Q. I am a registered nurse and have been in the same job for 30 years. I am 60 and want to reduce my hours from 40 a week to 20 a week for the next six years until full retirement at 66½. My salary will decrease from $80,000 to $40,000 a year. Will this have a significant effect on my retirement benefits? A. It will affect your annuity. Only you can decide if it would be significant. The methodology used to compute an annuity that includes part-time service is at www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C055.pdf. Scroll to Part 55B2, which now applies to…
Browsing: CSRS
Q. I plan to retire at 32 years of federal service under CSRS. I have six months of military service that have not been paid off. Is that going to affect my 40 quarters of Social Security? A. If you don’t make a deposit for those six months of active-duty service, your CSRS annuity will be actuarially reduced by 10 percent of the amount you owe, plus accrued interest. Because you will be receiving an annuity from a retirement system where you didn’t pay Social Security taxes, you’ll be subject to the windfall elimination provision. The WEP will reduce your…
Q. I was under CSRS from 1984 to 1987 was not vested and took a nonappropriated job. Before 1984, I was strictly an NAF employee. In 1991 I was converted under the Portability Act to civil service and became a FERS employee. Later I purchased the 3.2 years back and was told it had to go under a redeposit for FERS credit. I was told that I might qualify for the CSRS offset. Do I have options under the offset program, and is the offset better than 25 years under FERS with the 1.1 retirement multiplier? A. Because you didn’t…
Q. I am in an 0802 series position and am considering a lateral move to another government agency (1670 series). How, if at all, would this affect my CSRS plan? And would I get a step increase if I made the change? A. Moving to another agency in another series would not affect your retirement benefits. Whether you would receive a step increase is something you’ll have to discuss with your new agency.
Q. I plan on retiring at the end of 2014. I have been with the service 33½ years under CSRS. I have a couple of incurable medical issues, so I go to the doctor and hospital regularly. I have always paid into FEHP and have had BC/BS for more than five years. My question is regarding medical insurance. Do I have to obtain Medicare parts B, C and D? I will be continuing to pay into my FEHP when I retire but want to know if I should get any of those other plans because I do not want to…
Q. I am with USPS and am in CSRS. I began working in 1973 and quit in 1977, at which time I withdrew my retirement money. I returned to USPS in 1983 and am still there. Do I need to redeposit the money I withdrew to get credit for 33 years of service? If I do not redeposit the money, will my annuity be decreased? A. Because you took that refund before Feb. 1, 1991, you’ll get credit for those years of service in determining your eligibility to retire. However, if you don’t redeposit that money, plus accrued interest, your…
Q. As a retiree under CSRS, at what age do your annuity payments stop? A. There is no age limit. Your annuity payment will stop only when you die.
Q. If I retire Jan. 3, will I lose any leave above the 240 hours I have accumulated? Also, since I’m a CSRS employee, if I retire Jan. 3, will I receive my annuity check on the first of each month? Are the two days left on my service computation date considered annual leave for me to take, or do they just go away? A. Since the leave year doesn’t end until Jan. 13, you’ll receive a lump-sum payment for all your unused annual leave. Because you are a CSRS employee, you can retire up to the third day of…
Q. If I retire Jan. 3, will I lose any leave above the 240 hours I have accumulated? Also, since I’m a CSRS employee, if I retire Jan. 3, will I receive my annuity check on the first of each month? Are the two days left on my service computation date considered annual leave for me to take, or do they just go away? A. Since the leave year doesn’t end until Jan. 13, you’ll receive a lump-sum payment for all your unused annual leave. Because you are a CSRS employee, you can retire up to the third day of…
Q. My husband is a retired FERS employee and I am a current CSRS employee. I am covered as a family member under my husband’s self-and-family coverage. My husband did not elect a survivor annuity. I plan to retire the end of this year. What happens to my Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage if he dies before me? Will I be able to continue the coverage based on my own eligibility, even though he did not elect a survivor annuity? If I elect self-only coverage during the next open season, the change is not effective until Jan. 13, while any…