Browsing: Eligibility

Q. I am a federal employee of 18 years. I am considering going LWOP or possibly a break in service (returning after I had formally resigned). How does each situation affect my retirement benefits (cash per month)? Do the top three years apply to the 18 years of service or to the time of service after a return from a break in service? In other words, if I departed as a GS-14 and returned and then retired as a GS-13, would the top three years be taken off the GS-14 salary or the GS-13 salary? 

Q. I worked for the FAA from June 1969 and left after I married to raise my family in September 1975. I will be 62 in September. Am I eligible  for any FAA pension? A. If you left your retirement contributions in the retirement fund when you left, you’d be entitled to an annuity at age 62. To get that benefit, go to http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/opm1496a.pdf, download a copy of the form, fill it out, and send it to OPM.

Q. I worked for the post office from 1980 to 1990 and then quit to attend grad school. Although I’ve since become successful, immediately after grad school I needed money and so withdrew it from my CSRS account. Will I be eligible to go back on CSRS if I return to federal service?

Q. I spent eight years active duty in the Air Force as a physician in the late 1990s. I would like to end my career practicing at the VA. I am 59 years old. If I work at the VA for 11 years, I will only have 19 years of federal service. Will I be entitled to any federal government pension? Must I work a full 20 years for the Fed? Will that effect the Social Security funds that I have contributed to for the past 25 years?

Q. You recently stated in your posts you can receive your FERS retirement benefits calculated at the rate of .011 with 20 years of service, at age 62. Does this benefit rate of 1.1, apply if you left your employment before the MRA (resigned), have more than 20 years of service and elect to receive a deferred retirement at age 62? At age 60, benefits are calculated at .01. Is there a choice?

Q. I am 64 years old. From 1986 to 1995, I worked for the federal government and was covered by FERS. I just now realized that I may be eligible for a pension, starting at age 62. If I apply now, will I be somehow able to recover the two years’ worth of payments that I did not collect? Can I wait even longer, until the time that my total income (and my tax bracket) will be lower than it is now?

Q. I plan on leaving federal service with the VA after 15 years of employment, having worked various jobs at GS-7 and GS-5 levels. I will be 48 years old upon my voluntary leave. Can I collect my VA pension immediately or do I have to wait till I reach a certain age to collect a monthly pension? And if I can collect my VA pension now, can I continue to pay for health insurance via monthly deduction from the pension amount?

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