Q. I’m under a federal employee retirement system with a mandatory retirement age of 57 as a law enforcement officer. Additionally, I already bought back approximately four years of active military service. I’m also eligible for a military reserve retirement when I turn 60 after completing 20 years of military reserve service. Would I be eligible to draw retirement benefits under FERS and the military reserve even though I have already bought back my active-duty time? A. Yes.
Browsing: law enforcement
Q. I will be required to retire in May under FERS law enforcement at age 57. If I accept a non-law enforcement government job before then, can I just transfer to that agency, thereby delaying or holding off my law enforcement annuity? I want to avoid the offset of the annuity. A. Yes, if you have at least 20 years of covered service when you are hired into a non-covered position, you can preserve your right to a law enforcement retirement benefit. Since you won’t be receiving an annuity, you can continue working and receive the full salary of your…
Q. If I retire at age 51 with 27 years as a federal law enforcement officer and the FERS special retirement supplement is reduced by 5 percent per year that I am under age 62, does that then mean the FERS SRS will increase by 5 percent each year until I reach the age of 62 when Social Security actually kicks in? A. You’ll be happy to know that there won’t be any reduction in the special retirement supplement when you retire. Nor will there be any reduction in your annuity. As a special category employee, you are exempt from…
Q. I am eligible to retire this year from federal law enforcement (age 51 with 20 years as an officer). I am serving on active-duty military orders, which will continue for the next three years. If I retire from my law enforcement position, can I suspend (NOT cancel) my health care coverage option (and premiums) while I am on active duty and covered by Tricare? I would not be eligible for Tricare between ages 55 and 60 and therefore would not want to lose access to this important coverage when my military tour ends. A. Yes, you can suspend your FEHB coverage under…
Q. I have an employee who wants to know if his GS-1810 (Investigator) service from Aug. 14, 1995, to May 2, 1999, with the Department of Justice will be credited toward the GS-1811 (Criminal Investigator) time even though he did not pay that time into the law enforcement officer FERS retirement fund and if so, can he pay into it? He would like to retire early under the LEO provisions of FERS? A. He can’t “pay into it.” That period of employment isn’t covered service and can’t be credited toward the years needed to qualify for LEO retirement.
Q. I am currently a federal employee and my career is as follows: I joined the military reserves at 17 and was activated for the Gulf War, received two years of credible service. I began my civilian career at age 23 as a customs inspector (non-6 (c) coverage) and was there for three years. At age 26, I became an 1811 with the INS for two years. At age 29, I joined ATF as an 1811. Now I am 39. If I buy back my military time now, would that allow me to retire at age 46 with 20 years…
Q. I will have 20 years of 6c covered service at age 43. If I accepted a noncovered law enforcement position at that time and worked until I was 50, could I collect right away, or would I have to wait until I reach my minimum retirement age? A. You’d have to wait until you reach your MRA.
Q. I need clarification regarding the blog “2012 outlook eases slightly with COLA’s return” and the FERS annuity supplement. If I retire under FERS with 6c law enforcement coverage at age 51 and my minimum retirement age is 57, at what time will I be subject to the earnings test and my supplement reduced if my earnings exceed the permitted amount? Your comments about “two exceptions” make it sound as though those under 6c are not subject to the earnings test at all, before or after the minimum retirement age. Yet your last sentence, “In either case, when you reach…
Q. I retired with FERS law enforcement benefits, am 59 and have maintained continuous federal health care coverage from day one under either me or my wife. My spouse will take an unreduced CSRS annuity with a survivor benefit from the Postal Service next year at age 55. We took family coverage under her when we had children, now ages 19 and 14. Her premium rates as an active postal employee were lower than my options active or retired. When she retires and her premiums rise to my level, we would like to make me the policyholder. As retired law…
Q. I am a 48-year-old 1811 with 22 years of service as a special agent. Do I have any retirement options other than serving another two years with the FBI or in another agency as an 1811? If in the next year, I obtain a non-1811 or non-law-enforcement Senior Executive Service position with another agency, how will that affect my retirement? A. Since you have at least 20 years of covered service, you could take any other job and be able to retire when you reach your minimum retirement age, which would be 56. Those 20 years would be calculated…