Q. My spouse is dealing with health issues that may require a disability retirement under FERS. He has 4½ years of actual service with four years of additional military academy time which he bought back. First, would this time count toward the five-year minimum retirement requirement? If not, and he is running out of leave, would he be allowed under the Office of Personnel Management to enter a “leave without pay” status in order to meet the mandatory five-year requirement prior to retirement. A. To be eligible for disability retirement, a FERS employee only needs to have been employed for…
Q. I am 60 years old and had emergency major open heart surgery May 16, 2011. The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., installed a left ventricular assist device. I had to stay away from my home in Georgia and stay close to the Mayo Clinic following this procedure for several months, which put a strain on my savings. I was forced to have to retire with approximately 37 years of government service. My retirement date was Sept. 2, 2011. I put in for an alternate retirement annuity because of my qualifying medical condition to help me pay my medical bills…
Q. I worked from 1992 to 1995 as resident in VA. Human resources states that because it was after 1989 and I was covered under FICA, I cannot pay back to get credit under FERS. Is that true? A. Yes, it’s true. That’s because nondeduction service performed after Jan. 1, 1989, isn’t creditable. And a deposit can’t be made to make it so.
Q. Are survivor annuities paid to surviving spouse taxable? Distribution code on 1099-R is 4-Death Benefit and no federal income taxes were withheld. A. Yes, they are. However, if there are any unexpended retirement contributions in the late spouse’s account, a portion of the annuity would be tax-free. For more information, go to https://www.irs.gov/publications/p721/index.html.
Q. I was just wondering if there is a list of people in civil service who are being offered a buyout but for some reason can’t take it. I have 40 years in service, and if they could qualify for my job, can we exchange their buyout for my job? I work for FISC out of Norfolk, Va., and I haven’t heard of any buyouts being offered through them yet. I was just wondering if someone needed another 6-10 years in service and was being offered a buyout because of downsizing or whatever, then maybe we could swap. If so,…
Q. My father was a civilian employee for the Army Corps of Engineers. He passed away recently. He was single for many years but remarried three years ago. Since he married, am I still entitled to any benefit since his death? If so, what benefit am I entitled to since I am his only child? A. You aren’t entitled to anything, unless he named you as the beneficiary of any Federal Employees Group Life Insurance policy he still had when he died.
Q. I am a 55-year-old FERS employee and have 30 years in the Postal Service. Am I eligible for early retirement? A. Yes, if one is offered to you. Because you have at least 25 years of service, you could retire at any age. Note: If you aren’t offered an opportunity to retire early, because you were born between in 1953 through 1964, you could retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity at age 56.
Q. I am 60 and a CSRS retiree. This past year, I married and did not elect a survivor annuity for my wife, but I added her to my federal Blue Cross health care plan. My wife is 64 and receives a monthly Social Security check. My understanding is that if I pass before her, she will no longer be eligible for my federal health insurance and her Medicare premiums would be higher, as she would be penalized for every year she could have been enrolled and wasn’t. She turns 65 shortly, so we are assuming it would be best for…
Q. My human resources staff calculated my estimated Social Security FERS supplement, and it is considerably lower than my Social Security calculation (calculated to initiate at age 62). I am retiring at 56 with 34 years. The HR staff has stated that they do not have the formula but only enter the numbers in a program estimator. The FERS handbook says the FERS Social Security supplement approximates the Social Security annuity. The FERS Social Security supplement doesn’t seem like a very close approximation. The FERS Social Security supplement calculates out at approximately $11,000, and the Social Security annuity is approximately $17,000. If I…
Q. I am currently a federal police officer under the GS scale, who previously served under the AD system. Under the AD scale, I was making more than the current GS scale and a recent new hire from the Department of Homeland Security received a step 00. What is this step, and how is it applied? A. Step 00 is the symbol used to designate a retained rate, one that is above the 10th step in the regular pay scale.