Q: I’m under the Federal Employees Retirement System and was planning to retire at minimum retirement age (56) with 31 years of combined civilian and military service. Six of those 31 years were under LWOP-US where I paid a military deposit for those years. Are those six years included as credible service for an immediate annuity or are they calculated as MRA+ 10 because I did not have 30 years of civil service years? A: No, you won’t be retiring under the MRA+10 provision. You’ll receive an immediate, unreduced annuity because you will have reached your minimum retirement age and…
Q: I am a CSRS employee who was disabled in 1984. I was approved for CSRS disability retirement on Jan. 24, 1985. I was approved for OWCP benefits. Now at 62 I am told I should convert from USDOL/OWVP compensation to disability retirement benefit. How does one compute the basic annuity? My retirement computed to Jan. 28, 1985, was as follows: $25,293 (high 3) for five years and four months of service which gave a basic annuity of $ 2,044, which computed to $843 per month. How much would that compute to in 2011? A: Your annuity would be based…
Q: I am 68. I have three years and nine months of military service that I have bought in. On Sept. 30, 2011, I will have 2½ years of civilian service. Will I be eligible at that time for FERS retirement? A: No, you won’t. You have to have completed five years under FERS to be eligible to retire.
Q: Is it possible for retired federal employee husband and wife to receive 100 percent medical coverage? Right now my husband has the family plan and we are getting 80 percent coverage. I was wondering if I could enroll as well and get the other 20 percent either with a the single or family plan. A: No, you can’t do that. You can either have one family plan or two self only plans. If you want better coverage than you have now, you’ll need to do some research during the next Federal Employees Health Benefits program open season to find…
Q: I am 29 and I have been working for the government for a little more than five years. Am I eligible for the buyout? If so, how much would I be able to get? A: If you were offered a buyout, there would be nothing that would prevent you from accepting it. Unlike early outs, you don’t have to be eligible to retire to accept one. The amount of the buyout would be whatever your agency is offering to all those employees it has identified as being surplus to its needs, not to exceed $25,000.
Q: My father is 78. He served in the Korean War, worked for the postal service for more than 30 years (letter carrier and postmaster) and retired from the postal service at 58. He receives an annual annuity and social security but is now in failing health and recently expressed concerns that my mother may not receive his annuity upon his death. I have searched the Internet and can find information about survivor benefits for current employees, but cannot find a section on survivor benefits for spouses after the death of a retiree. Can you help me understand the survivor…
Q: My husband and I are both FERS employees. We are now 58 and plan to retire at 60. We will both meet minimum age and years of service requirements to receive the Special Retirement Supplement from age 60 to 62. What we cannot find out is how much our Social Security payment will be when we start receiving it at age 62 because we will not be working those two years (between 60 and 62) and thus not paying into Social Security past age 60. The yearly statement from the Social Security Administration assumes we will work until 62…
Q: I have GEHA Basic and Medicare Part A and B. I take no prescriptions and go to the doctor very little, mostly to have tests done. I am considering dropping my Medicare B as I will have GEHA and Medicare A. I am interested in an unbiased answer. A: Decisions like this are always personal. However, there are two things to consider before making a decision about dropping Medicare Part B. First, you need to review what benefits are included in Part B and decide whether you will need anything it covers that is not provided by your FEHB…
Q: I am 56 and was just shy of 30 years of service (21 years in CSRS and the rest FERS) as a GS-1811 before I retired at the end of 2007. Because I do not meet the MRA to collect Social Security benefits, I receive a FERS supplement instead. When I retired, my monthly Social Security benefit was calculated according to the annual salary that I had earned as a federal employee (GS 15). To subsidize my retirement, I now work for myself, and my annual salary is a lot less than I received as a federal employee. Because…
Q: I was involuntarily separated from my position as LEO under Civil Service Retirement System. I served for 22 years. I was separated at 47 because of a reduction in force. I have been unable to find another LEO position. I am a few months shy of 50. What are my options? A: If you could find a non-LEO job in the federal government, you would be able to retire at age 50 and have those 20 years of covered service computed under the enhanced formula and the remainder under the standard formula. However, it would be unfair to your…