Q: My wife is a nine-year CSRS VA employee injured on the job.She was on LWOP receiving workers’ compensation till she reached over 80 percent of her former pay in the private sector. When she reaches retirement age, will the cost of living adjustments for the last 16 years be added on to her annuity. If she receives a new federal position does that entitle her to receive 16 years as time served? How is sick time calculated? A: If your wife doesn’t return to federal employment, she could apply for a deferred annuity at age 62. That annuity would…
Browsing: COLA
Q: I understand that COLAs are based on an effective date of Dec. 1. Under CSRS, if I retire on Oct. 31, will I be eligible for a part (i.e., 1/12) of any COLA due for January 2012, or would I have to wait until January 2013 to see any increase in my pension? A: If you retire at the end of October, you’d be on the annuity roll in November. Therefore, you’d be eligible for 1/12th of the cost-of-living adjustment, which would show up in your January 2012 annuity payment. Of course, that’s assuming that there will be a…
Q. I am CSRS and looking forward to my upcoming retirement in February, but I have some questions regarding survivor benefits. We are going to elect to take out a full survivor benefit annuity for my wife, but we cannot find any reference concerning whether the cost of this annuity will increase with future cost-of-living adjustments or age. We know that the formula for the cost is based on 10 percent of the gross amount at retirement, but we were under the assumption that the initial figure for the cost would not go up regardless of future COLAs. A. If you elect a…
Q. Is the FERS Law Enforcement annuity indexed for inflation? A. The annuities of special category employees, such as law enforcement officers, are increased by cost-of-living adjustments regardless of the age at which they retire. However, COLAs aren’t added to the special retirement supplement, which is based on the Social Security benefit an employee earned while a FERS employee. Note: No COLAs were paid to anyone in 2010 or 2010. It remains to be seen if one will be paid in 2012.
Q: Regarding the recent freeze on COLA, are these paid from appropriation type funds or from the “residuals” of the CSRS? Residuals being money made by the fund and that remain behind in the event the retiree dies before drawing all their contributions out as annuity payments? Even if a survivor gets half of the employee’s monthly payment, but still retired employee still has to buy an annuity for the survivor after retiring to keep health benefits. Just seems like lots of funds going in with only some coming out. I believe CSRS was established to run without appropriated funds…
Q. I’m planning on retiring at the end of June. With 3,100 hours of sick leave, I’ll have 38 years of CSRS service. I’ve selected June 30 as my last day for the following reasons: 1) My annuity will begin the very next day, 2) Even though June 30 is a Thursday, I will have completed my 80 hours of work to earn my final leave accrual, and 3) since retiree COLAs are based on whole months, I will get the retiree COLA for month of July (assuming there is one). Is there anything wrong with my reasoning? A. With…
Q. Does a COLA get added to your current salary or starting salary? I’m working in San Diego and they have been adding it to my starting salary, then adjusting. Is that the correct way to adjust? A. You haven’t received a cost-of-living adjustment. Only retirees receive COLAs. If you received a pay increase, it was an adjustment to your current rate of pay.
Q: I am a CSRS employee who was disabled in 1984. I was approved for CSRS disability retirement on Jan. 24, 1985. I was approved for OWCP benefits. Now at 62 I am told I should convert from USDOL/OWVP compensation to disability retirement benefit. How does one compute the basic annuity? My retirement computed to Jan. 28, 1985, was as follows: $25,293 (high 3) for five years and four months of service which gave a basic annuity of $ 2,044, which computed to $843 per month. How much would that compute to in 2011? A: Your annuity would be based…
Q: I am considering retirement after I have 30 years of service in two years. I will be 54 then. Can I begin drawing an annuity when I reach MRA (56) without penalty? Is there anyway to sustain FEHB coverage? Will I receive COLAs in the future under this scenario? A: You can’t retire at age 54. What you could do is resign from the government and apply for an age penalty-free deferred annuity at age 56. You would be entitled to any cost-of-living-adjustment made after you reach age 62. Note: You would not be able to re-enroll in the…
Q: Has the government considered raising the earnings limit, given the financial strain many seniors are facing? Why does COLA have to be tied to the earnings limit? A: The method used to determine the Social Security earnings limit and cost-of-living adjustments are governed by the same law, and are based on the CPI-W. Because the CPI-W has stayed in negative territory, no adjustments were made in 2010, and none will be made in 2011.