In my last two columns, I described the procedures agencies are required to use when they conduct a reduction in force. In this column, I’ll focus on the options available to employees who are eligible to retire when facing a RIF. Immediate retirement If you have the right combination of age and service, you’ll be able to retire on an immediate annuity, even if you aren’t directly targeted by a RIF. Here are the rules, which are different for personnel under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System. The immediate retirement rules are different for special…
Browsing: Minimum retirement age
Q. I am a FERS employee with more than 24 years of service (will likely retire at my minimum retirement age in 10 years). I served four years of active-duty military, then transferred to the Guard, where I still serve (more than 26 years of total service). I bought back my active military service time to increase my length of service under FERS (and ultimately increase my FERS annuity). Since my active military service will be used in my FERS retirement calculation, can it also be used in my Guard retirement computation (it would greatly increase my number of retirement…
Q. I am a FERS-covered employee. I will have 20 years of creditable service at my minimum retirement age of 56. Can I take a deferred annuity at age 60 without any reduction? Or do I have to take it at age 62 since I’m considering the MRA+10 retirement option?
Q. I am retired military receiving a military pension. I am now in a federal government job under FERS. In September 2015, I will have five years of creditable service and will be 61 years old. My birthday is in November. I believe I am beyond my minimum retirement age. I would like expert confirmation on what I think to be true. If I submit for deferred retirement once I have the five years of service (September 2015), I should receive an annuity beginning on Dec. 1, 2015 (just after my 62nd birthday in November 2015), and my military pension…
Q. I am a letter carrier covered by FERS and I have 26 years in. I am 49 years old and my minimum retirement age is 56 years and six months. I would like to leave the post office, get a job with the Veterans Affairs Department and work there until my MRA. Would I get the same retirement at VA as I would get with USPS if I stayed there until my MRA?
Q. I am 59, turning 60 in December. I have eight years and one mo of credited military time (I just bought back my retirement) and have almost three years as a civilian employee. When would I reach a point where I could expect a minimum retirement?
Q. I’m a FERS employee with 27 years of service. I am 47 years old. If a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority is offered, at what age do I collect Social Security? Also, if a VERA is offered, would my pension be 1 percent per year for a total of 27 percent? Or are there penalties?
Q. I am a FERS employee with more than 25 years of service at 51 years of age. I am interested in retiring at this point and want to know how this will work. I have money under the Thrift Savings Plan and do not plan to draw any annuity until I reach my minimum retirement age. Will I be penalized for each year I did not work until the MRA? Will I be paid for the annual leave I have at the time of separation? How will this affect my ability to opt for medical insurance when I reach…
Q. I am a FERS employee and will have 30 years of service at age 53. My minimum retirement age is 56. If I take a deferred retirement at age 53, may I draw unreduced benefits at age 56, 60 or 62?
Q. I retired under FERS in January 2010 after 23 years of service. In September 2012, I reached my minimum retirement age of 56½ and started receiving a supplemental annuity since I was too young to begin receiving Social Security benefits. I was informed that if I was employed and making over $14,000 a year, I would lose the supplemental annuity, calculated proportionately with how much I was making over the $14,000 threshold. Is nontaxable income considered income that would affect my supplemental annuity payment? Does tax-exempt income earned overseas affect my supplemental annuity payments?