Q. I am reading in a Blue Cross/Blue Shield brochure that you have to be a federal employee as of Jan. 1, 1983, to get free Medicare Part A. I joined in March 1983 and do not have Social Security eligibility. Will I get Part A for free or not? What is the significance of Jan. 1, 1983? A. Here’s the scoop from the Social Security Administration: “Federal employees are required to contribute to the Medicare Trust Fund and are therefore eligible for Medicare. This provision is referred to as the Medicare Qualified Government Employees (MQGE) provision. “All wages paid…
Browsing: Eligibility
Q. Under FERS, I can retire at 20 years and age 50+ only if early retirement is offered. But because I am now “mission critical,” I am not eligible for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority even if it is offered, which means I have to wait until I am 65 with 30 years before I can retire. Is this correct? A. No. Depending on your age and years of service, you can retire on an immediate unreduced annuity at age 60 with 20 or at your minimum retirement age with 30. MRAs range between 55 and 57 depending on your year…
Q. I retired from the Army after 18 months of military service at age 22 because of combat wounds. I retired from a nonprofit and went to work for the government at age 56. I am now 62 and have eight years of federal service (executive agency), including depositing the 18-month military buyback. At what age and number of federal service years am I eligible to retire and receive medical benefits as a retiree? A. You could retire now if you wanted to. Any federal employee with five years of service can do that. As for medical benefits, there aren’t…
Q. My father was a federal employee for many years and he retired in 1983. He passed away in 2004 at the age of 80. My mother has been receiving an annuity benefit since that time. The only insurance that my father ever had was his Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal. Why was he (and now my mother) not eligible for Medicare Part A? Shouldn’t he have been paying into the Medicare system through payroll deductions when he was employed with the Federal Communications Commission? A. Because he was a CSRS employee who retired before December 31, 1983, he didn’t have…
Q. My organization has been approved for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. I am covered by FERS and will have 30 years creditable service May 24 at age 57. Am I still eligible to request a VERA after I have reached the 30-year mark? I also have two years of temporary service that I can buy back for approximately $2,500. What would be the monthly pension amount with 30 years versus 32 years, if I purchased the two years of temp time? A. Although you could accept a VERA, there wouldn’t be any point in doing that if you already have the…
Q. I am a FERS employee with 20 years service at age 59. If I retire now, will I be eligible for the special retirement supplement when I turn 60, or must I still be working to qualify? A. If you retired at age 59 with 20 years of service, you’d be doing so under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with 10 to 29 years of service). Not only would your annuity be reduced by 5 percent per year (5/12 percent per month) that you were under age 62, but you wouldn’t be entitled to the special retirement supplement.
Q. My husband, who is 98 years old, worked for the Postal Service in Chicago from 1937 to 1942, then joined the Army to fight in World War II. He took a leave of absence from the Postal Service until the war ended and returned to the Postal Service in 1947 and worked until 1948, when he entered graduate school under the GI Bill. He did not take a refund of his CSRS contribution. Is he eligible for a pension? A. If what you say is true, he may very well be eligible for an annuity. To find out, he’ll have to…
Q. I am eligible for retirement in July. I started under CSRS and transferred to FERS. I know that after Jan. 1, 2014, I will get time of service for all of my sick leave. How is that figured? Do 2,080 hours add one year of service? A. No, 2,087 hours equals one year. Therefore, a month of additional credit is roughly 174 hours. Be aware that unused sick leave isn’t treated separately. It’s added to any hours that weren’t used in the computation of your annuity. There are usually some hours left over because your annuity is based on…
Q. I am a permanent, full-time, nonconditional federal employee (GS-7) under the FERS retirement program. I am 64 years old and will have five years of service Sept. 14. Am I eligible for any of the early retirement programs even though I do not have more than 20 years of service? A. Until you reach age 62, you aren’t eligible to retire. However, when you turn age 62, you can retire on an immediate annuity. That opportunity is open to any employee who is at least age 62 and has five years of service.
Q. I have been retired under Social Security disability since 2000. I declined Part B because of federal insurance. My Postal Service disability turned over to regular pension at age 62. I am now 64. According to new law, I am eligible for regular Social Security at age 66. Will my federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield continue until age 66, or does it end at age 65? And do benefits change at all? Do I then have to apply for Part B at 65, or do I wait to apply at 66? And do I have to pay a penalty for…