Q: I retire from the bureau of prisons as a correctional officer in two years. My entire 20 years will be as a guard. When I retire, I will be 54 years old. Under the special law enforcement provision of Social Security, am I entitled to a partial draw from Social Security at age 54? A: Assuming that you are a law enforcement officer and are covered under the special provision that allows you retire at age 50 with 20 years of service, you would immediately be entitled to the special retirement supplement. The SRS approximates the Social Security benefit…
Q: I am a reservist and had 8 1/2 years of civilian federal service (under FERS) when I was recalled to active duty right after 9/11. I have been a reservist on active duty for the past 10 years and am still on leave without pay status (LWOP) with the agency I was recalled from. How long would I have to return to the agency in order to make a deposit on my 10 years of active duty? I have about 80 hours of leave on the books. Is there a certain time period that I would have to return to the agency to…
Q: I retired from the military, then became a civil service employee. My military time for retirement was based only on my commissioned time, i.e. from entry to extended active duty to the date I separated for retirement, but not including the ROTC summer basic training I received before getting the commission. For civil service retirement computation, can the six weeks of ROTC basic training be included since it was government employment, paid at the E-3 rate? Of course I would need to make a deposit for that time. A: No.
Q: With all the talk of Postal Service insolvency and possibly shutting down by 2012, will I lose my retirement annuity and health benefits if I continue to work and this happens? If so, and I wish to take my FERS retirement before this happens, am I still in danger of losing my retirement annuity and health benefits as a retiree? I am a FERS employee who is 60 years old with 23 years at the Postal Service and am eligible to retire with full benefits including the Social Security supplement till 62. A: The CSRS and FERS systems, Federal…
Q: I will be 52 years old in June and will have 20 years of service in September 2011. Five years of that was as a temporary employee. Could I be eligible to take an early out on the offer of adding five years to my age and five to my service? I do not participate in medical insurance here so that would not be a consideration for me. A: Because your non-deduction service was performed after December 31, 1988, that time isn’t creditable for any retirement purpose. As for having five years added to your service time and age…
Q: I worked full time for a federal grant (awarded by the Department of Justice) from 1977-1981. I am now employed full time by the Department of Treasury/IRS. Does the time I worked on the DOJ grant count toward my federal service time? A: No.
Q: A friend of mine is currently receiving disability from the Postal Service. When she turned 65 and applied for Medicare, she was told she did not qualify because she did not have enough credits. Part of the time that she worked for the Postal Service does not show up on her Social Security service report. Is there any way to prove that she worked during that time? If so, can this count toward Medicare credits? A: It’s not a question of whether she worked during that time; it’s whether Medicare deductions were taken from her pay. If that service was before…
Q: Under CSRS, do you still get your lump sum CSRS contributions back if they completely abolish your position, and are not offered in writing an equivalent position? This would be in addition to your full retirement benefits, minus age penalty. I am 47 1/2, with 31 years of CSRS service, and the only shop planner in my position description. They are talking about wiping out our maintenance department and contracting out. My dad retired about 15 years ago when they abolished his job, and he got his contributions back. Has this changed? A: Because you’d be eligible for discontinued service…
Q: If you are single at retirement and later get married, can you immediately add your new spouse to your FEHB? If not, how long do you have to wait? And, are there any additional costs for adding someone to your plan after retirement? A: If you marry after retirement, you can change you FEHB enrollment from self only to self and family from 31 days before the event through 60 days after the event. After you do that, your premiums will be those for self and family coverage rather than self only.
Q: I am a federal government employee under FERS who has worked for 26 years and may consider a buyout, if offered. If I become a FEMA Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE), will I be subject to an annuity offset? A: According to FEMA, “If you are a retired federal civil servant, your pay from FEMA may be subject to an offset. A copy of your annuity statement must be submitted to personnel yearly to be eligible for an annuity waiver during the first 120 days from the date of a presidential disaster declaration. The annuity waiver does not apply when deployed to…