Q. Where can I obtain any information about becoming a rehired annuitant? I am still employed and have questions regarding how use-or-lose leave, health insurance, and other benefits are handled if I choose this route. A. OPM has a helpful site that will provide answers to many of your questions. Go to www.opm.gov/retire/life/reemployment.asp.
Q. I am 60 years old and will have 25 years in September and will be 61 years old in that month. I am under FERS. I realize I have to be 62 in order to qualify for 1.1 percent of high 3, but what if a VERA is offered this year in Sept. If that VERA included adding years, would my retirement be calculated at the 1 percent or the 1.1 percent? Or does it have to offer years and age to qualify for 1.1 percent? A. There is no provision in law that would allow years to be…
Q. I am a dual status ART/lieutenant colonel navigator in the Air Force Reserve with 23 years (I am 54 years old) of federal service as an ART. If I am medically disqualified from flying on the military side, thereby losing my eligibility for the civilian ART job, would I qualify for disability retirement or medical retirement? Would I expect an immediate annuity? A. If you are separated from employment as a National Guard technician because of a disability that disqualifies you from membership in the National Guard or from holding the military grade required for such employment, you would…
Q. How do I compute the amount of use-or-lose sick leave when I retire? I understand that I will lose all sick leave that is less than a whole month. The retirement office at work says I cannot compute this. The retirement program needs to do this because it is complicated. The retirement office has run several estimates. Each estimate is different. The differences are sometimes more than 100 hours for the same retirement date. For planning purposes, I would like to get a good estimate of the amount of use or lose sick leave. I don’t want to lose over a hundred hours. A.…
Q: My husband was married when he retired. They later divorced and he married me. I was added to his insurance a few years later. If he dies, will I still be able to continue to be covered by his federal insurance and pay the premiums? A: Only if you are entitled to receive a survivor annuity based on his federal employment.
Q: I retired under the CRSR Offset pension. Am I correct to understand that, at age 62, OPM will automatically reduce (offset) my federal pension, or, will OPM wait until I apply for my Social Security benefit and then reduce my federal pension? A: OPM will automatically reduce your CSRS annuity when you become eligible for a Social Security benefit. It makes no difference when or if you apply for one.
Q: I retired from the U.S. Postal Service 14 months ago. In October, my wife passed away and I submitted the paperwork to eliminate the reduction to provide an annuity for her. My retirement benefit was recomputed and increased $259 per month. After processing, I was paid for an accrued annuity for two months; a sum of $518. Should I not have been given the accrued annuity payment from the date of my retirement? Should the FEHB premiums have been returned to me as, I was told that my health benefits would be converted from family to single? A: Absolutely…
Q: I completed more than five years of service under CSRS and withdrew my deposits upon leaving in 1981. In 2006, I took a TEMP/TERM position where I was put in FERS. I was told I could not be in CSRS. I’m a reservist and in 2008, I was recalled to active duty and my TERM contract was not renewed. I’m getting off active duty and will begin my reserve retirement in two months. I’ve been given a lot of different information, so I’m not sure what to believe. If i am collecting my reserve retirement upon starting a federal…
Q: I am a retired federal employee and receive an annuity. I pay for my Medicare Part B quarterly. I would like to have this cost deducted monthly from my annuity. Is there a form to do this? If so, where can I get this form? A: To arrange for this change, call the Medicare Administration at 1-800-633-4227 and talk to a benefits specialist.
Q: I am 53 and work for the U.S. Postal Service under CSRS with 33.5 years service. Our facility is undergoing an AMP study to determine whether it will shut our plant down and merge operations with a facility 50 miles away. If they do shut us down, I would like to retire early at that time. I know that there is a 2 percent per year penalty for retiring early. This AMP study will probably not be finished until sometime in June. I know that the post office is about to offer voluntary early retirement sometime this spring or…