Q. I am about to retire under CSRS, under which I have worked since 1977. I am now receiving a disability pension from the Veterans Affairs Department for a service-connected disability. I was on active duty from 1969 to 1973. In the past, I had received my disability pension from the military. I have been told that my records show that my military time will count toward my CSRS retirement, but I have to pay for my military time. I see that in the Effect of Military Retired Pay section of OPM Form 1515, for my military service to count…
Browsing: annuity computation
Q. My husband was a temporary federal employee for the Defense Department for five years. He was laid off in August. He had two years of military service, which he bought that time back, so in essence he has seven years of federal service. He is 60 years old. He put 10 percent of his salary in the Thrift Savings Plan. Should he leave that money in TSP or put it in another vehicle? Also, when he reaches retirement age (62), will he receive a pension for the seven years of federal service? He left DoD with a sick leave…
Q. I’m a FERS employee who is retiring Dec. 31. Will my unused sick leave count for some service time in 2012? A. You will receive half credit for your accrued and unused sick leave in the computation of your annuity.
Q. I am under CSRS. If I retire Dec. 29 and receive payment for unused sick leave, will the payment be considered income in 2012 or 2013? A. Sick leave has no cash value. It can only be added to your actual service and used in the computation of your annuity.
Q. If you retire in an area with a cost-of-living adjustment and then later move to one without COLA, is your retirement reduced? A. Retiree cost-of-living adjustments aren’t locality based. For example, the 2012 COLA for CSRS retirees was 3.6 percent; for eligible FERS retirees, it was 2.6 percent. COLAs are applied uniformly across the board, no matter where you are located.
Q. I was in the Marine Corps for 9½ years. I have been working as a public relations specialist with the Veterans Affairs Department for two years. I am applying for an assistant fire chief position with VA based on my experience in my volunteer fire department. If I got this position, what retirement plan would I fall into and would my military or VA time be credited? A. If you were hired into a firefighter position, one subject to the more generous retirement provision, none of your previous service (military and civilian) would be creditable toward the 20 years…
Q. I’m considering retiring on July 3, 2013. My current and projected sick leave balance is as follows: Currently as of pay period 14 = 2,320.45 End of this calendar year projection = 2,372.45 Projected amount as of June 29, 2013 = 2,428.45 (last pay period before retirement) If you apply the Office of Personnel Management’s sick leave conversion to the 2,428.45 sick leave hours at the time of my probable retirement (July 3, 2013), the conversion table states that I’ll be one hour or .55 hours shy of having one year and two months of sick leave applied to…
Q. I am a reservist eligible for an active-duty retirement (21 years active duty and four years reserve duty). I have not retired yet. If I obtain a federal civilian position prior to retiring from the Reserve, will I be eligible to buy back my 20+ years of active duty? Or does the fact that I am eligible for an active-duty retirement (i.e. will receive retired pay immediately after retiring from the Reserve) make me ineligible to buy back my military time? A. Yes, you could make a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service. However, to get credit…
Q. I retired in 2000 with 20 years of active-duty time. I spent the next 10 years collecting a pension (E-6) and working as a contractor. I’ve been working in the federal government for the past two years as a GS-12, Step 10. Would it make sense for me to put the amount of cash necessary to retire at 30 years by buying back my 20 military years? Am I even eligible to do this? Would I have to do it now? A. Yes, you can make a deposit for those 20 years of service, However, when you retire, you…
Q. If you buy back your military time, does the time count toward a 20-year retirement, or is the time only used in figuring your annuity? A. If you make a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service, it will be used in determining your length of service and in your annuity computation. Whether it will result in your being able to retire when you have 20 years of service will depend on your age. Only those who have 20 years of service when they reach age 60 can retire on an immediate unreduced annuity. However, although those who reach their…