Q. If I take the $15,000 retirement incentive being offered now, (I have 25 years under FERS, am a Postal Service employee, and am 64 years old), will my Blue Cross premiums go up? If so, by how much? I now pay $81.68 a month. Also, if I decide to get married, my family option now would be $203.61 a month. How much would these premiums be if I take the retirement incentive? I must make the decision by Dec. 3. Is the FERS pension amount taxed? If so, is it taxed by income and Federal Insurance Contributions Act? My…
Browsing: FICA
Q. Is the lump-sum payment subject to the same deductions and allotments to which one’s regular salary would be — i.e., federal tax withholding, state tax withholding, FICA and retirement? A. Everything except retirement.
Q. I was employed by the Navy as a contracting officer. After 41 years with the government, I officially retired and was drawing a monthly annuity check from OPM from my CSRS retirement plan. My former Navy employer offered me a contracting position, and I returned to the Navy as a Department of Defense re-employed annuitant, which means I still collected my CSRS annuity check monthly and was paid by the Navy. As a re-employed annuitant, I was told I had to pay into FICA (Social Security) and was not allowed to pay into CSRS because I had officially retired.…
Q. I worked from 1992 to 1995 as resident in VA. Human resources states that because it was after 1989 and I was covered under FICA, I cannot pay back to get credit under FERS. Is that true? A. Yes, it’s true. That’s because nondeduction service performed after Jan. 1, 1989, isn’t creditable. And a deposit can’t be made to make it so.
Q. I recently sent out a 3108 form to see if my time in the federal government can be repaid. I worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1983 to 1984 and the U.S. Postal Service from 1985 to 1988. Since most of that time was spent in the old CSRS Retirement System, I was told by Human Resources that this would count toward my annuity if I buy back my time and if I had in fact paid FICA during the times in question. Is this true? A. If retirement deductions were taken from your pay during those years,…
Q. As a CSRS Offset employee, I understand that once the FICA limit is reached, my retirement contribution will increase as the FICA withholding is decreased as discussed in the following paragraph: CSRS Offset employees contribute 0.8 percent (.008) of their after-taxed wages to the CSRS Retirement and Disability Fund, and 6.2 percent of their wages is subject to the FICA tax up to the maximum Social Security wage base ($106,800 in 2009). If a CSRS Offset employee earns more than the maximum wage base, then FICA taxes will stop being withheld until the end of the calendar year. CSRS…
Q: I will be retiring when I am 62 and my wife is 64. Currently my health care works fine but I am lost when it comes to Medicare. When we hit 65 are we required to get Medicare parts A and B? And if we do have to get Medicare, which one will be our primary? A: If you have had Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) deductions taken from your pay, you will be eligible for Medicare Part A. If you are retired, you won’t have to pay any premiums for this benefit. On the other hand, with Medicare…
Q: I am a federal employee and I am also receiving Social Security benefits. I understand that when I retire and start receiving my civil service annuity, my monthly Social Security benefits will be recalculated because of the windfall elimination provision. At the time I started receiving Social Security, my number of years of substantial earnings for WEP purposes was 23. Because I am a Federal Employees Retirement System transferee, my current salary is subject to FICA. Will the years subsequent to the initial receipt of Social Security will be added to my 23 years? In other words, if I…
Q: I got hired in the Defense Department fire service as a GS 0099 student trainee (firefighter) in 2006. When I started I was scheduled to work a full 72-hour work week and was not restricted from any duties. All my retirement codes were “M” for special retirement. In 2009, most of the 0099 SF 50 codes were changed to “K,” but not all of them: Four of my SF 50s are still “M.” Does it matter the series number for special retirement? I need to know the proper code. A: It makes a tremendous difference. “M” is the code…
Q: I’ve been a Federal Employees Retirement System employee of the Veterans Affairs Department since 1986. Human Resources changed my retirement code from 2 to C — but I have not requested any changes. It is almost impossible to see the retirement representative from HR, yet I’m trying to make an appointment with HR to get an explanation. Can you explain? A: I can tell you what but not why. Retirement code 2 is FICA. It means that “you are covered by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act – Social Security only. You are not covered by a retirement system for…