Q: I am a FERS employee. I hope you can help me with calculating what my civil service retirement check will be if I do the military buyback program. I served seven years active duty and 22 years reserve duty. My reserve retirement paycheck will be approximately $1,700 that I will start collecting at age 60. I would like to know an approximate monthly amount that my civil service retirement check would be if I bought back my military time. I realize I can only collect one or the other. I am, at this point, in the military buyback program:…
Q: I retired from the postal service in November 2009. In January 2010 I discontinued my health insurance, and my husband, a current postal employee, put me on his health insurance. My plan was to drop this insurance when I became eligible for Medicare when I turn 65 in November. I’ve since discovered that Medicare Parts B and D plus a Medigap supplement would cost a lot more than if I had kept my original self-only health plan. Can I get a self-only health plan now, or during open season? Does the fact that I’m on my husband’s plan mean…
Q: I have 25 years in at the post office as of Aug. 18 as a FERS employee. I will be 65 on Dec. 18. I have 544 hours of annual leave and 395 hours of sick leave balance. When would be the best date to retire? I do not want to lose half of the sick leave I have earned, or my excess over 440 annual leave, so what is the best way to do this without too much time between my last paycheck and my first retirement check? A: The earliest you could get credit for all your…
Q: I was hired three years ago as a FERS technician for a Georgia National Guard facility. I worked the first two years, then the Guard unit activated and I deployed under Title 10 as active duty for last year. I bought back my active time from prior to being hired as a technician. My total time of creditable service then is 15 years, only the last three after being hired as a FERS employee. Do I qualify for a deferred retirement? I understand it would be a reduced amount. A recap: I have 12 years active time (bought back…
Q: With all of the angst and uncertainty in Civil Service (i.e., pay freeze, pay retention, prospect of having to contribute more into retirement fund, etc.), I decided the heck with it and submitted my retirement papers on July 28. I will be 62 on Nov. 3 and in December will have nine years of federal service. If my DoD agency should offer a buyout in the next two or three months like several other federal departments are starting to do, am I eligible to apply for it, or would I have to pull my papers and then resubmit them?…
Q: I retired on May 31 at age 57. I have 22 years of law enforcement service with the Bureau of Prisons. I have just taken another job and realize I will lose about $12,000 a year because of the means test for the supplemental. A friend told me I will lose the supplemental forever once I exceed the limits. I want to retire from this non-government job in two years. Can I collect the supplemental for the last three years until I become eligible for Social Security at age 62? A: Your friend is misinformed. While it’s true that…
Q: Does it make a difference if I retire on Dec. 31? I question it because Dec. 31 starts pay-period 2 and I want to cash in my annual leave without losing the amount over the maximum carryover. A: You are mistaken. The 2011 leave year for non-Postal Service employees ends on Dec. 31. The new leave year begins Jan. 1.
Q: I am a Defense Department civilian, and I will retire next February from an overseas base. I will NOT be returning to my home of record, and instead will buy a house in a different state. I am not even sure what city I will buy in until I get there to look around. How long will the government store my household goods after I retire While I go through the house-buying ordeal that could take months? A: The general rule is that the transportation and storage of household goods for up to 90 days may be made at…
Q: I had 26 years of civil service and I’m 49. Can I retire in four more years without the age-reduction penalty When I will have 30 years in service and I’m only 53? Am I entitled to receive the FERS special retirement supplement until age 62? A: No. The earliest you could retire is when you reach your minimum retirement age, which in your case would be 56. If you retired then, you’d be eligible to receive the special retirement supplement until age 62.
Q: I am eligible to collect Social Security in September on my deceased husband’s Social Security. My question is as follows: At what age will I still be under the earnings limit of $14,160 per year? Also, what is the definition of earnings (Salary, self employment, etc.)? A: You will subject to the earnings test until to reach you full Social Security retirement age, which ranges between 65 and 67, depending on your year of birth. The test applies only to earnings from wages and self employment. Up until the year in which you reach full retirement age, your Social…