Q. I am a CSRS employee who will be turning 55 in January. I will have 32 years of service. If I retire during the summer of this year, how much will I be penalized?
Browsing: Early retirement
Q. I am a FERS employee who will be retiring under early retirement rules for air traffic control. I will turn 55 in April 2014 and plan to retire Jan. 4, 2014. Everything I read says that if I retire in the year I turn 55, there will be no early withdrawal penalty for my Thrift Savings Plan. My human resources specialist says I must retire after I turn 55 — after my birthday in April. Which is correct? I also understand the advantages of retiring close to the end of the month, ideally the last day. However, Jan. 4…
Q: The congressional supercommittee proposed eliminating the FERS supplement. The committee failed to reach agreement, but I can’t help but think these proposals will surface again. Had they been successful, would this elimination have applied to all employees retiring under FERS after enaction of their proposals? Or would it only have applied to new hires with less than five years of service? What if an employee retired under early out provisions before enaction? I’m 53 with 30 years of service and won’t be eligible for the FERS supplement until October of 2014. If the proposed action would have passed or…
Q: 1. Early retirement at age 51 and 23 years of service — If RIF, what will be offered to me for my retirement plan? 2. CSRS versus FERS — started with government on May 8, 1985; I started with CSRS and my agency changed me to FERS, because I was informed I should have been hired with FERS. 3. Quit government — Oct. 1, 2010, through April 7, 2011; worked as a contractor. How many years and months of service should I have reflected on my OFP records? 4. Promoted to GS-13-5 in 2009 — when should I expect another…
Q. I have a question about early outs. I am 53 and have 25 years of Federal Employees Retirement System service. If an offer is made in 2012, will I be penalized for the number of years I am under age 62? Reading the past posts, I am confused. Also, are health benefits based on the non-postal rate for federal employees? Is unused sick leave added to the annuity or years of service in the coming year? A. Retiring CSRS employees are penalized for being under regular retirement age; retiring FERS employees aren’t. The premium rates for retired Postal Service…
Q. I’ve been with the Postal Service for 22 years and am 49 years old. I’ve started a new career. Can I retire next year at age 50? Will I be eligible for any retirement money? A. No, you cannot retire at age 50. In fact, the earliest you would be able to retire is when you reach your minimum retirement age, which is 56. Even then you would be retiring under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 but fewer than 30 years of service). At retirement, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for…
Q. I am a Civil Service Retirement System/Federal Employees Retirement System offset employee with 31 years of service, and I have been offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VERA/VSIP). I would like to know how a VERA/VSIP would affect my retirement. I have been depositing the maximum in my TSP account, and I see that the government is not required to match it. Does government matching or not matching my deposit depend on the agency I work for? A. To estimate what your annuity would be, use the formulas for each retirement system: FERS: 0.01 x…
Q. I am currently off work and getting compensation from the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. If the Postal Service offers early retirement, can I take the offer and retire while on workers’ comp? I am 52, and have more than 30 years of service. I have applied for disability retirement, but if an early out is offered, I would rather go that route instead, if possible. A. I’m not aware of any bar to your accepting an offer of early retirement.
Q. I have been an Army reservist for 18 years, with two overseas deployments. I am in the middle of a Medical Evaluation Board. If the Army forces me to retire due to medical reasons, will I start drawing retirement right away or would I still have to wait until age 60. A. Since you have at least 18 months of creditable civilian service, if you are disqualified for military duty, you would be eligible for disability retirement benefits. For more information, go to http://www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C046.pdf and scroll down to Section 46B4.1-2.
Q. I am a FERS employee with 24 years of service; I am 49. I started at the IRS in May 1987, and my birthday is in October 1962. My agency may offer an early out very shortly. However, it appears I miss the 20 years/age 50 or the 25 years/any age requirement by less than one year. Is there any way I can take the early out if offered and pay the 5-percent penalty in order to qualify for the early out, and get an immediate annuity? If yes, would I still get my health insurance? Or am I…