Q. I am a CSRS employee with 33 years of federal service and I am 54 years old. My agency (the Postal Service) is offering a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority at the end of January. I am a disabled vet with 80 percent rating. Should I take the VERA or apply for medical retirement? I have paid all required quarters for Social Security, and have a daughter still in school. Which method is more beneficial? I plan to apply for 100 percent Veterans Affairs compensation as service-connected injuries are more disabling. A. Based on your years of service, the only…
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Q. I have been in CSRS for 30 years as a Veterans Affairs Department employee. The first 24 years, I had a 5/8 VA appointment, the last six, I have been 8/8. For CSRS annuity purposes, do the part-time years count as 24 years or 5/8 of 24 years? A. You’ll get full credit for that time in determining your total years of service. However, your annuity will be prorated to account for that period of part-time service.
Q. I was informed that unscheduled hours that were/are worked while being a part-time employee are creditable toward years of service. I am a CSRS employee. I began my service as a full-time nurse in 1983. I changed my status to part time in 1995. I returned to full-time status in 2011. From 1995 to 2011, I worked many unscheduled hours. How are unscheduled hours computed toward my creditable service time? A. Only hours of work from which retirement deductions were taken are creditable for retirement purposes. You’ll have to check with your personnel office to see if they can…
Q. Will I benefit from my husband’s Social Security pension once he applies for benefits at full retirement age? Beginning Jan. 3, I will begin collecting CSRS retirement. My husband (a retired lieutenant colonel) indicated that once he reaches full retirement age, he’ll apply for Social Security benefits and that I will be entitled to a spouse’s pension from his benefit. I think that, because my CSRS pension is so high ($75,000), my benefit will offset any benefit I would be eligible to receive from him. A. Because you are receiving an annuity from a retirement system where you didn’t…
Q. I plan on retiring in 2013 under FERS immediate annuity under the 30-year/minimum retirement age with no penalty for age. I am FERS code 8, and my annuity computation date and retirement computation date are both Feb. 8, 1983. 1. Is the earliest date that I can retire on to give me 30 years Feb. 8, 2013? 2. My 30 years will consist of FERS employment, “bought back” military time and “bought back” (via a redeposit) CSRS time. Will I qualify to receive the FERS annuity supplement even though I will not have 30 years of FERS-only time? Can…
Q. If an employee began work in January 1979 and continued until December 1984, then elected FERS coverage and continued uninterrupted until December 2006, would the offset service period be six years or 27? A. You don’t have offset service. Instead, when you retire, you’ll receive a FERS annuity with a CSRS component. The CSRS component will be based on your six years of CSRS-covered service before you transferred to FERS, and computed using the standard CSRS formula. Your years of FERS service will be computed using the standard FERS formula.
Q. I am a federal law enforcement officer with more than 30 years of CSRS service. I do not have 20 years of federal law enforcement coverage, a main reason I remain on duty. Would I be eligible for VERA or VSIP, and by participating, would I receive the 18 months I need to attain 20 years in a covered position? Twenty years of law enforcement coverage computes to 50 percent of my high-3 plus the remaining years. I need 18 months of additional law enforcement time on duty to be eligible for a law enforcement retirement calculation. Does VERA…
Q. I started in February 1980 as a term employee with the federal government. In April 1985, with no break in service, I became career conditional and have worked continuously since. I have not paid back any of my time, and I understand that my annuity will be reduced because of an unpaid CSRS deposit. Recently I heard the term “frozen service.” What does it mean? A. Frozen service means the total years and months of civilian and military service that is creditable in a CSRS component of a FERS employee or, in the case of a CSRS Offset employee,…
Q. I am in CSRS and plan to retire at 4:30 pm. May 3. I will have my 80 hours in by that time. My three questions: 1. Do I enter the date May 3, 2013, in Block B Question 2 of the retirement form (SF-2801) as my “Final date of separation”? I think I read an article that there is a difference between a retirement date and the final date of separation. 2. Will I earn eight hours of annual leave for that pay period? 3. Will my annuity start on May 4, with my first check received in…
Q. I worked for the federal government from 1975 to 1983. I was under CSRS. I worked in private industry from 1984 to 2008. I returned to federal government in 2008 until present. I was placed in CSRS Offset upon my return to the federal government, and I am still under CSRS Offset. I read somewhere that if you have 30 years of substantial earnings where you paid into Social Security, the windfall elimination provision would not apply. My understanding is that since I have paid into Social Security from 1984 and will continue to pay into it until 2019,…