Q: I understand that under the Civil Service Retirement System, we can use unused sick leave toward federal service time that is used to determine the amount of time considered under the CSRS retirement pay formula. Also, I understand that under CSRS, the maximum time allowed is 42 years, which translates to 80 percent of the average salary in a worker’s “high-3” years. My questions are, if someone is covered by CSRS, if they add up their military and civil service time and get 42 years, can unused sick leave be added to the 42 years to get more than…
Q: My husband has been working for the U.S. Postal Service for 26 years. He is 53 years old. He is entitled to Federal Employees Retirement System benefits at age 56, but he wants to retire now due to health issues. Can he do that? A: The only way he could retire before reaching his minimum retirement age would be if he was approved for disability retirement. To find out if he is eligible, he’d have to file for disability retirement and, at the same time, file for Social Security disability benefits. His personnel office can help him do that.
Q: I have been working for the government for the past seven years under the Federal Employees Retirement System and expect to retire in 13 years at age 67. Prior to my government service, I worked in the private sector and paid into the Social Security system for 35 years. Am I to assume that I will be receiving both a full FERS and Social Security benefit when I retire? A: Yes. You will receive your FERS annuity based on your years of FERS-covered employment and a Social Security benefit based on all your Social Security-covered employment, not just that under…
Q: Do you know of any retirement seminars specifically geared to Federal Employees Retirement Service disability retirement? A: No, I don’t. However, if any of our readers are aware of any, please let me know and I’ll pass the information along.
Q: Can an active-duty service member roll his retirement into government service and add those years together with existing military service years? This was possible 20 years ago or so, but I was wondering whether it still is an option. I’m a 27-year veteran about to retire, and I’d rather go straight into government service and forego my retirement check from the military, if that is possible. A: Nothing has changed. You can make a deposit to the civilian retirement system for any years of active-duty service and, if you are eligible for military retired pay, waive that pay when…
Q: I am a civilian federal employee who started with the government in September 1986. Is it true that no retirement deductions were taken until Jan. 1, 1989? If this is true, how can I get credit for the two-plus years during which no deductions were taken? A: If you were hired into a position that required deductions from your pay, you would have been covered by Civil Service Retirement Offset (CSRS and Social Security) for the months preceding Jan. 1, 1987, when the Federal Employees Retirement System went online. Your CSRS Offset time would have been converted to FERS…
Q: I am a retired postal annuitant on Medicare. I heard that letters were sent out in the spring inviting insurers to offer a health care supplement for people such as me, so that I don’t have to pay for a full-blown plan when I also have Medicare Parts A and B. I cannot find any insurers offering such a plan for 2011. Are there any plans being offered? Who offers them? Are there any fee-for-service insurers? A: I don’t know if OPM had any takers. We won’t know that until it makes its Federal Employees Health Benefits open season…
Q: I retired from the Navy after 20 years of service. I was on active duty for eight years and then on reserve active duty for 12. I am 47 and receiving retirement pay. Since I retired as a reserve (my DD 214 shows component/branch as “U.S. Navy-USNR”), can I buy back my time and put it toward my Federal Employees Retirement System retirement? A: You may make a deposit for any period(s) of active-duty service. If you do, that time will be used in determining your length or service and in your annuity calculation. Making a deposit for that…
Q: I retired from the Navy after serving 20 years. I now work for the state of Georgia. Will my service in state government be the same as working for the federal government? Can I receive a pension from the state after 10 years (which will be 30 years of total service, in 2018)? A: No, it won’t be the same as working for the federal government. The two forms of employment aren’t interchangeable. You’ll have to check with your state to find out if any of your military service would be creditable and what the requirements are to retire…
Q: I’m in a 6C law enforcement covered position and will be reaching 20 years of service in that same position this coming January. I will be 46 years old. As soon as I reach 20 years, can I transfer out of the LE series to an administrative job (no 6C coverage) and still have my complete enhanced retirement benefits when I decide to retire 10 years from now? A: Yes, you can.