Q. My husband is a retired FERS employee and I am a current CSRS employee. I am covered as a family member under my husband’s self-and-family coverage. My husband did not elect a survivor annuity. I plan to retire the end of this year. What happens to my Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage if he dies before me? Will I be able to continue the coverage based on my own eligibility, even though he did not elect a survivor annuity? If I elect self-only coverage during the next open season, the change is not effective until Jan. 13, while any…
Browsing: Eligibility
Q. I’m 60 with 24½ years of service. I was gone on detail and my position was filled with a permanent employee. So we are now both in the same position on the org charts. They are having me do the work no one wants to do, like a directives project that was due in 2009. I have been waiting for a buyout, but can they offer me a discontinued service out and are there any benefits? A. No, they can’t. The only way you’d be eligible for a discontinued service retirement is if your agency officially proposed to separate…
Q. I am 47 years old and worked for the post office for three years. During that time, I bought back my military service time of eight years. Am I eligible to someday get that retirement for the 11 years? If not, will I be reimbursed what it cost to buy back my time? Is the Thrift Savings Plan a separate entity, and when can I start receiving that? I’m currently working away from the federal realm. A. Reg: No, you wouldn’t be eligible for an annuity because you didn’t have at least five years of actual civilian service. If…
Q. I am 62 years old working for Postal Service with 21 years in and have received an offer of early retirement with compensation/incentive ($15,000). The deadline to submit the early retirement is Dec. 3 and retirement date is Jan. 31, 2013. If I take the offer and retire, will I still be able to claim for unemployment compensation? If I am, can I claim an unemployment benefit? Up to how many weeks? A. While the matter is one for the employment bureau of your state to decide, as a rule, no one who retires is eligible for unemployment compensation.
Q. I am a postal employee in FERS. I received a document from my human resources department, which states that my retirement eligibility date is May 19, 2016 (I was born in 1960). Does this mean I will receive the special retirement supplement even though I began employment with the Postal Service on Feb. 8, 1988, which only gives me 28 years of service time? I thought the FERS annuity supplement had the requirement of 30 years service time and age 56 for me. I have to make a decision by Dec. 3 as to whether or not to take…
Q. I am a 57-year-old postal employee and I am considering retiring under a FERS Voluntary Early Retirement Authority with 26 years of service. I have reached my mandatory retirement age. Am I eligible for the supplement if I retire Jan. 31, 2013? In researching the special retirement supplement, I read that a bill may have been signed by the president eliminating this benefit for those who retire after Dec. 31, 2012. Can you give me the correct information regarding this supplement? A. Yes, you’ll be entitled to the special retirement supplement. No, the president didn’t sign a bill eliminating that benefit.
Q. I was in CSRS for five years and six months. Returned to the post office in 1993 under CSRS Offset. Reached 20 years under CSRS Offset on Oct. 1. Paid into Social Security for 32 years. What does my retirement look like? I am told I was put into a real bad retirement plan. A. I’ll tell you what your retirement will look like. Then you can go back to whoever told you that you were “put into a real bad retirement plan” and laugh in his face. As a CSRS employee, you’ll be eligible to retire at age…
Q. I am 57 years of age and will retire with 30 years of government federal service. I am under FERS. I have a disabled son in Puerto Rico, who lives with his mother. She has always taken care of him. He was born with a brain tumor and has undergone multiple brain surgeries. He became blind during one of his brain surgeries. Optic nerves were invaded by tumor. Is he entitled to receive a supplement as I will, when I retire? If so, how do I go about requesting this from the Office of Personnel Management? A. Only FERS…
Q. I am under FERS. I worked for the Defense Department from 1987 to 1992, and left the government work. I later returned to DoD in 2005 and have been working there since. My service computation date is Aug. 23, 2000. When I left in 1992, I cashed out the retirement fund. Would I be eligible to buy back the time I cashed out in 1992 for five years of service I had accrued? If so, how could I do it? A. Yes, you can. Just fill out a copy of Standard Form 3108, Application to Make Service Credit Payment,…
Q. I am a FERS employee, and I’m considering a June 1, 2013, retirement date. I will be 57 years old and have 29 years of service on that date. I understand that I would take a 5 percent reduction on my FERS pension for each year under age 62. Will I be eligible for the special retirement supplement? Can I take monthly withdrawals for my Thrift Savings Plan account without being liable for the early withdrawal penalty? A. Reg: No one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is eligible to receive the special retirement supplement. Mike: If you retire…