Q: My husband payed into a civilian federal employee insurance policy for 28 years. He was riffed and retired in July 2001, but the insurance was still taken out of his retirement check on a monthly basis. He was notified by the federal insurance plan that he was no longer on the insurance plan as of age 65. He is now 67. What happened to the insurance policy and/or it’s value? A: At age 65, his premiums stopped and the value of his Basic insurance began to decline at the rate of 2 percent per month. It will continue to…
Browsing: RETIREMENT
Q: My ex-husband is a CSRS employee and is eligible to retire. I know that I am entitled to a survivor annuity whether he dies before or after he retires. Will my survivor annuity be reduced by any Social Security that I receive? A: Your survivor annuity would not be reduced, and you would be able to receive the full amount of any Social Security to which you are entitled based on your own work record.
Q: I read post on credit for military service with great interest. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, what is the current status of that service relative to my current Federal service. A: If you are covered by CSRS and your Peace Corps or VISTA service was performed before October 1, 1982, you’ll receive credit for that time (excluding training time) for both eligibility and annuity purposes. Whether you make a deposit for that time is optional. However, if it isn’t paid, your annuity would be reduced by 10 percent of the amount due, including accrued interest. On the other…
Q: I retired from the Foreign Service in 1995 after 27 years of service. Prior to that, I worked for 15 years as a merchant mariner, as a miner, and in the Navy. I paid into Social Security during all of this time. My Foreign Service pension derived from the “old” Foreign Service Disability and Retirement System (FSDRS). Why is it that my Social Security benefit was reduced by two-thirds, when my covered private sector and Navy employment had no relationship with my later career as a Foreign Service Officer? A: The law is clear. Anyone who receives a pension…
Q: My question is about how or if the years served at a service academy (the Air Force Academy, in my case) may be credited as years of active-duty service upon active-duty retirement. I understand that those years may be “bought back” if I am counting those years toward a civilian federal retirement under the Federal Employees Retirement System, but what about active-duty military retirement? May those years be bought back? A: A deposit into the civilian retirement system may be made to get credit for time spent at one of the military academies. Similarly, a deposit may be made…
Q: I am under the Civil Service Retirement System and plan to retire within the next year after 31 years of service. I also have 40 quarters under Social Security from a previous job and plan to keep working as long as I can as a contractor paying into Social Security. If I wait until I am 70 to collect Social Security, I would have 21 years under Social Security. As I understand it, the windfall elimination provision will be adjusted by a percentage. If I continue to work past 70, would that percentage be continually recalculated, or is it…
Q: A Civil Service Retirement System employee recently retired and was told by a representative of the Social Security Administration that because he qualified for Social Security after he retired under CSRS he would not be affected by the windfall elimination provision. The rep said that he is only affected by the WEP if he had his 40 quarters during or before his CSRS employment. I can’t find any documentation supporting this. A: The SSA rep was confusing the windfall elimination provision with what’s often referred to as “Catch 62.” The WEP applies to the Social Security benefit of anyone…
Q: I am employed by the Defense Department under the Civil Service Retirement System. My service computation date is Dec. 17, 1977, and I will turn 62 on Nov. 16. Prior to entering civil service, I earned enough quarters to qualify for Social Security. I have not selected a retirement date, but I am considering Dec. 31 of this year or January 2011 to receive a payout from the National Security Personnel System. If I retire Dec. 31, I will be reimbursed for all of my annual leave, but after that reimbursement I would be limited to the maximum amount…
Q: I am a 66-year-old U.S. Postal Service employee who was born in 1944. I had planned to retire with 15 years of service this month; I thought that I would have recovered from on-the-job injuries by this time. I had already signed up for Social Security to begin on my 66th birthday (this month), but now my doctor says he needs to do more surgery on both arms before he will release me at maximum medical improvement. Also, I keep hearing that a voluntary early retirement is on the way and want to wait a little while to see.…
Q: I am a Vietnam vet and plan to apply for disability with the Veterans Affairs Department based on one of the illnesses caused by Agent Orange. I was in the Army for two years. I also plan to retire under the Civil Service Retirement System with 37 years of service in about 10 months. I am also eligible for a small Social Security check. If VA grants my service-related disability will my CSRS or Social Security check be reduced by the amount of the VA disability payment? A: No, neither payment would be reduced.