Q. I will be 62 in August. If I take a deferred retirement in April, can I collect my special retirement supplement until I get my retirement in August? A. A deferred retirement is one in which you leave government and apply for an annuity when you meet the age and service requirements to do so. No one who applies for a deferred annuity is eligible for the special retirement supplement. If you are talking about retiring under the MRA+10 provision and postponing the receipt of your annuity to a later date to reduce or eliminate the age penalty, you…
Browsing: Deferred annuity
Q. I am 52 years old and have 12 years in a federal excepted service position. Due to my excepted service status, do I understand correctly that I have no bump or retreat rights in the event of a reduction in force? For what retirement benefits would I be eligible under these circumstances? A. If you left your contributions in the retirement fund, you would be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62.
Q. I worked for the Defense Department from 1976 to 1985 under CSRS. I withdrew my contributions at that time but find in talking with an Internal Revenue Service agent about another subject that she could see a deferred annuity. Could this be from sick leave that had accrued that I would not get paid out for, or could it be from the employer match of my contributions? A. Because you withdrew your retirement contributions when you left government, you wouldn’t be eligible for any retirement benefit.
Q. I am a full-time letter carrier with 25 years of service at 50 years of age. I am having health issues and have trouble completing my job. I am considering deferred retirement this month. As I understand, I’ll lose my health insurance, but I can apply for my FERS retirement at my minimum retirement age of 56 with no penalty. What is your opinion? A. Unfortunately, you are mistaken. If you resigned and applied for a deferred retirement at age 56, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 60 (5/12 percent…
Q. I turned 62 in 2006 October. Since I am gainfully employed, I did not file for deferred annuity until February 2012. To my surprise, my calculation is showing that my eligibility starts in October 2008 and paid arrears only up to October 2008. Secondly, it appears that cost-of-living adjustments are not considered in calculating arrears. Could you please advise me to understand and resolve this issue? A. According to the Office of Personnel Management, “For a deferred retirement, the commencing date is normally their 62nd birthday. The commencing date remains the same even if they don’t apply until a…
Q. I will turn 62 in March and was planning on retiring with 22 years of service under CSRS. A job opportunity may come available before then, and I’m trying to figure out my options. If I retired now, would there be a significant difference in my annuity because I haven’t turned 62? Should I consider a deferred retirement? If so, until when? Should I keep my federal health benefits even though the new job will have better coverage? I probably will only work there for about five years — the minimum time to become vested in the 401(k) plan…
Q. I am 46 with 22 years of service, and have been told that I will soon receive a letter of directed reassignment to a job in my same grade far outside my commuting area. When the letter arrives, if I should decline to move to the new position, what are my options for drawing retirement? How about insurance? Severance pay? What about my 401(k) in the Thrift Savings Plan? My performance ratings are not an issue. A. Reg: Because you wouldn’t meet the age and service requirements to retire, you’d only have one option. If you didn’t take a refund of…
Q. With five years of federal civilian service and eight years of military paid for, if I left federal service, would I be able to apply for the MRA+10 retirement option when I reached that age, since that would be more than 10 years? Or would it just be a deferred annuity at 62 that I would be eligible for? A. Age 62.
Q. I work for the Postal Service. If my job moves 75 miles away and I only have 15 years of FERS under my belt but will not move, what would be the difference in dollar terms under FERS of resigning with 14½ years at 43 years old vs. putting up with commuting or renting during the workweek for five more years of FERS to make 20 total years at 50 years old. Last high-3 basic pay would be around $56,000 per year. A. If you really want an answer to your question, you’ll have to hire a financial adviser…
Q. My wife is 50 and has been a CSRS postal employee for 32 years. She may lose her job and wants to know if she can retire and freeze her retirement until she turns 56 to avoid the 2 percent per year penalty for her age. A. No, she can’t. If she retires, the reduction will occur on that date. Her only alternative would be to resign from the government and apply for a deferred annuity at age 55, not 56. However, if she is enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits or Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance programs,…