Q. I have been a part-time federal employee under CSRS for 32 years. How will my time in service be calculated for retirement? Is it counted year for year as a full-time employee is counted? I will be 55 in six years, and I would like to start planning now for the day I can retire. A. Your years will be counted as though you were full time, but your annuity will be prorated to account for the fact that you did not work full time. Due to a change in the law, which is to your benefit, your annuity…
Browsing: high-3
Q. I had 38 years of federal service with the Architect of the Capitol. Will I receive the extra money paid into CSRS system six years past 32 years? How will that money be paid to me? A. As a rule, CSRS employees have to work 41 years and 11 months to earn an annuity that equals 80 percent of their high-3. That’s the maximum amount that can be paid in an annuity based on creditable service. Only special category employees, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, can reach the 80 percent limit with fewer years and full months…
Q. I worked for the Department of the Army as a civilian from 1966 to 1972. I do not remember if I took my retirement as a lump sum when I left. How do I find out if I am still in the program and what my payments would be if I went on retirement? A. Go to www.archives.gov/st-louis, click on Official Personnel Folders, and follow the directions for making an inquiry. If you did leave your contributions in the retirement fund, your annuity at age 62 would be calculated using the standard CSRS formula: 0.015 x your highest three…
Q. I understand that if I resign from federal service after the age of 43 with only 20 years of law enforcement service and five years of non-LEO service that I will lose the opportunity for immediate annuity; I will not be eligible for deferred annuity until my minimum retirement age, which I believe is 57; I will lose my special Social Security annuity; and I will lose my life and medical benefits. If I decide to leave federal service at age 43, would I receive my annuity at the 1.7 percent LEO rate? Then, when I reach age 57…
Q. I’ve been in FERS for 26 years. I’m waiting for an early-out, but if that doesn’t happen I was thinking of bidding on a part-time or nontraditional job with fewer than 40 hours a week. How would this affect my retirement based on the high-3 average used to calculate annuity? My minimum retirement age is 56, so in 2014 I will have 28.7 years. Will I be penalized if I retire then? Will it be 5 percent for every year under 62? A. Your high-3 will be based on the average annual rate of basic pay during your highest…
Q. I have 25 years in civil service. I have a Thrift Savings Plan account and, once I retire, do I get an annuity automatically or do I have to use the money in the TSP account to get that? Should I buy an annuity or just take a monthly payment from the TSP account? Not sure if I will have enough to retire. I heard that in FERS, the government gives an annuity and then you get TSP. But when I go to the website to estimate how much I have in the TSP, I do not see the…
Q. I am a FERS employee, age 60 with 20 years service, and have several health issues which have decreased my ability to perform the duties of my position. There is no position in which I can be placed. I have been told by a human resources retirement counselor that because I am eligible for an immediate annuity, I cannot file for disability retirement since it would be more beneficial financially to voluntarily retire. I was also told that after applying for voluntary retirement, I should file for disability through Social Security. Is this correct? Which is the most beneficial…
Q. I am 54 and have almost 25 years of service to my agency. I am considering separating in a few months when I reach my 25-year mark. I understand my annuity will be 25 percent of my high-3 salary years. Can I assume that the salary used for computation is what I actually earned as a .8 employee, rather than the full GS salary rate? If I take deferred retirement at age 62, will I avoid any penalties? And will I be able to opt back into federal health insurance at age 62? A. If you resign from the government, you would…
Q. I’m a PSE 13/13 for the Forest Service, and I’m wondering if anybody knows how they calculate your high-3 years of salary when you don’t work all 26 pay periods. I talked with a few folks at Albuquerque Service Center, and they told me my retirement would be based on what my yearly salary would be if I worked year-round (even though they understand that I only work part of the year). I assumed it would have to be prorated somehow. Say for example on paper my yearly salary for 26 pay periods is $40,000 but I only work 13 pay periods netting $20,000. I…
Q. I recently completed 25 years of service with the U.S. Postal Service as a FERS employee. I’m 47 years old (I’ll be 48 on Nov. 25). If VERA is offered, will I be eligible? How could this benefit me? I’m not enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. I chose to withdraw years ago because I have another full-time job in which I have health benefits and do not plan to leave any time soon. A. It’s up to you to figure out if accepting early retirement would benefit you. If you accepted the offer, you’d receive an…