Browsing: lump sum

Q. My husband of six months passed away in April 2005 while an active federal employee. His will made me the personal representative and his daughter (my stepdaughter) as alternate if I should not wish to be the personal rep. After his death, his daughter said she would be the personal rep because I asked her to since the estate would be given to his three children. After his death, I was told that I had no claim on his FERS account since we were not married for a year. But do his grown children? If not, what happens to…

Q. I am anticipating retiring Jan. 3 after almost 40 years of continuous service for the Veterans Affairs Department. I recall, many years ago, retirees electing withdrawal of their cumulative contributions to the retirement fund and receiving a minimum penalty in their annuity. I am unable to find anything online relating to this option and my human resources people say they’ve never heard of it. When did we lose this option? On that subject, my earnings and leave do not reflect the total amount that I have contributed to the retirement fund, but only the amount contributed since conversion to…

Q. I will be retiring this year from FERS under MRA +10. I plan to select an immediate annuity postponed for payment to start Dec. 12, 2014, when I turn 62. I want to have my sick leave used to calculate my annuity based on full amount so I will select a date of Jan. 1, 2014, or later. To ensure I can cash out maximum annual leave, what is the last day of the 2013 leave year so that I can take a lump sum for unused annual leave of around 340 hours? A. For most agencies, the 2013…

Q. I took the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, and my retirement date is Feb. 28. I’m due a lump-sum payment for my unused annual leave. I was told in a letter I would get this in my last salary check. I just got paid on the 15th. So what date is considered my last salary check since my first annuity check is March 1? A. Since salary checks are payments for the preceding two weeks of work, the one you just received would be for that final pay period. While lump-sum payments for unused annual leave are often included in…

Q. Is Feb. 8, 2014, a good time to retire? I am a CSRS employee. I was looking at Dec. 28, 2013, but I am not sure about my sick leave. If I have 160 hours of sick leave on the books, will this count as an additional month added to my retirement? My goal is to have 33 years. For either date, when would I receive my first retirement check? A. Typically, a good day to retire is one that is at the end of a pay period (to get credit for any annual and sick leave earned during…

Q. I am a recently retired CSRS employee. I note a huge inequity concerning my CSRS retirement contributions from the federal retirement benefits booklet the Office of Personnel Management sent me. I am told that I have a retirement contribution credit of $164,836 after-tax dollars. From this amount, I will get 310 equal monthly payments of $531.73 that will be a tax-exempt portion of my total monthly annuity. However, I am told once I receive gross monthly retirement benefits that exceed my contributions (tax exempt and taxed portion), there are no more contribution credits in my account, and no lump-sum…

Q. Because of the budget cuts, my job will be terminated soon. I have been working on a four-year term position (this is the second term, back to back) receiving both full annuity and full salary. I receive and accrue annual leave and sick leave. When I retired some years ago after 29 years of service, I was paid a lump sum for unused leave. In my current situation, will I be eligible to get a lump-sum payment for unused annual leave when I am terminated from this tour? I will not be retiring again, but I will be terminated.…

Q. I am 55 years old and am looking to retire Dec. 31. I am in under CSRS and have 35 years as a federal firefighter. As of the end of 2012, I had accrued 600 hours of annual leave. I plan on saving my annual leave for this year and want to make sure that I will get paid in a lump sum for my accrued hours when I retire. Is this possible? A. As a rule, federal employees working in the U.S. may carry over no more than 30 days (240 hours) from one leave year to the…

Q. I am planning to retire this year at age 60 with 29.7 years of service under FERS. I understand that I will receive the annuity plus special retirement supplement. However, as a widow, I am also allowed to receive my husband’s Social Security payment at age 60. Does this reduce the special retirement supplement? Also, does the special retirement supplement act as earned income under the Social Security earnings test? Finally, does the check you receive after you retire for annual leave count as earned income under the Social Security earnings test? A. Only earnings from wages and self-employment…

Q. My wife, who is terminally ill, is covered by FERS and is an employee of the Postal Service. She is running out of sick and annual leave. If she goes on leave without pay and passes away while on leave without pay, will I, as her current husband (25 years +) still be eligible for the basic employee death benefit (50 percent of final salary plus $15,000)? A. If your wife had more than 18 months service but less than 10 years, you’d receive a lump-sum payment of $31,316.46 plus a lump-sum of the higher of 50 percent on…

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