Q: I am eligible to retire without penalty (Federal Employees Retirment System) since I’m now 60 years old and have almost 24 years of federal service. I have health insurance for myself, which I plan on carrying into retirement. My husband, who has worked for private industry, has just had open-heart surgery. He filed for disability and is being awarded. He also filed for retirement through his company. He has had excellent health insurance with his employer and union. They are to carry full health coverage on him for nine months after his heart attack in November. Since this is…
Q: I retired under an early-out exception due to health reasons in September 2009. I was a Federal Employees Retirement System employee. I also applied for disability and I was just recently approved. I am 56 years old, with 22 years, 7 months of service. I need to know how my disability payment will be computed. I read that if I was eligible for a voluntary immediate retirement, there was no advantage to me getting disability. The only retirement I qualified for was MRA+10. Does this mean I will get benefits based on the 60 percent, and after 12 months,…
Q: I am thinking of retiring in October 2010 with 39 years, one month and 16 days of service. I will be age 58 years, three months at date of retirement. My supervisor would like to hire me back as a contractor for three days a week. Will this affect my net monthly annuity? A: While being hired as a contractor shouldn’t have any effect on your annuity, you’ll need to check with your agency’s personnel office to find out if it would be acceptable under your agency’s employment guidelines.
Q: If I retire at the end of fiscal year 2010 — on Sept. 30 — can I delay cashing out my annual leave balance until 2011, when I would be in a lower income tax bracket? A: No, you can’t. Lump-sum payments are automatic and are made when your finance office completes the close-out of your employment records. As a rule, the payment is made at the same time your final paycheck is issued.
Q: I will have 10 years of service in the billing department of a VA medical center in May. I would like to retire when I turn 63 in January 2012. How do I go about setting up the retirement time and process? What do I need to do to set this up at that time? A: Because you will be at least 62 years old, you can retire with as few as five years of service.
Q: I am a federal law enforcement officer under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I have 23 years of service and can retire at age 50 just prior to completing 25 years. My human resources department did my calculations for me (I have tried to estimate my own for the last few years) and I have a question about one item. They computed the average of my high-3, gave me the numerical figure and took out money for health and life insurance. Then they added $400 for a FERS annuity. Now here’s the problem: A co-worker claims that is our…
Q: I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System and currently have 8-plus years of federal service in a covered position (1811, with an age waiver). I am 52 years old. I would be 63 when I retire under the special provisions for law enforcement employees. I retired from military with 20 years of service and plan to “buy back” my military time for FERS retirement purposes. After I buy back my military time, and if I decide to retire with only 15 years of federal service (approximately eight years from now; I will be 60 at the time and…
Q: I have prior military service. Now I am a federal employee. Can unused military sick leave be used as service credit in the computation of benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System when I retire? A: No. You can’t use it in your annuity computation or for any other purpose as a civilian employee of the federal government.
Q: If a Civil Service Retirement System retiree is currently receiving government health insurance and gets married, can he add his spouse to his health insurance? A: Anyone covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits program who has a change in family status, such as marriage, birth or death of a family member, adoption, legal separation or divorce, can change from self only to self and family or vice versa. For employees, the code is 1C in the Table of Permissible Changes; for retirees, it is code 2B.
Q: I’ve been a Federal Employees Retirement System employee of the Veterans Affairs Department since 1986. Human Resources changed my retirement code from 2 to C — but I have not requested any changes. It is almost impossible to see the retirement representative from HR, yet I’m trying to make an appointment with HR to get an explanation. Can you explain? A: I can tell you what but not why. Retirement code 2 is FICA. It means that “you are covered by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act – Social Security only. You are not covered by a retirement system for…