Q: I took an immediate retirement at age 51 under the law enforcement provision of CSRS with 30 years of service. Mandatory retirement is age 57. After one month, I returned to federal service in a term position as a re-employed annuitant with a dual compensation waiver (pension plus salary). My term position may expire in the next 12 months. Can I forgo my CSRS pension and compete for a law enforcement position again? Assuming the new position is a promotion over my last permanent position, would my CSRS pension be recalculated upon my final retirement? Would I be obligated…
Q: I am in CSRS Offset. I received a VERA/VSIP buyout in 2001 and returned to work in 2008. I am 56 and have 28 years of federal service. I indicated on the recent survey that I would accept a buyout if offered. I am now told that I am ineligible for a buyout because a person can only receive one buyout in their lifetime. Is there any regulation that states an employee can only receive one buyout? A: Your agency is correct. For confirmation, go to www.opm.gov/employ/html/vsi.htm.
Q: I worked for the Navy as a GS-11 for five years but left in 1991. I have an SF-50 that says “completed service requirement for Career Tenure from 07-17-88 to 07-17-91.” However, I actually started with the Navy on Aug. 28, 1986 and my resignation papers have an effective date of Sept. 24, 1991. I’m hoping to return to federal service but want to know if I am eligible for any future retirement benefits. A: If you completed at least five years of creditable service and didn’t take a refund of your retirement contributions in the retirement fund when…
Q: I am an Air Force AFMC civilian employee and I plan to retire by Sept. 30. I have been holding my application pending AFMC’s possibility of offering buyout incentives (VSIP) to eligible retirees. Do I have to wait until a VSIP is offered before I submit my retirement application to OPM? A: Yes. The purpose of a buyout incentive is to encourage employees to retire, not to reward those who have decided and submitted retirement papers.
Q: I re-entered federal service in 2004 having a short amount of temp time before that. Back then, the retirement system I was placed in was the CSRS offset. During that time, I also paid in for military service at the CSRS rate then in place. Beginning in 2007, as I did not have five years in the offset system, I was automatically converted to FERS. I have requested clarification as to whether the 2004-2007 time frame, I will receive a separate CSRS component to my retirement or whether it will all be under the FERS calculation. In addition, will…
Q: I have approx 10.2 years of active military service. I relocated and worked approximately two years with the U.S. Postal Service and now I am working as a civil service employee for the Defense Department. Am I able to combine these together to put toward retirement? If so, would I need to make a deposit of 3 percent of my basic pay? Which basic pay do I use ( military and postal)? I started my civil service job last year at age 51. How many years will I need to work in order to retire? And if I work…
Q: I am a law enforcement (6c) FERS employee who plans to retire at the end of 2012 with 25 years of Law Enforcement (6c) coverage. I also have two years and two months under regular FERS before I entered my covered LE Position and I bought back three years of military time. I know how my covered LE(6c) time will be calculated. My question is how will my two years and two months of regular FERS and my three years of bought-back military time be calculated and included in my annuity? A: Everything above those 20 years of law…
Q: In a recent column you wrote: Fourth, if you receive military retired pay, set up another meeting with your counselor, ideally six months before you are ready to retire. You’ll want to assess the impact of military retired pay on your civilian annuity. Under limited circumstances, you may be able to receive both. However, in most cases, you’ll have to waive military retired pay. I am age 53, retired from the military for 11 years, getting military retired pay now. I am also a GS-13 with 8 years in. I was specifically told by CPAC when I was hired…
Q: Can management temporarily promote (non-competitively) an employee to the lower grade of a six/seven-graded position for 120 days? Are temporary promotions limited to the full-performance level only of a given position? What specific rules support or prevent such actions? A: Temporary promotions are intended to meet the temporary needs of the agency’s work program when those services can’t be provided by other means.To be temporarily promoted, an employee has to meet the same qualification requirements that are needed for the permanent promotion. He or she receives the higher-graded salary for the period assigned and gains quality experience and time-in-grade…
Q: I am a FERS law enforcement federal employee with 22 years in and eligible to retire. I am supposed to receive an OPM supplement of approximately $800 a month. I understand that I start receiving the supplement when OPM finally determines (in six to 12 months) the correct amount of my retirement. Do I get back pay on approximately $5,000 to $10,000 of the supplement, or do I lose the $800 a month until OPM decides to process my retirement? A: The special retirement supplement, like any shortage caused by receiving an interim, rather than final, annuity, will be…