Browsing: RETIREMENT

Q: I saw this question on your website regarding overseas locality pay. I am assigned to a foreign post for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Will my locality pay go toward my high-3? A: Locality pay is always considered to be part of base pay when computing a high-3.

Q: My wife died 13 years ago. How do I assign my survivor benefits to my common-law wife? A: You can submit new designation-of-beneficiary forms: SF 2823 for Federal Employees Group Life Insurance; SF 2808 for the Civil Service Retirement System or SF 3102 for the Federal Employees Retirement System survivor annuity; and TSP-3 for your Thrift Savings Plan investments (available on the TSP website). Some of these benefits may only be available in a state that recognizes common-law marriages. Check with an attorney to make sure that your state is one of them.

Q: This question is in reference to your Dec. 15, 2009, article, “It’s not too late to retire in 2009, or plan for 2010 or 2011” I am planning to retire in 2011; a co-worker is planning to retire in 2010. As per your article, it looks like the planets are lining up, as the leave year and calendar year will end at the same time. Both of us are Civil Service Retirement System employees and work for the U.S. Postal Service. The 2010 leave year ends Jan. 1, 2011. In the Postal Service, we can carry over 560 hours…

Q: I am a Vietnam veteran with a disability rated at 40 percent. I will be 64 in September and plan on drawing my Social Security retirement benefits at that time. Will either one of these government plans be affected by the other? Also, do I receive any extra credit in my Social Security earnings for the 16 quarters served on active duty from 1966 to 1969? A: You will be able to receive both your Veterans Affairs Department disability pay and your Social Security benefit. Your Social Security benefit will be based on the number of credits you earned…

Q: I will be retiring from the Postal Service through the Civil Service Retirement System shortly. Will I be paid for any holidays that occur during my accrued annual leave? A: At retirement, unused annual leave is projected forward. The amount of money you receive in a lump-sum payment will be identical to what you would have received if you were still on the job working eight hours a day, 40 hours a week and 80 hours a pay period.

Q: My husband was previously married, and a portion of his retirement was going to his ex-wife. After we married, I signed a paper giving her the full annuity if he were to pass away. My husband has since passed away, and she is now receiving the full amount. As per the papers I signed, if she passes away before me I am to receive the full amount. If she were to pass away, who do I contact, or will they contact me? A: Because your original paperwork specified that you would receive the full survivor annuity if your husband’s…

Q: My father retired several years ago under the Civil Service Retirement System. At the time of his retirement, he elected to reduce his benefits to provide my mother with spousal survivor benefits. She died a number of years before him, but it does not appear that he ever adjusted his benefits after her death. He recently passed away, and I am the executor of his estate. Does the estate have a claim to the difference between the benefits he actually received and what he was entitled to receive in the years after her death? A: You’ll need to notify…

Q: I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System and have 25 1/2 years of federal service. Early in my career, I had a few years of part-time employment. What is the formula to figure how this impacts my annuity? A FERS Benefit Estimate Report from the Office of Personnel Managment listed a FERS part-time proration factor of 92 percent at age 50 with 23 1/2 years of service and 94 percent at age 56 1/2 with 30 years of service. I am assuming this means my annuity will be reduced by 6 percent at 30 years of service. If…

Q: I am interested in taking a state government job in New York. I retired from the federal government at age 50 and am now 57. Will working for a state government change my federal retirement benefits in any way? A: No, it won’t.

Q: If I were fired from my Federal Employees Retirement System-covered position, would it affect my future retirement annuity and benefits, assuming that I have enough years of service to retire? A: As a rule, when you have the right combination of age and service, you would be entitled to apply for and receive any retirement benefits you have earned. If you retired before being eligible to retire, the age and service requirement would be different than if you were already eligible. Note: if you were convicted of any of the offenses listed in 5 U.S. Code Chapter 83, Subchapter…

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