Q. I’m due to retire this September. I receive my estimated annuity statements but have LWOP accumulated over the years under FMLA. How will this affect my pension? Is there a formula that will, for example, reduce the annuity by a certain percentage for (blank) number of hours? A. Unless you took more than six months of LWOP in any calendar year, it will have no affect on your eligibility to retire or in your annuity calculation.
Q. I read in the Feb. 7 issue of Federal Times the affect that a high-5 would have on my annuity. Do you know if employees will be given a date the high-5 will go into effect, so that they will have the opportunity to retire prior to the change? With a large percent of CSRS employee eligible to retire now, I’d like to think that we would a least be given the opportunity to retire with our high-3 if we are eligible. I am covered under the CSRS, with 35 years of service, but will not be eligible (age…
Q. I know a federal employee who retired from the military (E-6) with 20 years of service and was told while working in Germany that it was to his advantage to buy back his military time. To date he has paid more than $2,800 toward his military deposit and owes over $7,000. He realizes he was misinformed and wants to stop paying toward the military deposit. How can he go about stopping the military deposit and be refunded the money he has paid so far? A. He can stop paying the military deposit any time he wants to. If he’d…
Q. I am 60 years old and just found out that after 38 years of service, my job will be abolished. I have two weeks to accept my retirement package. Now, I will be forced to pay back the leave I used last year when I had a kidney transplant. Do I have any room to negotiate or do I have to accept the received package as is? Can I at least negotiate not having to pay the leave back since I’m not retiring willingly? A. According to OPM, “Under 5 U.S.C. 5584, an authorized official may waive recovery of…
Q. If I was transferring to another agency and I want to take three days off prior to starting my new position, is there anything in the CFR that permits me from taking my annual leave prior to my transfer? A. I think you meant to say prevents rather than permits. While there is nothing that prevents you from taking annual leave immediately before transferring to another agency, you can only do that if your request for leave has been approved by your supervisor (or whomever has leave approval authority).
Q. I took the Postal Service’s Voluntary Early Retirement Authority in July 2009. I am under FERS and had 25 years of service in the post office when I took the VERA. OPM has let us know that in May, I will be getting my annuity supplement based on the VERA. I decided to go back to work full time after a year and a half off work. I will be making about one-third of what I was paid in the post office. How much am I allowed to make before my supplement is reduced or taken away? Since I am starting midyear, are the…
Q. My husband passed away after 35 years of federal service under CSRS. I receive a survivor benefit. Due to his breaking his back, he was on workers compensation for approximately 15 years, so he did not retire per se. When he passed away they had to take him off workers compensation and restore him as an employee, so I receive 55 percent of his salary. What I want to know is when I turn 65, will I also be able to receive Social Security? I was not a government employee but paid into it. I have heard that because…
Q. How soon can I return to federal service after taking a buyout of $25,000. I am a federal employee GS-14. A. Five years. If you return before that, you’ll have to repay the amount you received plus accrued interest.
Q. I am a FERS employee who was born in 1955; my spouse (who doesn’t work for the government) was born in 1950. My projected benefit is $1,500 while her is only $350. Does she have to wait until I start collecting at 62 if she wants to receive the higher spousal benefit? A. Yes, she has to wait until you have applied for a Social Security benefit before being eligible to receive a spousal benefit. The spousal benefit depends on the amount of your benefit and her age when she begins collecting it. For more information and a handy…
Q. I am a 58-year old disabled CSRS employee. I need to know the FEHB rates for Blue Cross Blue Shield family plan. Can you help? A. In 2011 the biweekly rate for non-Postal Service employees is $603.18, with the government contributing $403.98 and the employee paying $199.20. FYI. The rates are the same whether you are covered by CSRS or FERS, are able or disabled.