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…
Browsing: locality pay
Q. I am a civilian employee who accepted a permanent Defense Department GS-07 Target 09 position overseas. The salary in the letter of offer/acceptance that I signed was $66,941 per year, which is the salary I was receiving from my former command, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The $66,941-per-year salary included the cost-of-living adjustment. Because the position is an emergency essential (EE), it took me several months to complete all the requirements. Three days after my household goods were picked up and two days before my original flight schedule, I received an email from the human resources specialist notifying me the change of my pay to $52,642 per year. Nothing…
Q: How will the 2012 final year of conversion to locality pay affect federal employees who are paid at “agency discretion” under a statute which caps their pay at EX-IV, such as those in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Some employees’ basic pay was under the cap when the three-year conversion began. However, in 2012, their pay would exceed the pay cap if the full amount of COLA is converted to locality pay. On the other hand, if the cap is applied, such employees will experience a reduction in gross pay, inconsistent with Congressional intent to protect employees’ pay. See 1915(a)…
Q: I am a 62-year-old FERS employee. I am in a 27 percent locality pay area and have been for many years. There is discussion at my base about transferring our work to another base that has a much lower locality pay. I heard that if I transfer to the other base and then retire, my FERS annuity high-3 would be based on the lower locality pay. Since my pay is topped out, locality pay is the only thing that will change much. Is this “lower” high-3 calculation correct? A: Your annuity will be based on your highest three consecutive…
Q. Is locality pay included in a high 3 for someone who works abroad and retires in the states? A. No. Locality pay is only included in determining an employee’s high-3 if he is receiving it in the U.S. Those working overseas don’t receive locality pay. They get allowances and differentials, which aren’t included.
Q. I work in Honolulu and will be retiring at the end of 2011. Is there a form to fill in to buy back my locality pay so I can get credit for it in my annuity? A. Public Law 111-84 provided for a phased-in conversion from nonforeign area cost-of-living allowances to locality pay over a three-year period beginning in 2010. If you want to get credit for a portion of your COLA as basic pay, you’ll have to complete either a Standard Form 2803 (Civil Service Retirement System) or 3108 (Federal Employees Retirement System), show the dates of the…
Q: When calculating your FERS annuity as a GS employee, do you use the base schedule or is locality pay included? A: Locality pay is included when computing a high-3.
Q: I live in Hawaii where the phase-in for locality pay is taking place. If I leave for one year (for 2011), return and retire on Dec. 31, 2012, can I still buy in to year 2010 for my high-3 computation as part of the buy-in program for anyone retiring by Dec. 31, 2012? A: Only your agency can answer that, with the help of OPM if they are uncertain.
Q: I have been retired from CSRS for five years. I just saw some briefing slides on “Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act of 2009.” It mentioned phasing in locality pay over three years (2011-2012). I am a math analyst, and I like taxes, but still can’t understand the slides. Looks like an advantage, but I’m still trying to understand. Please help explain this. A: The purpose of the act is to phase in the conversion of non-foreign area cost-of-living adjustments — which aren’t included in the computation of an annuity — to locality pay, which is included.
Q: I understand that my FERS law enforcement retirement annuity will be determined by my consecutive high-3. How long do I have to work in a high locality pay area before I am eligible to receive that locality pay during my retirement? For example if I am a GS-13/Step 10 in a “Rest of US” locality pay area for two years, transfer to high locality pay area such as San Francisco (N/CA) as a GS-13/Step 10 for one year and then retire, will my high-3 be calculated as three years as a GS-13/Step 10 from the high locality pay area…