Q. I saw your Web site and am wondering if you might be able to clear up some confusion. My 85-year old mother-in-law receives a pension from the Postal Service, and has health insurance through the Postal Service. She is a retiree. My understanding is that Medicare is her secondary payer. Do you know if the Postal Service health insurance requires that Medicare be the secondary payer, or if she can choose? This is crucial, because she has had a stroke and needs to be in a rehab facility. She is unable to answer many of the questions her children…
Q. You answered a previous question that sick time earned under FERS can be reinstated even after a separation of federal service of more than three years. I was separated for nearly 10 years and then rehired in December 2009. I had over 300 hours of sick leave under FERS. My current human resources manager claims she has no idea how to get my sick time reinstated. Can you tell me the process and/or forms that HR needs to submit, and to whom? A. On Dec. 2, 1994, OPM issued final regulations that allow those who are re-employed on or…
Q. I hired into federal law enforcement in 1994 at the age of 22. After 20 years service, I will be 42 years old. If I transfer to another federal agency for five additional years of non-LEO for a total of 25 years can I receive early LEO Retirement if I then retire at 47? A. No, you can’t. You can only retire at such an early age if you have 25 years of covered service as a law enforcement officer.
Q. If they offer the early retirement this year to postmasters I will have close to 26 years, but I will be just 48 years old in August. Will I be able to retire and get the Social Security Supplement also? A. If you accept an early retirement offer, you would be eligible for the special retirement when you reach your minimum retirement age. Since you were born between 1953 and 1964, your MRA would be 56.
Q. I am a postal employee with 27 years of service. My retirement plan is CSRS. Can I transfer to another branch of the government and transfer this time with me? Will it count toward my civil service retirement? A. Yes, if you transfer to another government agency your service record will transfer with you and that time will count toward the total years needed to retire. A rare exception to that rule would be if you were to transfer to an agency that had its own retirement system and didn’t recognize your prior service.
Q. I retired three years ago under CSRS Offset LEO. I had 20.5 years under CSRS offset, five years under regular CSRS, six years military time, which I brought back and paid Social Security. Additionally, I have contributed another three to four years to the Social Security system. During this time I had significant earnings. Due to my military injuries I have decided to go on Social Security Disability. I’m 53. Will my federal annuity be reduced? I have been told by several people that it won’t. What is the deal? A. Your CSRS annuity won’t be reduced until age…
Q. I am still working and will turn 63 on April 14? When can I indicate that I want a reduction in my life insurance? A. You can do that when you retire, not before.
Q. I am retired from the postal service as a CSRS employee. I had already worked for private agencies and paid in enough quarters (40) and over to draw my Social Security before I ever started working for the federal government. However, even though these quarters were earned prior to any federal employment, my Social Security check has an offset on it. I have been told by a Social Security attorney that this should not have been done. Is this correct? A. Your Social Security benefit wasn’t offset. It was reduced because of the windfall elimination provision of law. The…
Q. I retired under the early-out retirement program at CSRS; currently, I am working part time and paying in to Social Security. Am I eligible for Social Security disability? A. Putting aside the question of whether you are sufficiently disabled to meet the Social Security Administration’s stringent criteria for granting disability benefits, to even apply you would need to have a certain number of credits under Social Security, the number depending in large part on your age and the onset of your disability. For more information go to www.ssa.gov/retire2/credits3.htm.
Q. I will soon be a CSRS retiree — no offset, no military service, just 30 years with the federal government. My wife has worked for many years in the private sector and is covered by Social security. If she dies before I do, will I receive her full Social Security or any of it? A. Any Social Security survivor benefit to which you are entitled would be affected by the government pension offset provision of law. The GPO would reduce that benefit by $2 for every $3 you receive in your CSRS annuity.