Q. I am 63 and a FERS employee, and I plan to retire this summer, but I want to reach 20 years of service to get 22 percent of my high-3 salary for my pension. I have 19 years and eight months of service and 1,600 hours of sick leave. My calculations indicate my sick leave will add four months to my service, so that I would have 20 years of service and could receive the higher multiplier (1.1 percent versus 1 percent). I have found regulations that indicate you cannot use sick leave for retirement eligibility, but I cannot find anything that…
Browsing: high-3
Q. I retired Dec. 3 on disability retirement after 13½ years’ service with the USPS. I am receiving 60 percent of high-3 the first year and 40 percent of high-3 the second year until age 62, which will be in July 2014. In applying for disability retirement, I cited 5 Department of Labor-accepted, on-the-job injuries to feet, two torn biceps and shoulder surgeries, as well as intercostal chondritis. I also cited worsening back condition and other conditions I am receiving VA compensation for. My high-3 is approximately $54,000, and I receive $2,708 from OPM under FERS disability retirement. I was…
Q. At the time of the last offering to change to FERS, HR encouraged me to switch from CSRS to FERS because I am a widow and my widow’s pension would be severely reduced if I stayed in CSRS. I now have 35 years of service and am 61, and I want to retire from the VA and do something else for a while. I am a GS-15 equivalent, with my average high-3 earnings at $135,500. HR ran the numbers, which came out as $4,376 for CSRS and then a $1,571 FERS annuity, totaling $71,364. HR is telling me if…
Q. I worked for the Postal Service as a clerk from 1985 until 1997. When and how much of a pension am I entitled to? A. If you left your contributions in the retirement fund when you left, you’ll be eligible for an annuity at age 62. The amount will be calculated using this formula: 0.01 x your highest three consecutive years of average salary (your high-3) x all years and full months of service.
Q. I am a 56-year-old retired military man. I have 10 years in with civil service. I have filed for military disability due to health problems associated with my military career. Can I draw 100 percent disability from the VA and file for disability from my civil service job and Social Security? If so, how does one calculate the resulting monthly payment? A. If you are approved for disability retirement, your annuity for the first 12 months would be 60 percent of your high-3, minus 100 percent of any Social Security disability benefit to which you are entitled. After that,…
Q. Is the retirement high-3 average affected by taking less than six months leave without pay during the high-3 basic pay years? A. No.
Q. I will be retiring next week from federal law enforcement. I live and work in the San Francisco area. I was initially provided with a calculation based on an average high-3 salary of $145,250 and was told I would receive a net of $6,050 per month. However, when I visited Employee Express this morning, I saw that the agency is now listing my high-3 average as $116,000 and my expected net monthly annuity payment would be around $5,000. I pulled my W-2s for the past three years and confirmed that my top average 3-year salary is $145,250. I’m awaiting…
Q. I am 51 years old, a retired active reservist with 20 years active duty and receiving my pension as of January 2011. I am also a federal employee under FERS and have paid back 14 years active duty for retirement credit. I plan on retiring from the federal government in 2014. Will I receive both pensions? How do I know which one pays more? A. Yes, you will receive both benefits without a reduction in either. Why you want to know which benefit pays more escapes me. You will get what you are entitled to under each retirement system.…
Q. I am 50 years old with 24 years of service under FERS. If I am offered a buyout, would the amount of my retirement annuity be based on the amount I would receive if I retired at 62 or a reduced amount minus the 2 percent reduction per year? A. If you accepted a buyout, it would be based on the standard formula: 0.01 x your high-3 x your years and full months of service. There wouldn’t be any penalty for retiring early. P.S. For FERS employees who retire under the MRA+10 provision, the reduction is 5 percent (not 2 percent) for every year…
Q. I am a CSRS employee who recently had my human resources department do an annuity estimate for me regarding how much my pension would be. How accurate are these estimates, and how can one actually know for sure what the actual amount will be? Also, with the problems that the Office of Personnel Management is having with processing paperwork, I am a little worried that when I retire, I will not receive my pension in a timely fashion. A. There are two ways to check their work. First, get a paper and pencil and plug your numbers into the following formula:…