Q: How will the new rules that allow for crediting sick leave to Federal Employees Retirement System employees for retirement calculation purposes affect those who transferred from the Civil Service Retirement System to FERS during a previous open season? A: For those CSRS employees who transferred to FERS, when they retire, any unused sick leave up to the amount they had when they transferred to FERS will be credited to the CSRS component of their annuities; half of any unused sick leave above that amount will be credited to the FERS component. Only those who retire after Dec. 31, 2011,…
Q: I retired back in February on an early out. Will we receive the incentive eventually that the union is fighting for all employees to receive? Plus, will we receive something for our unused sick leave? A: I have no idea what incentive your union is fighting for; however, if they get it, it’s unlikely that it would apply to those who have already retired. The same goes for the unused sick leave credit for Federal Employees Retirement System employees. That credit is only available to those who retire after the effective date, and only half credit at that, until…
Q: If you retire, will you be paid for any earned hours over the 440 annual leave hours? A: No. Because you are a Postal Service bargaining unit employee with a maximum carryover limit of 440 hours, that’s the maximum amount for which you can receive a lump-sum payment.
Q: I was hired by the Defense Department under the National Security Personnel System. Will I be converted to a Federal Employees Retirement System grade, and how will that grade be determined? A: You’ll have to be patient. The law ending the NSPS was just enacted and the phase-out won’t be completed until Jan. 1, 2012. How grade levels will be determined has yet to be decided.
Q: I transferred to the Federal Employees Retirement System from the Civil Service Retirement System during the 1998 open season. At the time of my transfer, I had accumulated 1,675 hours of sick leave. I understood at the time that the credit for sick leave to be applied toward my retirement would be the lesser of my balance at the time of my retirement or the 1,675 hours, whichever was less. This amount would be applied to the CSRS component. I now have 2,544 hours of sick leave accumulated. I have accumulated an additional 869 hours of sick leave since…
Q: My question is about the original conversion of retirement withholding, which was converted to Federal Employees Retirement System. I began working for the government in October 1984. So, I was hired as a FERS employee. In 1987, when FERS was officially set up and the money that had been withheld from our paychecks was placed in our FERS accounts, I had $660, which stayed in a Civil Service Retirement System marked account. It stayed there for many years until I switched agencies, and it was no longer listed on my Leave and Earnings Statement. My question is, what exactly…
Q: Will civil service employees who have accumulated sick leave be able to roll this into their Thrift Savings Plan? If so, is there a limit? A: No you can’t. Unused sick leave has no cash value. It can only be added to your actual service and used in the computation of your annuity.
Q: I read your Nov. 16 column about how Federal Employees Retirement System employees can redeposit retirement refunds. I’m a military retiree, but I spent approximately 5.5 years post-military time at the Small Business Administration and Department of Homeland Security. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of taking a very small refund for my retirement time at SBA, totaling about 18 months. That put me under the 5 years of federal service that I would need to qualify for a pension, albeit a small one. As I read your column, I gathered that I can repay the amount I received at…
Q: The Office of Personnel Management Web site states, “You only have 31 days from the date of your appointment to an eligible position to elect optional insurance.” I would like to know if that applies when you are moved to a new position with a new job identifier due to re-organization? A: No, it doesn’t. The 31-day window only applies to a new employee of the federal government.
Q: Can you tell me if applications are now available for the newly announced public service loan forgiveness option? I heard that the Office of Personnel Management was supposed to have made an announcement on this subject several weeks ago. A: This is not an OPM program. However, when I checked with them, they informed me that you can get information about it by calling 1-800-FED-AID or visiting www.studentaid.ed.gov.