Q: I retired in December 2010 with 34 years of federal service under the CSRS plan. My wife is a state government employee who has paid into Social Security her entire 32-year career. If my wife should predecease me, will I be eligible to receive Social Security as her survivor? A: Because you would be receiving an annuity from CSRS, a retirement system where you didn’t pay Social Security taxes, you would be subject to the government pension offset provision of law. Under the GPO, any spousal or survivor Social Security benefit to which you were entitled would be reduced…
Q: My husband is retired and receives a pension and Social Security retirement. He is enrolled in the NALC Health Benefit Plan. He turns 65 in June. I understand that he will automatically be enrolled in Medicare because he receives Social Security benefits. Can he keep his federal health care plan with NALC instead of Part B? I am still working but am covered on his FEHB plan. If he is enrolled in Medicare Part B how will that affect my health insurance? A: Your husband will automatically be enrolled in Medicare Part A at no cost to himself. He…
Q: I am a military technician with 20 years of service but I’m only 44. I am thinking about retiring from the National Guard, which would then cause me to lose my technician job. Will I still get any type of retirement when I reach my MRA? A: Because you have 20 years of service, you would be able to apply for a deferred annuity at age 60.
Q: On Feb. 11, 2011, a question was asked in regard to loss and reinstatement of the Special Retirement Supplement. Where can I find in writing the answer that once you fall back below Social Security max amount, the SRS amount lost will be reinstated? I could not find this information in chapter 51 of OPM CSRS/FERS handbook. A: What you are looking for is implicit in Part 51A3. A reduction is only made in the special retirement supplement when a FERS retiree’s earning from wages or self-employment exceed the Social Security annual earnings limit. When annual earnings no longer…
Q: I am about to retire soon from CSRS. How can I find out if I will be eligible for Medicare? I don’t see from my pay stub that a Medicare tax has been taken out. The CSRS tax is at 7 percent with AT next to it. What do I need to do to ensure that I will be eligible for Medicare when I reach 65? A: Relax. Medicare taxes in the amount of 1.45 percent are automatically deducted from every employee’s pay to cover the cost of Medicare Part A. That’s been the case since 1983.
Q: My wife is a FERS employee and will have 26 creditable years of service at her MRA in May 2013. She wants to be able to participate in the FEHB program at retirement too. I am a retired federal employee. I was under the impression that I can add her to my plan during the years she is separated from federal service and that she can re-enroll in her own FHEB plan when she “retires”. Is this correct? She is trying to wade through retirement/annuity options. We see the terms “delayed retirement” and “deferred retirement” used here and in…
Q: I plan to retire in January 2012 and I have Self-only FEHB. My husband works for the city and has his own health insurance plan. Do I have to put my husband on my FEHB during the 2011 open season (before retiring) or can I add him to my FEHB once he retires, which should be about six years after I retire? A: You can add him to your plan from 31 days before through 60 days after he loses his coverage or, if he doesn’t lose his coverage, during any open season.
Q: I have been employed with the as a probation officer for 22 years under FERS. Have you heard of any buyouts coming for the Southern District of New York? A: No.
Q: If I have 20 years in a federal law enforcement position at age 44, and decide to resign and not work, at what age could I apply for retirement benefits, and would they be calculated as law enforcement formula? I could not retire at 44 in this scenario, correct? Since I would not be 50 I would have to resign, right? Also, if I have 20 years in a federal law enforcement position at 44 and transfer to another non-law enforcement federal position, can I still retire at 50 with law enforcement formula? A: If you resign, you would…
Q: If I elect a survivor benefit for my husband and I die before he does, will his Social Security/FERS pensions be reduced by either WEP or GPO? I am 62, retiring next month with 42 years of CSRS federal service. By law I must leave my husband a survivor annuity of 55 percent of my base salary for which monthly payments will be taken out of my retirement annuity. He is now 64, retired last year with 10 years of federal service (FERS) and now receives Social Security pension and a FERS annuity. A: Neither the windfall elimination provision…