Q. “All eligible employees who want to retire by Sept. 30 are offered at this time.” I’m one of them. I’m 55 and will be 56 on Oct. 7. I want to retire. I have 22 years of federal service at this time (FERS). If I retire, can I draw my FERS annuity supplement as soon as I turn 56, or would I need to wait until they offer the early-out again? My service computation date is Jan. 3, 1990. A. You would receive the special retirement supplement as soon as you reached your minimum retirement age, which is 56.
Browsing: Early retirement
Q. I have 11 years in FERS and I’m 60. If I take early retirement, will my annuity be reduced? A. Yes, it will be reduced by 5 percent for every year you are younger than 62.
Q. I am an EAS employee in FERS with 23 years of service at age 63. I have been enrolled self-only in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan for 4½ years. Should I be terminated through a reduction in force, would I still be able to carry my coverage into retirement although I am short of the five-year enrollment requirement. I understand that there are certain exemptions to the five-year rule. I did not plan to retire until I reached 65. A. You’d receive a pre-approved waiver of the five-year requirement because you would meet the criteria: You were covered under…
Q. Can early-out money be used to pay back refunded money? Since the Office of Personnel Management sends you the option either to buy time back or not, you would have the early-out money in hand. A. Yes, you can redeposit the amount you owe prior to the final adjudications of your claim by OPM.
Q. I am an active federal employee with eight years active-duty military behind me, for which I haven’t made a deposit. I have 14 years total service and want to optimize my potential for retirement benefits and most of what I have read is very hard to understand. What I am looking at are my options as to when I can retire and the negative effects of that decision based on each specific date and time in service. 1. I was thinking of retiring at 49 years old, which would give me 30 years federal service. Are there any benefits to this…
Q. I am 58 and have 24 years in the post office. Can I retire if they offer an early out? A. Yes, because you are at least 50 and have at least 20 years of service.
Q. I have an employee who wants to know if his GS-1810 (Investigator) service from Aug. 14, 1995, to May 2, 1999, with the Department of Justice will be credited toward the GS-1811 (Criminal Investigator) time even though he did not pay that time into the law enforcement officer FERS retirement fund and if so, can he pay into it? He would like to retire early under the LEO provisions of FERS? A. He can’t “pay into it.” That period of employment isn’t covered service and can’t be credited toward the years needed to qualify for LEO retirement.
Q. I qualify for a buyout with 25-plus years of service. If I take the buyout, it is my understanding that I must wait until my normal minimum retirement age of 56 to begin receiving the Social Security supplement. Would this prevent me from receiving increases in Social Security supplemental benefits that I would have received had I waited until 56 to retire? I believe I would get the increases at 62, in any event, when I could first draw reduced SS benefits. Also, what happens to my Thrift Savings Plan account? May I purchase an immediate annuity and/or take a…
Q. I’m a FERS employee in a permanent, salaried position with the Air Force. I’m eligible for immediate retirement in December at age 60 with 28.5 years. With all the civilian cuts in the Department of Defense (no official reduction in force yet), are there any safeguards that protect people this close to retirement so they don’t have to worry about losing their jobs (and well-deserved benefits)? All I’ve found is: 1) my seniority (for RIF purposes), and 2) CFR Title 5, Ch. 1, SubCh. A, Part 351.606 and Part 630.212. A. No, there aren’t any safeguards as such. However, because you would meet the…
Q. If I buy back my military time (20 years), I’ll have 35 years of federal service and be 54 years of age. If an early retirement is offered, would I be eligible? A. Yes.