire involuntary from the Department of the Navy as a result of a reduction in force. I was a FERS annuitant and received an annuity. On 3/8/2004, I was rehired as a re-employment annuitant with the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). When starting my new job at new agency, the human resources office placed me in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Each of my paychecks saw a deduction to contribute to FERS and I also contributed an amount to the Thrift Savings Plan. The HR office also sent me a letter to state…

Q. I am inquiring about retiring from one government agency and then working for another. If an individual is eligible to retire from DoD, meeting both age and time requirements, and starts to receive his pension, is it possible to then start working for another federal agency, such as the General Services Administration or Transportation Department, and ultimately receive another pension from this agency when eligible? If not, would this time with the new agency be added to time spent with DoD and his pension figured based on the combined time? I have seen individuals work for the state government,…

Q. I retired in 1999 under an early-out program and want to return to work full time. How will my current retirement payment be affected? A. As a rule, the salary of your new position would be reduced by the amount of your annuity. For example, if your annuity was $25,000 and the salary of your new position was $75,000, you would only be paid $50,000 ($75,000-$25,000).

Q. I am a retired civil service annuitant currently working as a rehired annuitant with the Homeland Security Department. I was re-employed as a rehired annuitant under the pension offset waiver, thus earning my full pension and salary. I was told when I complete my rehired annuitant employment, I can apply for a recalculation of my civil service annuity, based on a higher “highest 3 year average” I am now earning as a rehired annuitant. Please advise if this is true, and how I can apply for a recalculation of my annuity. A. As a rule, annuitants who are re-employed…

Q. I recently reached the mandatory retirement age of 57 while being employed as a criminal investigator (Special Agent) with the U.S. Dept. of Justice – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). I was separated from the federal government due to my age of 57 on April 30, 2009. My gross pay used to be over $150,000 per year. My gross retirement pay, after over 25 years of service, is now $73,000 per year. I would like to apply for other federal jobs that I see advertised but am under the impression that I cannot because I am…

Q. In November 2003, I was forced to retire involuntary because of a reduction in force by the Department of the Navy and I received an annuity. Three months after, in March 2004, I was rehired by the Department of Defense. When I started the new job with a new agency I received a letter from the agency stating that because I was a rehired annuitants I would continue to receive my annuity but my salary would be reduced by the amount of annuity that I had received and the deduction was effective March 2004. Now, after six years of…

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