Q. My substantial Social Security earning has been due to serving 38 years as a senior military reservist. I will have 34 years under CSRS in January 2013. However, 25 years were under CSRS before a three-year break in service. I came back as an offset employee in 2006. How will my Social Security be calculated in comparison to my retirement check? Will I still receive my full CSRS retirement check based on my high-3 and the full Social Security check since I meet the substantial rule with the years? How will this all play out? I will be 63 this month.…
Q. I am retiring June 30. My spouse is also a federal employee. If we decide not to elect survivor benefits for her from my retirement, what would she receive if I were to pass away? Health care is not affected, as she will receive my military Tricare and she has her own federal plan? A. If there were any unexpended retirement contributions in your account when you died, she’d be able to receive those in a lump sum. And the proceeds from any Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance you might have would go to her, unless you had already assigned them to someone else.
Q. I am a General Schedule Defense Department employee facing a reduction in force. If I accept a NAF position, can I keep contributing to FERS and the Thrift Savings Plan? A. No, you could not keep contributing to FERS.
Q. I am 54 years old with a bit more than 20 years of FERS employment. I believe I will need to quit my job soon due to family medical care reasons. My agency is not offering any early-outs. If I quit before my minimum retirement age of 56, then wait until I am 60 to apply for my annuity, will I face any reduction in annuity due to either being less than 62, or because I resigned prior to my MRA? A. Because you have at least 20 years of service, if you were to resign, you’d be eligible…
Q. I am a federal employee under FERS. I was a police officer for 21 years (I receive a pension) and did not pay into Social Security, except for a few years when I worked part-time jobs and made the “substantial earnings limit.” I was hired as a federal worker in 1995 and have 22 years of “substantial earnings” toward Social Security. I am now 64 and planning to retire, except I can’t figure out how much, if any, I will receive in Social Security. I went to a FERS retirement conference last summer, and it was my understanding that the maximum reduction from…
Q. I receive my deceased husband’s civil service annuity benefits monthly. I am still single. In two years, I will be eligible for Social Security benefits based on my years of working and gaining quarters. Will my monthly federal annuity be affected? A. No, it won’t.
Q. I am a 58-year-old FERS employee. I will have 25 years of creditable service in November, and I would like to retire. Is it wise to do so, or do I have to wait for VERA? A. If you retire before your agency offers you a VERA, you’ll be retiring under the minimum retirement age +10 provision. Not only would your annuity be reduced by 5 percent for every year you are under age 62 but you wouldn’t be eligible to receive the special retirement supplement.
Q. I am a federal employee under CSRS in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. I signed up for Medicare Part B when I turned 65 so as to avoid the 10 percent annual penalty. But after paying for seven months, I dropped out of Part B because I was told I didn’t need to buy it if I had group coverage. I called Medicare and this was confirmed, though I may not have said I was retired but just that I was in FEHB. My wife is two years younger than I, so I had to retain the FEHB coverage until April…
Q. I just received a pay increase that became effective March 1. I plan on retiring in June. Will this pay increase count toward my high-3? I’m CSRS. A. Yes, because your high-3 is based on the average of your highest three years (78 pay periods) of basic pay you received.
Q. If I set up a payroll deduction to pay my military deposit, are the payments pretax items on my leave and earnings statement, like with the Thrift Savings Plan, or do they get taxed like other earnings? If I make the payment with a lump sum, is there a way to deduct that on my taxes? If so, what do I need to do? I am a current FERS employee. I am at the point of paying back my military deposit for my six years active duty. I will either pay a lump sum by check or set up…