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…
Browsing: Deferred retirement
Q. I am 58 years old and am separating from a Department of Interior agency due to a term employment expiration. I have 10 years in the federal system: six years as a permanent employee and four years as a term employee. The permanent position was as a GS 11 Step 3, and the term position is a GS-12 Step 5. I am trying to find information regarding retirement options. Where can I look for this kind of information? Specifically, I’d like to calculate how much I may receive if I start taking a pension now, and how much I…
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 a postal employee looking to continue my service with the Army Reserve. Child care cost is about to pass my income level with the Postal Service. With my wife as the main bread winner, we are considering having me separate from the Postal Service to be a homemaker. I have 15 years with the Postal Service and some military time. If I enter the Army Reserve, could I combine my Postal Service years with the reserve retirement? A. No, you can’t. There is no provision in law that would permit you to get credit for your civilian…
Q. How does the new law that provides sick leave credit for longevity operate with immediate, postponed and deferred retirement? Can you get this sick leave credit for service longevity under each of these three categories of retirement? A. No. It only applies to immediate and postponed annuities. The latter is included because it’s actually an immediate annuity, where the receipt of the annuity is postponed to a later date.
Q. I was terminated from my position due to unacceptable performance (not misconduct or delinquency). I was a FERS employee with 12 continuous years of service. Will I be eligible to collect a deferred retirement? A. As long as you leave your contributions in the retirement fund, you can apply for a deferred annuity at age 62. That annuity will be based on your years and full months of service and your high-3 on the day you were terminated.
Q. Where is information on the MRA+10 deferred retirement and restarting your FEHB? This is news to me, and I want to get it right. I haven’t done serious retirement counseling for a while. Since the Transportation Security Administration is now 10 years old, lots of employees are eligible for MRA+10 retirements. A. Go to www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C042.pdf and scroll to Section 42A4.1.1F.
Q. I am a federal employee with the Department of Justice, non-law enforcement, and will have 30 years of service at age 54, approximately two years before my minimum retirement age. Can I leave the government before MRA with 30 years and still be eligible to receive my special retirement supplement and my FERS retirement without a penalty at my MRA? Would I still be able to collect my Thrift Savings Plan, without penalty at my MRA, or would I be required to wait until age 59½? A. Reg: If you left government before reaching your minimum retirement age, you…
Q. The person who processes retirements at my agency told me that I could not retire with 32 years at 51 years. I am an offset employee under CSRS. I thought the Office of Personnel Management indicated that if you retire before 55 years of age, you are penalized 1/6 (no more than 2 percent for the first year and 2 percent for every after for being under 55. So, I resigned. It’s only been a few days. The agency person said I could only retire at this age if they were offering a buyout. That seems right because I was offered…
Q. I will be 60 years old in December and have worked for the U.S. Postal Service 24 years. The Postal Service is cutting back. If I wanted, could I or resign and defer retirement at a later date without losing accumulated benefits? A. Because you are 60 and have at least 20 years of service, you can retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity any time you want.