Q. I work for a federal agency that has offered a VERA/VSIP. I have 31 years of civilian service under CSRS, and I’ll be 53 years old on July 12. Employees who accept the buyout offer are to be off the agency payroll by June 2012. I’ve applied for the offer, but I’ve only been enrolled in the health insurance program for 2½ years. I’ve also discovered that the estimated annuity calculated through Employee Benefits Information System is not accurate because it is based on working 40 hours a week for 31 years (I was part time for 17 years,…
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Q. I am a FERS with 21 years service and age 51 with an minimum retirement age of 56. Say I retire under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or Voluntary Separation Incentive Program prior to the end of 2012 and work elsewhere (not federal). Since I would not be receiving an annuity between retirement at age 51 and annuity eligibility at age 56, would any earned income above $14,640 during those five years have a delayed effect on my annuity from 56 to 62? A. No. The earnings limit only applies when you are receiving either the special retirement supplement…
Q: It looks like our agency is going to offer buyouts/early outs. I know I would have to pay back the buyout pay if I go back to work for the federal government within five years. Does this restriction apply to quasi-governmental entities such as the Federal Reserve and the bank regulatory agencies that are funded by the regulated community? A: The restriction applies to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the FDIC because they are federal agencies. Federal Reserve banks aren’t.
Q. If I receive and/or apply for disability retirement, how does this affect an incentive to retire? If I apply now for disability retirement and an incentive is announced, will I be able to get the incentive? A. No, an employee who has a disability such that he would be eligible for disability retirement may not receive a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment.
Q. I am a Civil Service Retirement System/Federal Employees Retirement System offset employee with 31 years of service, and I have been offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VERA/VSIP). I would like to know how a VERA/VSIP would affect my retirement. I have been depositing the maximum in my TSP account, and I see that the government is not required to match it. Does government matching or not matching my deposit depend on the agency I work for? A. To estimate what your annuity would be, use the formulas for each retirement system: FERS: 0.01 x…
Q: I am a Defense Department employee under CSRS with approximately 41 years/five months of service. My agency is offering buyouts for VSIP/VERA. I would like to take advantage of the VSIP, however, it is my understanding that because I received severance pay in the past (1992 for approximately 50 weeks due to TOF action) the $25,000 VSIP bonus will be reduced. How is this determined and what formula will I use? In using the formula, do I use my basic pay in 1991/1992 or my current basic pay? A: The VSIP is calculated using the severance pay formula in…
Q. If someone was to apply for the VSIP (because they are not eligible for VERA) and separates, would they be eligible for some type of priority status for placement with another organization/agency/ etc? An example of what I am thinking about would be BRAC/RIF/ICAP. A. No
Q. I saw a recent post in which you correctly stated that an employee is not eligible for a VSIP if he previously received a VSIP. The OPM regulations do not appear to allow an exception to this rule even if an employee repaid the full amount of the VSIP because of a return to federal service. Am I reading the regulation correctly or is there an exception to the general rule that I could not find? A. No, there isn’t.