Q. I am a full-time Postal Service employee covered under CSRS. I have more than 30 years of service (active Postal Service + military buyback). I am still too young to retire, and will probably work another seven to 10 years. Recently, I changed to a nontraditional full-time position (NTFT) of 35 hours per week. Can you tell me how this reduction in weekly hours will effect the calculation of my high-3 in regards to my retirement? How far out from my retirement date would I need to change back to a full-time (40 hours per week) position to regain…
Browsing: high-3
Q. I’m a FERS employee whose federal service has been broken up by multiple periods of leave without pay due to permanent changes of station accompanying my active-duty spouse. I looked over your website and found lots of questions/answers regarding high-3 and LWOP of less than six months but not much on what happens when it is more than six months. Based on the answers I found, is LWOP greater than six months considered a break in service and thus possibly damaging to your high-3? For example, I worked 18 months at a base salary of $57,146 and $58,141, followed…
Q. I am 45 years old with 13 years of service under FERS and will be resigning this month to pursue other activities. I understand that I would eligible for a full pension (computed on my high-3) at age 62. That is 17 years away and, in the meantime, my defined benefit pension would remain static and thus be seriously eroded by inflation. Is there a way to protect myself against this within the pension system, or can I take a lump sum on separation and roll that into an IRA? If I take the lump sum, must I do…
Q. Is there a calculator where you can enter your service type (FERS vs. CSRS), military buyback years and months, current high-3 and projected retirement age to get an accurate retirement estimate? A. You’ll find what you’re looking for at www.fedbens.us.
Q. I am a FERS employee. I have 18 years of civil service and five years of Air Force service that I bought back for a total of 23 creditable years. I will reach my 30-year service mark long before my minimum retirement age of 57½. How is retirement calculated if I decide to go past the 30 years putting me at 38½ years of civil service and the MRA of 57½? I have heard that for each year over 30 you get additional percentage points.
Q. I am a letter carrier, age 52, started in 1985 and have 28 years of creditable service. If I understand what I’ve gleaned from the posts here and the Postal Service were to offer me a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority this year, 1. Would I begin my annuity immediately? 2. Would I have no reductions in calculations of my annuity? (average high-3 x 1 percent x 28) 3. Would I receive credit for half of my sick leave and all of my annual leave? (How are these applied?) 4. Would I receive the special retirement supplement beginning at age…
Q. I am planning to retire Aug. 15 with 37 years, two months and 12 days under CSRS. I will be 60 years old. I know if I stay more than 40 years, I will get 80 percent of my salary. What I don’t understand, according to my retirement estimates, is that after age 62, I will be getting less of an annuity each year. How can this be? A. It can’t be. Something is wrong with either the estimator you are using or the data you are putting into it. Part of the problem may be that you misunderstand…
Q. I am trying to figure my calculations under FERS disability retirement and Social Security. I am receiving Medicare under Social Security Administration without monetary benefits because of workers’ compensation. Would you please calculate a high-3 of $54,000; and Social Security entitlement of $1,700 monthly on a 60% and a 40%. What would be the separate amounts received from both? Also, do I have to fill out both forms, SF 3112 and a SF 3107 for immediate retirement? I am requesting approval of disability retirement. A. I can’t do your homework for you. What I can do is give you…
Q. I will be a 40-year-old physician with 12 years of military service in 2014. I plan on staying in the reserves. I would like to work for the VA as well, but I don’t know how to calculate my potential retirement benefits, assuming I stay in the military and retire from the Navy as well. I have read things about “buying into” a federal retirement with my years of active duty, but I don’t know what that means or what my best option is. What are my options for retirement if I stay in the Navy and work for…
Q. I’m a rehired annuitant paying into CSRS. The first time I retired, I had 44 years of service and received a refund of the overpayment I had paid into CSRS. I have been re-employed for the last 10 years and have paid into the CSRS again. Upon my next retirement, will I get a refund of the money I have paid into the system or just a recalculation of my pension? A. What would happen is controlled by the 80 percent limit on the amount of annuity you can receive based on your highest three consecutive years of basic…