Q. My husband had 16 years of military service (no retirement received). He is now 65 and may soon be employed in civil service. At age 70, he would have about 21 years of federal employment and military combined. Is he then eligible for retirement at age 70?
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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. I have a little over 13 years of FERS service. I am 51 years old. I originally planned on retiring at 56 (MRA+10) but I have recently been contemplating retiring now under a deferred retirement. 1. If I retire now (deferred), will I be able to draw the retirement at 56, or will I have to wait until age 62? 2. If I choose to withdraw my retirement versus defer it, is there a calculator somewhere that can give me a general idea of how much I would get? A. You can’t retire. What you can do is resign…
Q. I worked for the Postal Service from late 1979 until about 1991. I had a lot of personal and work-related problems and was also given a letter of termination. I decided to quit. I also tried to pursue a disability, but I dropped that because of stress and depression. I withdrew my retirement to pay an accumulation of four months of bills and rent that I was behind in. I vaguely recall reading that there was a buyback of retirement. Is this true? I am applying for Social Security benefits. I am only 58, but, due to health concerns,…
Q. I am 54 years old and was employed with a federal agency for 17 years from 1979 to 1996. Upon resignation to enter the private sector, I withdrew 100 percent of my CSRS contributions. If I return to full-time federal employment this year, do I have the option of buying back the creditable service of 17 years for the same amount that I withdrew in 1996? Secondly, would I be able to continue with CSRS rather than FERS upon re-employment? Would I be eligible to retire after eight more years of federal employment service? A. If you returned to…
Q. I am with the USPS and am in CSRS. I began working in 1973 and quit in 1977, at which time I withdrew my retirement money. I returned to the USPS in 1983 and am still there. Do I need to redeposit the money I withdrew to get credit for 33 years of service? If I do not redeposit the money, will my annuity be decreased? A. Because you got that refund before Feb. 28, 1991, you’ll get credit for that time in determining you total years of service. However, if you don’t redeposit that money, plus accrued interest,…
Q. I started employment with the Defense Department in September 1981 under CSRS. In 1995, I took advantage of a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay because my organization was downsizing. I also took a refund on my retirement account, which I tried to invest in buying a home and lost it. I was reinstated in the government in 2004 and came back as CSRS Offset. I also rolled my 401(k) from the job I had outside the government into the Thrift Savings Plan. I will be 65 on March 7, and was planning to retire in May. Because…
Q. How can I find out the total value of my CSRS pension? Is there a methodology or interactive tool online where I enter my annual earnings throughout my career and a value is produced? I am a few years away from retirement and, from my annual personal benefits statement, I see my estimated monthly annuity based on options for when I retire and what survivor benefit I choose. But what is the total value today: past contributions + interest? My situation: totally CSRS (no FERS), no break in service, no extra contributions or withdrawals, just a straight 30 years…
Q. I left federal service in 1988 after 13 years of service and took out my CSRS money, which was about $20,000 at that time. I have decided to return to federal service and want to be in CSRS Offset. I was told that repayment would include yearly interest and would be about $80,000. How is interest calculated? May I roll over either an IRA, Roth or my personal 401(k) into the CSRS Offset account to repay my debt and avoid paying taxes? What about the taxes on the $20,000 that I paid in 1988? Would they eliminate at least…
Q. I worked from October 1985 to April 1991 for the post office and was part-time flexible for 13 months of it. I cashed out my retirement when I left. If I took a federal job, would I be allowed to buy that time back for retirement? Also, if that job was not with the Postal Service, would this affect retirement benefits? A. If you return to work, you could redeposit that money, plus accrued interest. It doesn’t make a difference whether you work for the Postal Service or any other federal agency. They’re all under the same retirement system.