Q. When I turn 56 I will not have 30 years in as a letter carrier for the Postal Service. Can I still retire without a penalty or do I have to work until age 62? A. Because you’ll have at least 20 years service, you can retire at age 60.
Browsing: Early retirement
Q. Can I get a buyout with seven years to go before retirement? A. Any employee who is offered a voluntary separation incentive is free to accept it, whether or not he is eligible to retire. The purpose of the offer is to get employees to leave who wouldn’t do so without the incentive. To also be eligible to retire would require that you meet one of the following age and service criteria: age 50 with 20 years of service or at any age with 25.
Q. I am 58 with 20 years of service. In January of this year, I transferred from a permanent employee to temporary. I was told at first that I was eligible for the early retirement/buyout program. Later, I was told I was not because I am now a temporary employee. This doesn’t seem right. I’ve put in my time. I have the age. I’d like to know if perhaps I really am eligible for the early retirement and buyout. A. No, you aren’t eligible. Because you are in a temporary position, you fail the first criterion to receive a voluntary separation…
Q. I retired in 2007 on voluntary early retirement with a little over 31 years of service. I switched from CSRS to FERS in 1998. I will reach my minimum retirement age of 56 in 2014. Each statement that I receive from Social Security shows my estimated payment less than the year before because I am not working. Will the supplemental payment that I receive from OPM at 56 be based on the Social Security statement from the year I retired or from the year that I begin drawing the supplement? A. The amount you receive will be more like…
Q. I am a CSRS Offset employee. I worked full time with the Defense Department under CSRS from 1976 to 1984 and took my retirement with me when I left. That $6,100 has grown to over $33,000 that I will NOT be paying back. I have worked from 1995 until now (July 2011) in a permanent part-time position with the Labor Department. I am 56 years old with 24 years of service (eight not paid back and16 part-time) and am eligible for an early retirement currently being offered. I think that I will be hit with the CSRS Offset and…
Q. Any more word on early-out incentives for 2011/2012, and would we get money or time added on our years? A. We haven’t heard a thing. However, if early retirement offers are made, some of them may come with a financial incentive — aka a buyout. What won’t happen is having years added onto your actual service to either make you eligible to retire or to increase your annuity. There is no provision in law that would permit that.
Q. My wife is 50 and is covered by CSRS. She has 28 years of service and wants to retire early. Is she eligible and what is the penalty? A. She isn’t eligible for early retirement unless her agency offers her that opportunity. And it can’t do that unless OPM has authorized it under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. Even if VERA approval was granted, early retirement offers would only be available to units, occupations, grade levels and/or geographic locations where a reduction in staff is needed. If, by chance, she received such an offer and accepted it, her annuity would be reduced by…
Q. My agency has offered an early out (Voluntary Early Retirement Authority) but no buyout. Now we are hearing that a buyout is coming early in fiscal 2012. If I am approved for VERA, I will have until my retirement effective date to accept or decline. If a buyout (Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment) was offered prior to my retirement date, could I apply for it without losing my already approved VERA and still retire under the early out if not approved for the buyout? A. As a rule, VERAs are offered to a wider audience that are VSIPs, which are…
Q: I work for the DHS/TSA. I am 58 and have worked there for seven years. I fell at work four years ago and have been on workers’compensation since that time. I get cortisone injections but it is becoming more difficult to overcome the pain. I have been working most of the time since then. I am at home now waiting for another injection. Can I retire early and if so, where do I start? Would I ‘retire early’ or apply for disability? A: Even if your agency was offering an opportunity to its employees to retire early, you don’t…
Q. I am a federal employee with 29 years and two months of service to date. I am 56 years old and I am under CSRS. If offered I will take the early-out in December; at that time I will have 29 years and eight months of service. My question is what will happen to my sick leave? A. Any unused sick leave hours will be added to any hours of actual work that don’t add up to a full month. Any additional months created will be added to your actual service and used in the computation of your annuity. For retirement…