Q. I have 27 years with the government. At 23 years, I took a job with excepted service and it was not explained to me that they never offer early retirements. Is there any possibility of getting a retirement under FERS with excepted service at less than the full retirement number of years and age? A. You didn’t mention how old you are. If you have reached your minimum retirement age, you could retire under the MRA+10 provision. However, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 60.
Browsing: Early retirement
Q. Does it take about the same amount of time to start receiving early retirement pay as disability retirement pay? If so, is there any advantage to applying for both when you qualify for both? I’m under FERS, age 59 with 20 years of service. A. If your agency offers you an opportunity to retire early and you accept it, it will forward your application to the Office of Personnel Management, which, after a few weeks, will put you in interim pay status until it can finalize your annuity. If you apply for disability retirement, it will take time for…
Q. Can I retire at 51 with 22 years of service? A. Not unless your agency offers you that opportunity under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. If you aren’t offered one but still want to leave, you could resign and apply for a deferred retirement at age 60.
Q. I am a federal law enforcement officer (6c covered). I want to do 20 years covered and five years nonlaw enforcement. I will be 48 with 25 years (20 law plus five nonlaw). Can I retire at 48 with law enforcement retirement, or would I have to wait until I turn 50? I was told by HR that I could do the 20 and five and retire with enhanced retirement. The goal is to do my 20 and get out of law enforcement but retain the enhanced retirement. A. You would have to have 25 years of covered service…
Q. I submitted my application for retirement at the Postal Service, accepting the early-out. While waiting for my returned papers, I received a letter from Postal headquarters stating I was put in the wrong retirement. As I had more than five years of prior service, I should have been put in CSRS Offset instead of FERS, so it says to be patient and Washington will send me a new retirement package. With my Jan. 31 retirement date approaching, what can I do? A. If you had five years of CSRS service before Jan. 1, 1987, you should have remained in…
Q. I retired Aug. 31 after 30 years as a mailhandler. Would it benefit me now to buy back my military time? I have the information I need and I am ready to put the check in the mail to buy it back. I just can’t find the info on how long I have after retirement to buy it back. Will it benefit me after I have already retired under the mailhandler early-out? I am 57, and retired under FERS. A. You’re too late. Only employees can make a deposit to get credit for their active-duty service.
Q. My agency will be offering early retirement this year, and I am confused as to whether I will be penalized if I accept it. I have 25½ years of service and will turn 50 in October. What are the negatives for my taking an early retirement — that is, penalties, loss of benefits, etc.? A. If you accepted the early retirement offer, your annuity would be based on the standard FERS formula and your years and full months of service. You’d also receive credit for half of your unused sick leave in your annuity computation. Further, the 5 percent…
Q. Since retirement and receiving pension from CSRS Offset at age 59, the offset was applied at age 62. Can I be denied payment of the offset amount by Social Security? Denial was based on my current self-employment with an income higher than the minimum level for early retirement. I am qualified for other retirement benefits at age 66. A. Yes, if you exceeded the Social Security annual earnings limit. It reduces your Social Security benefit by $1 for every $2 you earn above the limit, which is $14,640 in 2012. If you had reached your full Social Security retirement…
Q. I retired as a federal employee in 2007. I took an early-out and am receiving my pension. I was CSRS Offset. I am working full time at a local school district and am 58 years old. The way I understand what I’ve read so far is that when I turn 62, using the formula that has been in your other responses, Social Security will be paying about $550 of my annuity payment. I will have 28 years of Social Security payments when I reach 62. My Social Security benefit at that point, should I retire, will be 20 percent…
Q. I bought back my military time and will have 15 years (combined military/federal service) in 2013. I am under FERS. My husband has a rare form of cancer that has left him permanently disabled and his prognosis is unknown due to the rarity of the cancer. Is it possible for me to retire early — I am 49 — and keep my benefits so that I can take care of him? A. Unfortunately, no. The earliest you could retire would be at your minimum retirement age, which is 56. Even then, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent…