Q: I am a CSRS employee with 32 years of service and have held a full-time billet my entire career. After the birth of my second child, for six months I worked 20 hours a week and took LWOP on my timecard. This was an approved action by my supervisor and everything was in writing. My question, could this affect my retirement calculations? I was not officially part time, but when using the FedCalc there is a section to enter part-time hours and when I do, my final reports are definitely different. A: The combination of reduced hours and leave…
Q: I have read all the questions about sick leave. As a CSRS employee I have over the max years for credible service to receive 80 percent of my high three. I know my 2,087 hours of sick will garner me another 2 percent added onto the 80 percent. My question is, if I have more than the 2,087 hours of sick leave will I just loose those hours. A: There is no limit to the amount of unused sick leave for which you can receive credit when your annuity is computed.
Q: I am considering retirement after I have 30 years of service in two years. I will be 54 then. Can I begin drawing an annuity when I reach MRA (56) without penalty? Is there anyway to sustain FEHB coverage? Will I receive COLAs in the future under this scenario? A: You can’t retire at age 54. What you could do is resign from the government and apply for an age penalty-free deferred annuity at age 56. You would be entitled to any cost-of-living-adjustment made after you reach age 62. Note: You would not be able to re-enroll in the…
Q: I entered 1811 service at 36 after five years of military time and six years of non-1811 federal service. I have bought my military time in. Am I correct in calculating the following for retirement: 20 x 1.7 = 34 percent 6 x 1.0 = 6 percent (non-1811 federal service) 5 x 1.0 = 5 percent (military time) Total: 45 percent of high three. A: Yes.
Q: I am a retired civil service worker. Could someone tell me why I pay more for Medicare than people who draw Social Security? This is plain discrimination. I think it’s time for a class-action lawsuit. A: Those who receive a Social Security benefit are covered by the “hold harmless” provision of the Social Security Act. The law protects more than 70 percent of Social Security beneficiaries from paying a higher Part B premium, in order to avoid reducing their net Social Security benefit. Those not protected include higher income beneficiaries subject to an income-adjusted Part B premium and beneficiaries…
Q: I worked for the 2010 Census Bureau as a temporary part-time worker (even though that “part-time” work was a full 40 hours a week in our area) on two different operations (spring and fall) for about one or two months each (two to four months total). I know that time doesn’t count toward my FERS, but if I get hired as a GS employee, could those months be used to speed up how fast I get vacation time at the next higher rate? A: No, they would not be used.
Q: I am FERS and will have 31 years of service with MRA soon. This means I will be paid the Special Retirement Supplement (SRS) at the 70 percent rate (calculated as if I were 62). I was born in 1961, so my full retirement age for Social Security is age 67. SRS is payable until age 62. Can I elect not to start receiving Social Security benefits at age 62? Will a gap in receiving benefits from SRS to Social Security (say I elect age 65 to apply for Social Security) affect my Social Security benefits when I apply…
Q: I am a FERS employee. Which dollar amount or line from the Social Security benefit estimate should be used when doing an estimate for expected Special Retirement Supplement when retiring under age 62? A: The special retirement supplement is based solely on the Social Security benefit you earned while employed under FERS. To estimate what the amount would be, take the Social Security benefit estimate provided to you by the Social Security Administration, multiply it by your years of FERS service rounded up to the next higher year, and divide the product by 40.
Q: I am 68 and a retiree from the federal government. I had been working part time for a defense contractor until the contract ended. I’m now unemployed. I have Medicare Parts A and B, and BCBS as a secondary. I noticed my BCBS for standard option increased $59.66 a month for 2011. I am now paying $234.74 a month for standard and $97.50 a month for Medicare Part B, for a total of $332.24 a month. Do you know of a less expensive way to get the same coverage? A: You’ll need to do some comparison shopping during the…
Q: I am working full time and plan to retire soon from the Department of Justice under FERS. Because my position will not be posted now due to the hiring freeze, I am looking at delaying my retirement but going part time (two to three days a week) for a few months. Can you tell me what disadvantages there might be to doing this? Could this have any effect on my retirement benefits/annuity when I finally do retire in a few months? I heard that the part-time status is somehow prorated and may decrease the amount of my ‘high 3’…