Q: With the ballooning deficits and the fact that the government has regularly “borrowed” from pension funds, should we be worried about actually receiving our full pensions when we retire? A: No, you don’t need to worry, and it doesn’t make any difference whether you are covered by CSRS or FERS. All retirement contributions go into and annuity payments come out of the same place: The Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
Q: I am a 63-year-old CSRS federal employee. My husband is retired and drawing Social Security. Am I eligible for the Social Security spousal benefit if I am still employed under CSRS? A: Yes, you are eligible for a spousal Social Security benefit while still working; however, once you retire you will be subject to the government pension offset provision of law. The GPO will reduce that spousal annuity by $2 for every $3 you receive in your CSRS annuity.
Q: I am on regular Medicare and have maintained my BC/BS family coverage through FEHBP for a monthly cost of $510 or so. Would I not be better off getting a Medicare supplement policy that would not cost anywhere near as much as my FEHBP premium? Do many federal retirees make this choice? I had thought it wise to maintain FEHBP, and will until my wife catches up with me and goes on Medicare, but due to these costs I wonder. A: If I read you correctly, you are considering dropping FEHB coverage and buying supplemental Medicare coverage before your…
Q: If you retire with annual leave and restored leave accumulated, will you get paid for your restored leave as well as your annual leave? A: You will receive a lump sum payment for any unused annual leave you have to your credit when you retire.
Q: I am a CSRS postal employee. I have my 41 years, 11 months of service time and have one year of unused sick leave accrued. Will I be paid one lump sum for the sick leave, or will it add to my monthly annutity, even though 80% is the maximum? If added to monthly, how would the additional amount be calculated? A: CSRS employees reach the maximum 80 percent limit when they have 41 years and 11 months of service. Therefore, when your annuity is computed, you’ll receive a refund of any contributions you made to the retirement fund…
Q: I have 24 1/2 years with the U.S. Postal Service under FERS. I paid the deposit for seven years of military time and 2 1/2 years with the Federal Aviation Administration. I am 58 and have reached minimum retirement age with 34 years of total service, but only have 24 1/2 years as a FERS employee. Will my Social Security special supplement be calculated to include my military and FAA time of 9 1/2 years? A: Your special retirement supplement will be based solely on the time you were employed under FERS.
Q: Can nine years as a Marin County, Calif., firefighter count toward a federal retirement? A: No, it can’t.
Q: I plan to retire from federal service in a few years under CSRS. I will not receive Social Security benefits. My wife will retire at about the same time with Social Security benefits and a small state pension. I plan to elect a survivor annuity for my wife. If I die before her and she begins receiving the CSRS survivor annuity payments, will her monthly Social Security benefit be reduced due to the windfall elimination provision or any other factor? A: No, her Social Security benefit won’t be reduced. She will be able to receive her earned Social Security…
In my May 24 column, I laid out some of the rules that govern getting credit for military service in your civilian annuity. In this column, I’ll go over more of those rules. To get credit for any period of military service, you need to deposit an amount that equals a percentage of your military basic pay to the Civil Service Retirement Fund. The amount of the deposit depends on when the military service occurred and whether you are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System or Federal Employees Retirement System. For CSRS employees, the required deposit is 7.0 percent…
Q: I am a 29-year federal employee, with the first 16 of those years in congressional staff service. For the first three years of my employ, congressional staff could opt to pay neither CSRS nor Social Security. Being young and underpaid, I chose that option. Today, after being determined as FERCCA eligible, I am covered by CSRS Offset. During the FERCCA review and election period, I was provided with estimates of my projected retirement in 2013. The calculation for CSRS Offset factored in the unpaid contribution years from the early 1980s, but actuarially reduced the benefits by the amount of…