Q: Is there a schedule that I can see that shows dollar amounts for age and years of service for civil service retirees? A: No, nor could there be. That’s because annuities are computed using a formula that includes an employee’s highest three consecutive years of average salary and his years and full months of service. As a rule, age is only used in combination with years of service to determine if an employee is eligible to retire.
Browsing: CSRS
Q: I am currently 65 and a federal employee with four years and one month continuous full-time service with health insurance. My husband, age 62, is receiving a CSRS annuity, has federal health insurance, and retired after 34 years of civil service. We married 9/25/10, and were told I could be on his health insurance. He sent the required marriage certificate and letter of request. (We both had checked on the process for health insurance that this was acceptable). However, his health carrier stated that if he died before I did, I would be removed from the health insurance because he did not elect…
Q: I am 60 and will retire Nov. 3 with 37 years under CSRS. My wife is 59 and we are covered under Federal Employees Health Benefits. She is disabled and receiving Social Security benefits. My question is, when will she have to sign up for Medicare Part B and which insurance will be primary? A: According to the Social Security Administration, because she is under 65 and disabled, she’ll automatically get Part B. She’ll get her Medicare card in the mail about 3 months before her 65th birthday or after her 25th month of disability. Because she is unemployed, Medicare…
Q: I switched from CSRS to FERS right at the end of 1987. I had six years under FERS. I would like to retire at the end of 2014 when I turn 62. I have two years of substantial earnings in the early ’80s. My question is whether years of substantial earnings that I earned before I was 21 count toward the 30 years of substantial earnings that I need to avoid any reduction? A: Years of substantial earnings under Social Security count no matter when, where or at what age they are earned.
Q: I worked for the federal government under the Civil Service Retirement System from 1967 until my retirement in 2001. About to turn 65 in December 2010, I applied for Medicare Part A and Part B, and was told that I do not qualify because I have only 18 quarters of the required 40 quarters. It was my understanding, which I admit could be faulty, that Medicare deductions were taken out of my paycheck since 1983 until I retired in 2001. Is there a mistake, or am I totally out to lunch? I guess I’m not too concerned because I’m…
Q: I have a military pension that just began Nov. 1 for my 20 years in the National Guard. How will this pension affect my CSRS pension from the U.S. Postal Service after 33 years of service? A: It won’t affect your CSRS annuity in any way unless your retired pay from the National Guard includes any periods of active-duty service for which you haven’t made a deposit to the civilian retirement system. If it does, those years of active duty service for which you haven’t paid a deposit will be eliminated at age 62 , if you are retired,…
Q: I am 58 years old and a CSRS employee with 33 years of service. During the past 30 years I have paid and accumulated 14 years of “substantial” earning under to Social Security. If I am still working when I am 62, can I apply for Social Security benefits without the WEP decreasing my payments? Is it correct that WEP only takes effect once the individual retires from federal service? A: While the windfall elimination provision doesn’t apply until you retire, if you apply for a Social Security benefit at age 62, you will be subject to the Social…
Q: I am a CSRS Offset federal employee with 18 years of service and I am now 53. I expect to retire at 65 with a total of 30 years of federal government service. Will my retirement be offset at the age of 65 with 30 years of service when I apply for Social Security? A: Yes, your CSRS annuity will be reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while employed under CSRS Offset. The total you receive will be the same, it will just come from two different places, OPM and the Social Security Administration.
Q: Most questions about WEP have centered around federal employees retiring under CSRS. I am a federal employee with 11 years of service under FERS. As a result, I have paid Social Security on my previously earned income. If I leave federal service now, I should get an annuity of 1 percent of the high-three, times the number of years of service. Figure about $11,000 per year. I am considering accepting a job with the United Nations in Europe. Based on the literature, the United Nations income is paid on a “net basis” with the “gross-net” differential going toward funding…
Q: When I retire from the USPS under CSRS I plan to switch to self-only insurance. My husband will be going into the USPS under FERS. He plans on taking out family insurance because we still have a 20-year-old son that we plan to cover. From what I have read this is not possible. I don’t want to risk giving up my health insurance just in case something happens and my husband can’t work. One of us must take the family option because of my son. Can I have self-only while he takes the family option? If not, what would…