Q. I took the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority on Jan. 31 at my minimum retirement age. I had 26 years at the Postal Service under FERS. After 16 years of marriage, I became a widow. The only income I have is my annuity and the special retirement supplement from the Office of Personnel Management. Will I be eligible to receive Social Security benefits from husband at 60, and will they end at 62? When I turn 62, my supplement will end. I have $190,000 in the L2020 fund. Would it be beneficial to me to start receiving money from my…
Browsing: SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. Can you give me an address where I can check to see if I am eligible for any type of benefits through my deceased spouse? He worked for about 10 years with the Postal Service and several years with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. I do not remember his grade level. He passed away in 2009 and I have been told there are probably benefits that I can draw from, but I do not know whom to contact.
Q. My wife wants to retire from the Postal Service, under FERS, with 30 years service but she’ll only be 50. Am I correct in understanding that she will be eligible for a deferred retirement at her minimum retirement age of 56 without any reduction to her annuity? What about the special retirement supplement? I’m assuming she won’t be eligible for that. She’s been on my Federal Employees Health Benefits plan for the past 25 years. I’m also a postal worker. So can she get her own individual plan, or must she stay on my family plan? I was told…
Q. I have prior CSRS service with a break in employment. I am now CSRS Offset. I did not get health insurance when I returned to service because I was covered by the Veterans Affairs Department. I picked it up during open season the following year. I can retire in two years at age 62. I will need one more year to have my five years to carry my health insurance into retirement for my disabled husband. The trouble is, I have terminal cancer. My life expectancy is two years. I hope to make it to retirement but worry beyond…
Q. I am a 48-year-old with 25 years of service with the Postal Service. My office will be reduced in September 2014 to a six-hour office. My husband was a retired Marine with a service-connected death. What are my options with the Postal Service plan? Can I be RIF’ed and can my pay be cut? I have veterans’ preferences documented on my Form 50.
Q. I am the spouse of a federal employee and currently am covered by his family plan. I am eligible but do not participate in the plan my company offers because the benefits aren’t as good. Will the existing federal plan force me off of coverage and onto my own plan as a result of the Affordable Care Act?
Q. I have been receiving an annuity since my husband’s death in 1998 and am also enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits. At the time of his death, I was also a federal employee with my own health coverage. I am not a retiree, and am no longer employed by the government. I am plan on getting married after I turn 55 and know that my annuity will not change. However, what about my health insurance? Will I still be able to keep my enrollment in the FEHB program?
Q. Can I retire without health insurance and pick it up after retirement? My husband works for the government also, and I will be retiring soon. Would it be better for me to pick up family insurance before I retire so I don’t lose any benefits? Is there any difference on the health insurance cost/benefits of my spouse and mine after we both retire?
Q. My spouse is eligible for CSRS survivor benefits. Upon my death, would her CSRS survivor benefit be affected in any way from Social Security benefits, and vice versa, that she will receive from her nonfederal employment?
Q. I am 65. I have worked under CSRS at the Veterans Affairs Department for 30 years. Still working full time. If I were to die before I retire, would my wife be eligible to receive retirement pension benefits?