Q. I am a level 13 postmaster who will receive a reduction-in-force notice in June 2014. My position as EAS 13 Postmaster will be demoted to an EP-55 Part-time Career employee. My plans were to take the RIF in June and leave in September 2014. I am 51 years old and have been a federal employee since 1983. I was counting on leaving under the discontinued service retirement in June. However, now that they have offered this Voluntary Early Retirement Authority even though it offers no incentive, should I take the “safe” out now or wait until the RIF next…
Browsing: Reductions in force
Q. As a government civilian, you have the benefit to carry your Federal Employees Health Benefits into retirement provided you: 1. Are eligible to receive an immediate annuity. 2. Are insured on the date of retirement (or covered as a family member under the FEHB program), and 3. Have been covered for the five years of service immediately preceding retirement or since your first opportunity to enroll. The decision to accept a reduction in force and move to unemployment is one option, but would you lose the right to carry FEHB into retirement because your were separated by the RIF.…
Q. I am 55 with almost 10 years in FERS and 31 years military, for which I haven’t made a deposit. If a reduction in force happens, would I be eligible for a buyout or severance pay?
Q. I am a GS-9 and filling a GS-7 position that has not been filled. I have been informed that due to the agency downsizing, my GS-9 position will be eliminated. What are my options? Am I entitled to a GS-9 save-pay if I am offered the GS-7 position?
Q. I’m a 15-year employee with an excepted service position that has been abolished through a reduction in force. I have always had above and beyond evaluations for my 15 years of employment. Do I not have any rights to retention of employment? Following Office of Personnel Management laws, I would say yes. But I read that excepted service has the option to follow no procedure/policies on RIF. Keep in mind I hold an administrative/data entry position within the courts and therefore not appointed when a new administration moves into the White House.
Q. I am a 53-year-old federal employee with 28 years of service. If I am downsized or affected by a reduction in force, what is the age when I can collect my annuity? As importantly, I have been told by a federal certified retirement planner that because I am over 50 and have more than 25 years of service, when I become eligible to collect my annuity, I may also rejoin the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. Can you confirm that?
Q. I am 56 with eight years of service. With a reduction in force, would I qualify for a deferred annuity at 62? If so, is the formula still .01 percent of high-3 x eight years? Also, what about my health insurance? Would this be lost, or could I reapply at 62?
Q. If I am RIF’ed under FERS with 24 years of service at age 58 in September 2014, am I going to be penalized 5 percent per year on my annuity for being under 62 years old, or is there no penalty? I am an EAS employee with the Postal Service.
Q. I am in CSRS Offset. I am 56 with 29 years of Veterans Affairs Department service. Do I have to wait until November 2014, when I will have 30 years of service, before I can obtain retirement benefits? My service was involuntarily interrupted when I was “laid off” for a three-month period. It was never technically referred to as a reduction in force, but I did obtain unemployment during that period. Is there any way I can get credit for that?
Q. I am a 48-year-old with 25 years of service with the Postal Service. My office will be reduced in September 2014 to a six-hour office. My husband was a retired Marine with a service-connected death. What are my options with the Postal Service plan? Can I be RIF’ed and can my pay be cut? I have veterans’ preferences documented on my Form 50.