Q. I work compressed schedules, 12-hour shifts. If I have already completed my 80-hour requirement by mid-pay period, can I out-process early and still make my retirement effective at the end of the pay period, which is Saturday at midnight for shift workers? A. Your retirement date is the last day you are on the employment rolls. It’s the day you separate from the service. If you want, you can retire when you have completed your final 80 hours of duty or you can wait until the end of the pay period. Whether you can complete the process before the…
Q. I retired (not by choice) with 31 years under CSRS as a discontinued service retiree from Aug. 2, 2011, through Dec. 17, 2011. I was placed on priority placement program since I declined my transfer of work to Fort Lee, Va., and subsequently was rehired into the federal workforce Dec. 19, 2011, as a GS-09 (I was a GS-11 at retirement). Therefore, I am losing about $500 per month. I am beginning to think I would have been better off staying a DSR. How does my CSRS annuity work now? I want to know how long it will be…
Q. If I were to resign from my current position at age 59 with 17 years of service and accept a position with a parish/county government, will I be able to re-enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program when I apply for my retirement benefits at age 62? A. No. Deferred retirees cannot re-enroll in FEHB.
Q. I am 75 with 28 years of federal government service under FERS. I am retiring at the end of 2012. 1. How is sick leave accounted regarding retirement (I have 1,400 hours)? Is this converted into time or money? 2. When is the best time to begin the retirement process (inform human resources, supervisor, etc.)? 3. If I’ve carried 240 hours of annual leave into the new year and continue to earn eight hours per pay period during the entire year, will I be able to cash in the 240 hours plus whatever I earned during the year? A.…
Q. I am an air traffic controller under FERS who will retire with 25 years of service at age 49. I also have five years of military service that I’ve bought back, bringing my total to 30 years. I’m unclear on the manner in which my military service will be calculated in my retirement annuity. One possibility would be to declare military service time as part of the 30-year requirement to convert all the years values to 1.7 percent, instead of 1.7 percent for the first 20, then 1 percent after that. The legal language has historically read “30 years of creditable service,”…
Q. Can my wife and I use spousal benefits twice? I am a much higher earner and 3½ years older than my wife. My wife starts collecting benefits on her earnings at age 62. I simultaneously start collecting spouse benefits at age 65½. I start collecting benefits on my earnings at age 70 and my wife switches to spouse benefits at that time. Does this work? Will the earlier benefits based on wife’s earnings reduce the benefits based on my earnings at age 70? A. You’ll need to ask the Social Security Administration. Call them at 1-800-772-1213 and talk to one…
Q. At the age of 56 (born 1958), I will have 27 years of service, but the agency is moving to another location and I would like to retire at that time. Would I be eligible to receive FERS with 27 years at a reduced rate? If eligible, would I also receive the supplemental until Social Security starts at 62? A. If you receive an official notice of separation and aren’t offered an equivalent position within your commuting area, you’d be eligible for early retirement. As such, you’d receive an immediate annuity based on the standard formula (0.01 x high-3…
Q. Does income from state unemployment compensation count toward the Social Security earnings limit? A. No, it doesn’t.
Q. I was an employee under CSRS for 15 years and nine months. I took a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment and withdrew my retirement pay. I am recently rehired and will go under the CSRS Offset. How can I determine what the repayment would be with interest? A. There’s only one way to find out how much you owe. Download a copy of Standard Form 2803, Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit, fill it out and send it to the Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Services and Management Group, P.O. Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017-0045. When they’ve told you how…
Q. I am 56, was hired in April 1982, and have worked for the federal government (CSRS Offset) for 30 years, including two years and four months of active-duty service. I did not repay my military deposit. However, I would like to retire in August. I read that I would have a reduced annuity of 1/8 of 1 percent per month. If this is correct, would I still be able to retire as planned in August? A. Because you were hired before Oct. 1, 1982, you have a choice. You can either make a deposit for your period of military…