Q: I just recently became employed as a GS. In reviewing my Notification of Personnel Action form (SF-50), I had a number of questions which I asked of our human resources personnel: The form indicated I have no veterans’ preference and no creditable years of military service, though I have almost 25 years of service. The response I received was that I would have to surrender my pay and purchase the years of military service if I want to have it credited for civilian service. I have no intention of doing this. I was referred to the Office of Personnel…
Q: Thank you for your recent article on key dates for retirement in the Oct. 4 edition of Federal Times. I have a question that wasn’t completely answered by the article. I am a veteran with more than 22 years of active-duty service. I joined the Food and Drug Administration two years ago, so I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I turned 51 this year and plan to retire sometime between age 62 and 65. I will not have 20 years of service at age 60, but I certainly will have five years of service at age 62.…
Q: Please advise whether government employees who are retired will receive a cost-of-living adjustment for 2011, since Social Security recipients won’t get an increase for next year. A: Because cost-of-living increases for retirees track the increase in Social Security benefits, federal retirees won’t get a COLA increase in 2011.
Q: I’m a disabled federal retiree drawing a federal retirement. I paid into Social Security while on National Guard status for 30 years. I’m currently working and paying into Social Security and will have enough quarters to draw Social Security payments at age 62. I understand there is an offset that will apply to my retirement. I have received a Social Security statement every year; my past statement shows I will draw around $750 at age 62. Is this my retirement amount after the offset, or do I need to reduce this amount by the offset amount? If that’s the…
Q: My husband was federal technician and served in the Air National Guard. The military discharged him because of health reasons. So he lost his federal technician job. He now receives Civil Service Retirement System disability benefits. He applied for Social Security disability. Social Security counts his CSRS disability as a public disability, so his benefit is offset and his payment is reduced to $31.00 a month. Now that he is over age 55, can he change his CSRS retirement to a CSRS annuity or discontinued service retirement? Social Security stated that if he is receiving a CSRS annuity or…
Q: How many weeks’ notice is a federal employee retired to give prior to retirement? A: There is no minimum notice requirement in law or regulation. However, courtesy and prudence suggest a minimum of a few weeks. I mentioned courtesy because a supervisor needs to know that you are leaving so he can plan a redistribution of work among those who are left and, where possible, begin the search for a replacement. I mentioned prudence because failure to take the time to shepherd your retirement application through you agency before leaving could result in long delays before you receive your…
Recently a reader who is approaching retirement sent the following question to the Federal Times website: “What will get me the most bang for the buck, start using a lot of sick leave or going straight for the annuity?” I answered: “This is mother speaking: ‘Son, it’s attitudes like yours that give federal employees a bad name.’ Sick leave may only be used for approved purposes. Using it just because you want to is a violation of law.” Tough words, but true. Sick leave is a benefit that may only be used when appropriate. I think one reason employees consider inappropriate…
Q: What percentage of my benefits are lost if I miss paying into Social Security for two years? A: Unknown and possibly unknowable. Social Security benefits are calculated like federal retirement benefits. They are based on the total number of years of Social Security-covered employment, not to exceed 35. The dollar amount of your actual earnings during those years, stated in constant dollars, is then used to determine your average indexed monthly earnings, or AIME, which is then plugged into the Social Security formula. The Social Security Administration has a number of benefits calculators here that you can plug your own…
Q: After reading all the horror stories about the windfall elimination provision and Social Security demanding payback of erroneous payments, I’m writing to verify my Civil Service Retirement System Offset and WEP reductions. I have 22 years of CSRS service, from 1973 to 1995, put in 13-plus years of nonfederal work, and then was re-employed with the federal government as a CSRS Offset employee in 2008. I plan to retire at 62 with 27 years, 8 months of federal service, with about five years of that under CSRS offset. My personnel office says that I am not subject to the…
Q: I plan to retire Jan. 3. At the end of this year, I will still have 40 hours of “use or lose” leave. Will I be paid for that leave in my final lump-sum annual leave payment, or will I forfeit this leave? A: In 2011, the leave year end date is Jan. 1. If you retire after that date, any unused annual leave in excess of 240 hours would be lost. You would receive a lump-sum payment for those 240 hours.