Q: I am receiving a CSRS annuity and Social Security. The social security was reduced by WEP. I am now eligible for a supplemental annuity because I worked as a re-employed annuitant for over three years. I will need to pay the deposit in order to get the supplemental annuity. Will the supplemental annuity further reduce my Social Security? If yes, how can I calculate the reduction? I need to know if it will pay me to accept the supplemental annuity. A: No, it will not further reduce your Social Security benefit. That benefit is based solely on your years…
Q: I will retire in 2014 under FERS with about 12.5 years of service. My high-3 will be approximately $62,000 and I know I will get a lump sum for any annual leave, but I’m a bit confused on the sick leave. I will have about 1,100 hours of sick leave accrued and the online calculator I used to determine how much that will add to my retirement says it will give me $8 per month more by using that sick leave. I thought the whole idea behind allowing FERS employees to use their sick leave toward retirement was that…
Q: I am divorced and the divorce decree left my CSRS pension intact (and her state pension was also left intact, so that neither of us will be drawing on each other’s pension). If I retire in the coming year, and remain single, and elect No Survivor Benefit, and retire in 2011, but then in 2012 or 2013, I remarry, can my new wife be provided a Survivor Benefit so that she gets (1) part of my pension upon my death and also (2) qualifies (while I am alive) for FEHB? If I can do that, how would I initiate…
Q: How can I get proof that I did buy back my four years of military service so I can ensure my FERS retirement date is accurate? I bought back four years of active duty years ago but never got any documentation indicating so. I have a dollar figure on my LES that indicates a deposit was made, and the military deposit worksheets showing I made an application for a deposit. I’m getting the runaround from state HRO, personnel and finance. They all claim the other office takes care of it, but no one knows who really is in control…
Q: I’m a CSRS employee. I am 70 and I have 44 years of federal service. I also have 39 quarters toward Social Security. When I retire, will I receive retirement funds paid in after 41 years, 11 months? Also, if I get another job to get the 40th quarter will my wife and I receive Social Security? A: When you retire, you will be given the option of receiving a refund of any retirement contributions you made after you had 41 years and 11 months of service or of using that money to buy additional annuity that isn’t subject…
Q: I retired on an immediate annuity. Can I return to my job and pay back my five months of received annuity and go back into the CSRS retirement system? A: You could only go back to the position you held if it was open and your former employer wanted to hire you. Because you cannot undo your retirement, if you were hired, it would be as a re-employed annuitant. As such, you would be placed under CSRS, with the option to elect coverage under FERS. In most cases, the salary of your position would be offset by the amount…
Q: I plan to retire as soon as possible after my Dec. 22, 2011, birthday at age 55 with 34 years service. I understand there are special issues this year for those of us retiring at the end of the year and the way the holiday falls this year. I generally carry over 240 hours each year. I currently have more than 3.5 months SL and will be accruing four hours each pay period this year. How will my annuity be affected by the SL? I’m thinking I’d be better off using it. Can you give me a ballpark figure…
Q: I will turn 62 in September. I had 16 years of honorable service in the Navy, April 1969 to April 1985, before being hired into the federal civil service in December 2009. I do not draw a retirement from military service. Do I have to have five years of federal civil service to qualify for retirement at age 62, or will five years of the military service qualify for the five-year requirement? I realize that I have to make a deposit to cover the time I spent in military service. A: You have to have five years of civilian…
Q: A CSRS retiree elects a reduced annuity to provide a spouse survival benefit at retirement. If the CSRS retiree dies, would the spouse with survival benefit continue with her scheduled allotment and would there be any additional compensation for the rest of her life in regard to the deceased CSRS retiree’s retirement fund? Secondly, with the same arrangement where the spouse predeceased the CSRS retiree, would the CSRS retiree recover that scheduled allotment and increase his annuity? A: If you were to die, your spouse would be entitled to a survivor annuity. Any of your retirement contributions that hadn’t…
Q: When a federal employee retires and has “Credit Hours Earned” (CD) that have not been used on the books, will they be paid in the same manner as for unused annual leave? A: You would receive a lump-sum payment for a maximum of 24 unused credit hours at your current rate of basic pay.