Browsing: High-3

Q. I am planning to retire Aug. 15 with 37 years, two months and 12 days under CSRS. I will be 60 years old. I know if I stay more than 40 years, I will get 80 percent of my salary. What I don’t understand, according to my retirement estimates, is that after age 62, I will be getting less of an annuity each year. How can this be? A. It can’t be. Something is wrong with either the estimator you are using or the data you are putting into it. Part of the problem may be that you misunderstand…

Q. I am trying to figure my calculations under FERS disability retirement and Social Security. I am receiving Medicare under Social Security Administration without monetary benefits because of workers’ compensation. Would you please calculate a high-3 of $54,000; and Social Security entitlement of $1,700 monthly on a 60% and a 40%. What would be the separate amounts received from both? Also, do I have to fill out both forms, SF 3112 and a SF 3107 for immediate retirement? I am requesting approval of disability retirement. A. I can’t do your homework for you. What I can do is give you…

Q. I took a voluntary early retirement (at age 52 with 20 years of service) about five years ago and have since been re-employed with federal civil service full time. My salary is reduced by my retirement annuity, and I understand I need to work five more years to receive a recomputed retirement. Can I cancel my existing federal retirement and just receive my full salary? This may give me the more secure status of being a regular employee rather than a re-employed annuitant. A re-employed annuitant appears to be more vulnerable to reductions in force. Also, my next five…

Q. If I have less than three years in civil service but qualify for retirement based on military time I bought back, what is my high-3 calculated from? A. Your annuity will be based on your combined civilian and military service for which you made a deposit. However, you don’t qualify for retirement. To do that, you will need to have five years of actual civilian service and meet the age and service requirements: 62 with 5 years, 60 with 20 years, at your MRA with 30 or at your MRA with between 10 and 29 years. In the last…

Q. Are there pay differences in FERS retirement after 20 years versus retiring at 18 years? A. The simple answer: In most cases, the difference will be 2 percent because the standard formula is .01 x your high-3 x your years of service. However, the simple answer leaves too much out. You are eligible to retire only when you meet the age and service requirements for an immediate unreduced annuity, which are: 62 with 5 years of service, or 60 with 20, or at your minimum retirement age (MRA) with 30 You can also retire at your MRA with at…

Q. Is the average high-3 based on my gross pay including shift differential? The Office of Personnel Management site says yes. However, my employer is taking deductions for pension contributions only on my basic pay. I would get less by this method. I work for Treasury. A. Night shift differentials are considered to be a part of basic pay if you are a prevailing rate (wage) employee. If you are a GS employee, they aren’t.

Q. I am 51 years old and have 16 years of 6c time in federal law enforcement. I am also a veteran and bought back 11 years of active-duty time, bringing my total federal time to 27 years. I am considering leaving the government for a position with a private company. I want to make sure I understand what I would give up before I leave, and it is my understanding that my benefits would be based on a straight 1.0 percent per year vice 1.7 percent since I will not have completed 20 years of 6c time. I am…

Q. I have 26 years of federal service under FERS. I am 51 years old.  I would like to leave federal government.  Am I eligible to apply for a deferred retirement? If so, how is my penalty calculated? A. Because you have at least 20 years of service, you could resign and apply for a deferred retirement at age 60. Your annuity would be calculated using the standard formula: 0.01 x your high-3 x your years and full months of service. Your high-3 would be determined by your highest three consecutive years of average salary on the day you left.

Q. You have stated that to calculate the high-3, OPM will consider only salaries from which the government has deducted retirement contributions. For which items will they not deduct the contributions? Social Security taxes? Medicare taxes? Medical, dental and vision insurance payments? Thrift plan payments? I think it is fraud when everywhere it is stated “average of three highest salaries” and the actual amount is way low. Nobody told me that’s how it is calculated. I was a title 38 physician and have retired under FERS, but I also have CSRS component. A. First, let’s clear the deck. There isn’t…

Q. I am a civilian physician working for the VA in FERS, and I want to know what components of my pay are used to calculate my FERS retirement stipend. On my earnings and leave statement, one portion of my pay is classified as “regular pay,” and another portion is classified as “market pay.” Are both of these combined to determine my high-3? A. Basic pay for retirement purposes is the amount of pay from which retirement deductions are taken. Physicians comparability allowances are considered part of basic pay if certain criteria are met. For more information, go to www.opm.gov/oca/pay/html/pca.asp

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