Q: I am a GS-1811 law enforcement officer covered under the early retirement provisions of 6(c) and a Civil Service Retirement System employee. Can my four years of active-duty military service, for which I have made a redeposit into CSRS, be used to reach the 35 years (or 80 percent max annuity under CSRS) of total credited federal service (i.e., 31 years of actual federal LEO civilian service plus 4 years of military service equal 35 years of service annuity)? A: Your first 20 years of law enforcement service will be calculated using the enhanced formula: 0.25 x your high-3…
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Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee who has about 28 years of civil-service time with the Navy. I have about $19,000 to pay back for retirement money I withdrew. I have already paid back my military portion. Under a deferred retirement, I would be allowed to continue paying back my civil retirement debt up to six months before my 62nd birthday, which is when I’m suppose to file for retirement with the Office of Personnel Management. My divorce decree states once I retire from the civil service, the alimony ceases. Since a deferred retirement is one…
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System employee who is now receiving a disability pension. What happens if I am able to go back to work but the Postal Service doesn’t have any openings and I can get a job in the private sector? I am 57 years old with 28 years with the postal service. Do I have to wait until I am 60 or 62 years of age to retire (deferred retirement)? Also, is there an earnings limit if I retire as a civil service retiree like there is under Social Security? A: If your disability annuity…
Q: Do I have to pay taxes on my disability annuity if I am totally disabled and unable to perform any work at any job? Is this information shown on my 1009-D/R? A: There isn’t any federal tax exemption unless you are totally disabled for all gainful employment. Since that is not a determination that can be made by the Office of Personnel Management, you’ll need to check with the IRS to learn if you qualify. Check with your local IRS office or go to http://www.irs.gov.
Well, FERS employees, the long wait is over. Thanks to Public Law 111-84, you are entitled to get credit for your unused sick leave in your annuity calculation when you retire. Previously, this benefit was available only to employees under the Civil Service Retirement System, not those under the Federal Employees Retirement System. There’s one hitch:You’ll get credit for only half of your unused sick leave until 2014. Still, half a loaf is better than none. How will that benefit affect your annuity when you retire? I’ll give a few examples to illustrate that. But first I’ll explain how sick…
Q: I am a federal employee covered under the Civil Service Retirement System and will be retiring on Jan. 3, 2011, with 42 years, 1 month of service and 2,700 hours of sick leave. I need knee surgery, which will require that I be off work for three months. Should I have the surgery before I retire and use my sick leave, or postpone the surgery until I retire and apply all the sick leave toward my annuity? A: You are asking for advice, which I don’t give. The decision is up to you. However, assuming that you are going…
Q: I plan to retire next year at age 62. I had 10 years of service under the Civil Service Retirement System. I took a 15-year break and returned under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I have 19 years under FERS. I will receive retirement benefits under both systems. I understand my Social Security benefits will be reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision. My question is, will the reduction be based on just the CSRS portion of my annuity or on the full annuity (FERS and CSRS)? A: The reduction will be applied to your entire annuity, not just…
Q: I recently heard that if you were eligible for Civil Service Retirement System retirement and retired, receiving your retired pay, you could return as a FERS employee for a period of time and not effect your CSRS retired pay. Could you elaborate on this program or provide information where I could find out more about it? A: As you described it, no, it isn’t true. As a rule, if you retire and return to work for the government, the salary of your new position — it will be offset by the amount of your annuity. It doesn’t make any…
Q: I reside in Hawaii and I’m a Civil Service Retirement System employee with the U.S. Postal Service. I’m eligible for full retirement. The recent Defense Authorization Act has an amendment concerning Territorial Cost of Living Allowance/Locality pay for civil servants in non-foreign areas outside the continental U.S. I have spent many hours researching this, but I cannot find an answer to the question of USPS/locality pay/TCola. How will this affect USPS employees in Hawaii? I understand some of it, but the key question is — since we will remain under the Tcola program, will it be included in calculations…
Q: I started my federal career Oct. 16, 1983, and had a break in service of three months in 1987, which caused me to have a new service comp date of Jan. 21, 1984. However, I remained a Civil Service Retirement System employee until voluntarily changing to Federal Employees Retirement System in May 1998. I resigned from federal service in June 2004. I left my retirement money in, but withdrew all my Thrift Savings Plan money, which I rolled into an IRA. In reading through all the literature available, it is my best reasoning that I will be entitled to…