Q. I served four years in the Navy from 1989-2003; right now, I work for the U.S. Postal Service as a ptf city carrier. If the post office cuts back to a five-day workweek, they will do layoffs. So, should I buy back my four years of service because that would put me at seven years of service and I think it takes seven years to keep from getting laid off. And, of course, what would be the cost of the buyback? The post office told me I had three years from my hire date to pay no interest and…
Q. I’ve got 37 years in the CSRS system and I’m 57 years old. I also have 37 quarters in the Social Security system. Would it be advantageous for me upon retirement to earn the remaining quarters to become eligible for Social Security? I’m hoping to retire within two years and wanted to know about the offset with my annuity within the CSRS system? A. Earning the additional credits needed to qualify for a Social Security benefit would have no affect on your CSRS annuity. Instead, the windfall elimination provision of law would reduce the amount of your Social Security…
Q. I have been in a primary firefighter position for roughly nine years. I am curious what will happen to my FERS retirement calculations if I move into a position that is not covered by special retirement rules, for example, a recreation job. How will the nine years of firefighter time be figured into my retirement calculations? I understand that more money (1.7 percent) is deducted from my paycheck for my retirement fund than my co-workers who are not firefighters, so that must come into play when my retirement annuity is calculated, right? I’ve been looking at the FERS handbook,…
Q. I will be eligible to retire at age 60 with 20 years and five months in January 2012 as a FERS employee, because of Parkinson’s Disease that is slowly progressing and under my neurologist advice will prevent me from working any further. I would like to know how the Social Security Special Retirement Supplement (SRS) is calculated and if my military pension and purchasing a TSP annuity with a small partial withdrawal will have any effect on that supplement. Also, by doing so will it decrease the amount of Social Security when I reach age 62? A. You can…
Q. If I have six years of service as a grade school teacher for the New York City Board of Education and I decided to go work for the DoD as a teacher, would those six years count towards a DoD retirement? A. No, they wouldn’t count.
Q. I will be covered by a Civil Service FERS/CSRS Component retirement & am currently considering an overseas assignment where a cost-of-living allowance (COLA)/post allowance (PA) will be paid. Since I lose my current stateside locality pay when overseas, will this COLA/PA be included in computations for my high-3 retirement calculation? A. No, it won’t be included when computing your high-3.
Q. Do you think there will be a buyout for the carriers if there’s a move to five-day delivery? A. Making a prediction tied to something that might happen would be a foolish waste of time.
Q. Will I lose my federal years of service for retirement if I get out of the military after nine years and continue my education, then decide to join the U.S. Marshals or a federal agency after a three-year break. Does my 20 years of service have to be continuous? A. You would only be able to get credit for your period of active-duty service if you made a deposit to the civilian retirement fund after being hired. Even then, those years would not qualify as covered service under the enhanced benefit provision for law enforcement officers. To retire under…
Q: I have a question about minimum retirement age-plus 10. I am 55 and have 27 ½ years of service. If I retire at age 56, am I to understand that my annuity would be reduced by about 30 percent if I started collecting it right away? Also what would happen to my health benefits? Could I still use them immediately upon retiring? I have 14 years of frozen service under the old Civil Service Retirement System so how would that be affected? A: If you retire under the MRA+10 provision and begin receiving your benefits immediately, the Federal Employees…
Q: Are Defense Department buyouts for fiscal 2010 forthcoming? If so, when? A: We haven’t heard anything.