Q: I hired on with the federal government Oct. 15, 1985. At that time, I wasn’t given a choice of Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System, everybody was FERS. However, I did buyback my Air Force service and my service computation date is April 15, 1982. This maybe fishing, but should I have been given the option to go CSRS if the service computation date is in 1982? I also had about four months of civil service in a temporary job in 1978 if that makes any difference. Is there any circumstance that would ever allow someone…
Q: I retired from the Army in August 2008, after 28 years of service. I currently receive my retirement pay and VA Compensation. If I get hired for a government job, how will my current benefits be affected? A: Being hired as a civilian employee of the federal government won’t have any effect on your military retired pay or Veterans Affairs compensation. However, if you want to get credit for that period of active duty service in determining your eligibility to retire from a civilian job and in your annuity computation, you’d need to make a deposit to the Civil…
Q: I will be leavening the Marine Corps after 13 years of service. I will be getting another government job at the U.S. Postal Service. Will my 13 years count toward my retirement? Will I only have to work for another eight years? Or will I start over and have to work for 20 more years? A: Your 13 years of active duty service will only count if you make a deposit to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability fund. The deposit will equal a small percentage of your basic pay while on active duty. Your civilian personnel office can…
Q: I retired as a Federal Employees Retirement System annuitant Feb. 1, 2006 at age 62 plus a couple of weeks. If I am rehired: Will my current FERS gross annuity before taxes be deducted from the new gross salary before taxes? I suspended my federal health insurance but now have Medicare and Tricare for Life. What is my best option if I am rehired by the government? A: Unless you are hired under one of the special authorities that would allow you to receive both your annuity and your full salary, the gross amount of your annuity would be…
Q: I was reinstated on a term appointment in 2003, and in 2005 the position was terminated. I took a permanent position with Bureau of Land Management. While in my term position, I was told to sign up for the Federal Employees Retirement System or my time would not count toward my tenure in this term position. I was told that when my term appointment ended and I accepted a permanent position, my tenure would continue and I could, at this time 2005-2008, opt to be reinstated as CSRS/FERS instead of FERS. I had requested to my BLM human resources…
Q: I know that I can retire at 30 years of service and 55 years of age. At the present time I have more than 30 years of service; however, I am under 55. I am 50. I would like to know: 1. For every year above 30 years of service do I get 2 percent more or only at 30 years and age 55? 2. If so? If I decided to retire say at 52 or 53 with 34 years would that balance out to a full retirement? A: Here’s the formula used to compute the annuities of Civil…
Q: What is the status of the legislation regarding doing away with the significant penalty the federal government retirees incur when becoming eligible to draw, if any, Social Security benefits? A: I assume that you are asking about the windfall elimination provision, which reduces the Social Security benefit of anyone receiving an annuity — in whole or part — from a retirement system where he didn’t pay Social Security taxes and has fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings covered by Social Security. The short answer is that bills to modify or repeal that provision have stalled in both houses…
Q: Is enrollment in health insurance offered by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) equivalent to enrollment in Federal Employees Health Benefit, as far as continuing FEHB coverage into retirement? Here’s the situation: One of my co-workers is in the CSRS Offset; he had been with CSRS for a long time, and then he transferred to TVA. He recently left TVA and came back as CSRS Offset, which meant that he left the TVA health insurance and signed on to FEHB. He plans to retire in two years, and wants to know if he can continue to stay enrolled in FEHB into…
Q: Do I have to enroll in Medicare when I turn 65? What happens to my Federal Employees Health Benefit if I don’t enroll in Medicare? It seems to me that the insurance company is getting a lot less responsibility for the same premium I pay once Medicare kicks in. It seems to me the FEHB premium should decrease because the benefits decrease, and Medicare ought to get paid the difference? A: You’d be foolish not to enroll in Medicare Part A because you’ve already paid for that coverage through payroll deductions. However, if you don’t want that coverage, you’d…
Q: According to the Office of Personnel Management, if a government employee travels on a federal holiday then no additional compensation is allowed. I’m a National Security Personnel System employee and traveled on President’s Day. I know if I worked I would be entitled to “double” pay: holiday, plus regular pay. What applies to travel on Holidays for NSPS employees? A: To the best of my knowledge there is no exception to that rule. However, you’ll need to check with your own payroll office on the remote chance that an exception has been carved out for NSPS employees.