Q. In November 2003, I was forced to retire involuntary because of a reduction in force by the Department of the Navy and I received an annuity. Three months after, in March 2004, I was rehired by the Department of Defense. When I started the new job with a new agency I received a letter from the agency stating that because I was a rehired annuitants I would continue to receive my annuity but my salary would be reduced by the amount of annuity that I had received and the deduction was effective March 2004. Now, after six years of…
Q. I have recently retired under CSRS-Offset at 68 with 23 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. Before I retired I was receiving Social Security Survivors Benefits from my spouse work record in private industry. Will the windfall elimination provision affect the Survivors Benefit? A. The windfall elimination provision doesn’t apply to Social Security survivor benefits. The government pension offset does. However, because you were covered by CSRS Offset for at least five years, it doesn’t apply to you. Your survivor benefits won’t be affected.
Q. I currently have 34 years, starting under CSRS and switching over to FERS when that was offered (so about 10 years under CSRS). I plan on working another three years and retire when I am 57. I resigned after my first three years and withdrew my money. If I don’t pay this money back, what difference would that make in my retirement? How will they figure CSRS and FERS? A. Your CSRS component will be figured using the standard CSRS formula: 0.01 x your high-3 x 5 years of CSRS service, plus 0.0175 x your high-3 x five years…
Q. Are new employees automatically enrolled in FERS, or do you have to make an election? A. All new federal employees first hired on or after Jan. 1, 1987 (and most employees first hired after Dec. 31, 1983), are automatically covered by FERS.
Q. I am under CSRS –- 13 years on Capitol Hill and with no break in service 33 years in the Executive Branch. When do I reach 80 percent? My high-3 is $152,000. Also, I reside in the District of Columbia; what portion of my CSRS annuity is taxable? A. I’ll give you the formulas. You can do the math. Your congressional employee service will be computed as follows: 0.25 x your-high-3 x all years of congressional service. Your remaining service will be computed this way: 0.02 x your high-3 x all non-congressional CSRS service. To determine what the federal…
Q. I’d like to know if buying your military time back if you’re a disabled vet is the same process ? I’m told that if I’m not going to receive Social Security I still get credit and don’t have to buy it back. A. Because you were first hired as a civilian before Oct. 1, 1982, you will get credit for that period of active-duty service in determining your eligibility to retire and in your annuity computation, whether or not you make a deposit to the civilian retirement fund. However, if you retire and are eligible for a Social Security…
Q. When I retire under FERS, I understand I will have two survivor annuity options (50 percent or 25 percent of my full annuity) to cover my wife when I’m gone. My question is, what is meant by “full annuity?” Does it mean my wife will get 50 percent of what my annuity would be before the 10 percent reduction to pay for it, or will she get 50 percent after the 10 percent is taken out to pay for the full survivor annuity? A. She will get 50 percent of what your annuity would be but for the reduction…
Q. My husband is retired from the Army and is now working as a FERS employee. Once he can retire at 62, does Social Security offset his military? I am medically retired under CSRS. Since I did not pay into Social Security, can I collect Social Security under my husband? A. Any Social Security benefit to which he would be entitled will be in addition to his military retired pay. That benefit will be based on his total years of Social Security-covered service. If he meets the age and service requirement to retire under FERS, based solely on his FERS…
Q. When I retire as a CSRS retiree, how can I assure myself that upon my death, my retirement annuity shall transfer over to my immediate spouse and continue to receive it? A. When you fill out your Application for Immediate Retirement (Standard Form 2801), Section E, Marital Information, requires that you provide the name of your spouse and Section F, Annuity Election, requires that you check one of the boxes. By law, nearly everyone with a current spouse is required to check Box 1, which will result in your own annuity being reduced to provide a full survivor annuity…
Q. I have often thought about leaving the federal government, but I don’t want to leave the possibility of an early retirement on the table. I was hired by the federal government in May 1999 and I bought my prior military service (eight years of active duty). My minimum retirement age is 56 and my service computation date is in January 1991. By January 2011, I will have 20 years of federal employment and will be about two years shy of my 50th birthday. In prior years, the agency that I work for has offered OPM-sanctioned voluntary early retirements (VERA).…