Q. Any more word on early-out incentives for 2011/2012, and would we get money or time added on our years? A. We haven’t heard a thing. However, if early retirement offers are made, some of them may come with a financial incentive — aka a buyout. What won’t happen is having years added onto your actual service to either make you eligible to retire or to increase your annuity. There is no provision in law that would permit that.
Q. Recently my supervisor gave two employees time off due to stress for two months or so apiece. They are and I am in an extremely stressful job. Is there a program that gives DoD GS Civilians time off due to stress? And if so, how do you go about getting this stress leave and what forms do you fill out? A. The rules for granting annual leave and sick leave are found in law and governmentwide regulations. In neither place is stress specifically mentioned. However, agencies are permitted to spell out the conditions under which a request for leave can…
Q. I know that career firefighters under the 0081 series code qualify for the 1.7 percent multiplier that is applied to FERS retirement for the first 20 years and 1 percent thereafter, but do fire inspectors or fire prevention personnel, who are also a 0081 series code, who have never worked as firefighters qualify for the 1.7 percent multiplier as well? A. No. Go to www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C046.pdf and scroll down to Part 46B3.1-1.
Q. My wife is 50 and is covered by CSRS. She has 28 years of service and wants to retire early. Is she eligible and what is the penalty? A. She isn’t eligible for early retirement unless her agency offers her that opportunity. And it can’t do that unless OPM has authorized it under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. Even if VERA approval was granted, early retirement offers would only be available to units, occupations, grade levels and/or geographic locations where a reduction in staff is needed. If, by chance, she received such an offer and accepted it, her annuity would be reduced by…
Q. I receive a FERS disability annuity and participate in the FEHB program to supplement my Medicare A&B health insurance. I was an employee of the VA hospital at the time of my nonwork related injury. I was single at the time of my disability, but plan to marry next summer. My question is, can I add my spouse to my FEHB insurance? Currently it’s GEHA — I am happy with them, so it will likely be them next year, too. Please note, this will be a legal same sex marriage in New York state. Currently, my spouse-to-be does not…
Q. I am a CSRS Offset employee and I think I will be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision. I am currently receiving $845 a month Social Security (reduced for age as I am 63) and I think when the WEP is applied I will get $380. When my CSRS pension is offset for my Social Security, will the offset be calculated using $845, my original benefit, or $380, the amount that I am actually receiving? A. The offset to your CSRS annuity will be based on the Social Security benefit you earned while covered by CSRS Offset.
Q. For Federal Employees Retirement System employees, does taking the special retirement supplement (SRS) affect the monthly pension amount if I choose to not receive Social Security retirement benefits until age 70? For example, if I retire at age 60 with 25 years of service, if I receive the two years of SRS, will this affect the calculation on the monthly amount of Social Security retirement benefits to which I am entitled, either if I elect to wait versus beginning my Social Security pension at age 62? A. Although the special retirement supplement is based on data that comes from…
Q. I am a CSRS employee planning to retire at the end of this year. My SCD is Sept. 8, 1975, I paid back my six years on active duty and I’ll have more than 2,087 hours of sick leave when I retire. My very first Notice of Personnel Action, effective date Sept. 8, 1981, shows me having hired on as a Career Conditional appointee, On-Call with a one-year probationary period starting from that date. Also checked is a box that says. “ SERVICE COUNTING TOWARD CAREER (OR PERMANENT) TENURE FROM 09-08-81.” I have had no break in service since…
Q. Does the Windfall Elimination Provision apply to anyone in CSRS Offset who is 55 or older and has 30-plus years of service upon retirement? A. The windfall elimination provision applies to anyone who receives an annuity — in whole or part — from a retirement system where he didn’t paid Social Security taxes and has fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. Anyone who is covered by CSRS Offset has at least five years of pure CSRS service in his work history, so the WEP applies.
I’ve been getting a lot of emails from employees who wonder if they would qualify for disability retirement. In this column, I’ll lead you through the criteria the Office of Personnel Management uses to make that determination. Let’s start with the bottom line. You may be eligible for disability retirement if you are so disabled by disease or injury that you can’t provide useful and efficient service in your current grade or pay level. The disease may be physical or mental, and the injury can have occurred on or off the job. “Useful and efficient service,” according to OPM, is…