Browsing: 5 percent-per-year penalty

Q. I have 33 years of service under FERS at age 55. I will not reach minimum retirement age until December. I would like to submit my retirement packet now. Is there a waiver I would qualify for to avoid the 5 percent-per-year penalty or that would waive the next 11 months to MRA? A. Since you’d be retiring under the MRA+10 provision, there is no provision in law or regulation that would allow for a waiver of the 5 percent-per-year penalty. Because you have at least 20 years of service, the penalty would apply to age 60.

Q. I’m planning on retiring Sept. 1 at age 56 with 25 years and 30 days in the Postal Service. I haven’t been offered early retirement. Will I be eligible for the special retirement supplement? A. Because you’ll be retiring under the MRA+10 provision, your annuity will be reduced by 5 percent for every year you are under age 60. Further, you won’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement.

Q. I am planning to retire Feb. 21, 2014. I will be 60 years old and will have completed 10 years and one month of service. I am prepared to take the permanent reduction for being under age 62. 1. If a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay is offered at the time of my planned retirement, would I qualify for one or both? 2. I was told that if a VERA/VSIP is offered at the time of my retirement, I could approach my leadership and ask that the 10 percent reduction be waived. I believe this was because…

Q. I am a full-time letter carrier with 25 years of service at 50 years of age. I am having health issues and have trouble completing my job. I am considering deferred retirement this month. As I understand, I’ll lose my health insurance, but I can apply for my FERS retirement at my minimum retirement age of 56 with no penalty. What is your opinion? A. Unfortunately, you are mistaken. If you resigned and applied for a deferred retirement at age 56, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 60 (5/12 percent…

Q. I will be 56 by mid-January. My service computation date is May 13, 1992. I am a GS-13, level 8. I have received my 20-year pin (I bought back six years of Navy active-duty time) yet the payroll department at our Veterans Affairs medical center now tell me I only have 17 years. I left the VA system for private business in 2003 for three years, then came back to my previous position in VA. I left my FERS money in the system when I left. Would this make me eligible to retain those three years toward my retirement,…

Q. I bought back my military time and will have 15 years (combined military/federal service) in 2013. I am under FERS. My husband has a rare form of cancer that has left him permanently disabled and his prognosis is unknown due to the rarity of the cancer. Is it possible for me to retire early — I am 49 — and keep my benefits so that I can take care of him? A. Unfortunately, no. The earliest you could retire would be at your minimum retirement age, which is 56. Even then, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent…

Q. I am 54 and have 28½ years in with the Postal Service. My first official retirement date is July 9, 2014. However, I am being told that if I retire now with the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, my annuity will be higher than if I wait until 56 due to the 5 percent penalty for each year I am under 62. That would give me a 30 percent penalty on my annuity. Is this correct? I just want to go the way I will have the most in my annuity. A. The person you talked to was confused. If you…

Q. I will be 60 years old in February. I will have 16 years and five months of total service with Customs and Border Protection and am covered for retirement with FERS.  What does the 5 percent penalty mean “if I retire under the age of 62”? Does this apply only to my Social Security benefits or my FERS retirement? I will not ask for any Social Security benefits until I reach the age of 62. I am also retired from the military with 20 years of total service. A. Because you have fewer than 20 years of service, you’d…

Q. I am 59 years old and will have 23 years of service under FERS with the federal government in January. If I decide to retire via Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay, will I take a penalty in my retirement pay? If so, at what percent would that be? Also, would I still receive the supplemental benefit if I leave? In filling out the form for VERA/VSIP, would I select the VSIP or VERA? Would I be eligible for the VSIP? A. If you were to accept an offer of early retirement, you wouldn’t be subject to the…

Q. I will have 28.75 years with the Postal Service in FERS when I’m eligible to take the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority offered for Jan. 31. With half of my eight months of sick leave, I will have another four months credited to me. I will be 56 years old in January, so this is a real birthday present! I understand that my FERS annuity will not be reduced because of the VERA. So, if my annuity is not reduced before I would retire with 30 years of service because of the VERA offer, is there any incentive to keep…