Browsing: FERS

Q. I am 56 and trying to decide whether to retire. I have 30 years of service. I am under the FERS retirement system. I was told if I retire my FERS retirement annuity will not receive COLAs or increase until I am 62. Is this true? I know the FERS supplement does not receive COLAs. I was expecting to receive COLAs, otherwise I will continue to work until 62. FERS retirement is not looking so good afterall.

Q. As a FERS employee, how many hours of sick leave is considered to be equal to a month that can be credited to your longevity computation for retirement? I believe it is 174 hours. A. What you said is basically true, but only after you have met the age and service requirements to retire. Then any days of actual service that don’t add up to a full month are converted to hours and combined with any unused hours of sick leave. If there are enough of those hours, they’ll be used to create additional months and included in your…

Q. I am 58 and was RIF’d in August 1996. I started work in 1988 and also have four years military service; however, I didn’t make a deposit to get credit for it. Can I do that now? Is it possible for me to apply for a FERS retirement this year? A. No, you can’t make a deposit now. Only employees can make a deposit. Since you only have 8 years of creditable service, you won’t be eligible for a deferred annuity until you reach age 62. That’s assuming that you didn’t ask for a refund of your retirement contributions…

Q. I am 58 with 30 years in FERS. My overseas assignment is up, and I do not have return rights. I  am about to register in the Priority Placement Program. When I receive a placement offer, can I refuse the job, quit the government, collect my severance pay and unemployment, and retire when my unemployment runs out, or do I have to retire immediately upon turning down the job placement? A. Because you are eligible to retire, you aren’t entitled to severance pay.

Q. I am a 62-year-old FERS employee. Can I retire with my FERS annuity and TSP and wait until my full retirement age of 66. I do not plan to work  after I leave. A. Yes, you can wait until your full retirement age, however, your Social Security benefit will be based on the amount you were entitled to when you retired.

Q. When I started in August of 1984, I was placed under FERS even though FERS wasn’t put in place until 1987. I read that if you didn’t pay into FERS then that time didn’t count. I don’t remember if any deductions were taken toward my retirement during those years. Does my time from 1984-1987 count toward my creditable service?

Q. If I retire under the MRA +10 FERS category, and postpone receiving my annuity until age 60, what will happen to my unused sick leave? I will be 57 and plan to wait three years until I’m 60 to avoid the penalty. Someone told me to use it all since I’m not retiring on an immediate annuity and I do not get any credit. A. Sick leave is never used in the computation of a deferred annuity. However, you have no right to burn off your sick leave just because it will be lost. Sick leave can only be…

Q. I have 56 years with 31 years of federal service under FERS and TSP. A friend tells me that we will have to pay Social Security FICA after we retire at age 56. Is this correct? A. The only way that could happen is if you were employed in a job from which Social Security taxes were deducted. FICA taxes are never deducted from an annuity.

Q. I am working as a civil servant after retiring from the military. If I buy back my military time (21 years), will I be eligible for the FERS Social Security supplement at my minimum retirement age of 56? I would have a total combined service of 35 years? A. Yes. However, your special retirement supplement would be based solely on your years of FERS employment. Active-duty service for which you’ve made a deposit, wouldn’t be included in that calculation.

Q. I am an ATC FERS Front Line Manager who will retire in the next couple of years with 26 years of service. Will I be paid out for accrued sick leave and annual leave? A. You’ll receive a lump-sum payment for your annual leave. Your unused sick leave will be added to your actual service and, if there’s enough of it, used in the computation of your annuity.

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