Q. A friend of mine will soon have 42 years of service. He was told he will receive a lump sum for his sick leave when he retires, since it can’t be added to his years of service at that point. Is this true? A. No. The reverse is true! Although he will have reached the 80 percent limit on the amount of annuity he can receive based on his actual service, he can’t be paid one red cent for his unused sick leave. Instead, that unused sick leave, which isn’t subject to the 80 percent limit, will be added…
Browsing: lump sum
Q. I retired at the end of December. I received my lump sum annual leave payout in January. I am receiving a FERS annuity in addition to my pension. Will this money be counted toward the earnings test for 2012? A. No, your lump sum annual leave payment won’t be subject to the Social Security earnings test. That’s because you’ll be covered by the first year rule. See www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/rule.htm. Note: Only earnings from wages and self-employment are subject to the earnings test, not annuities.
Q. Can a CSRS employee withdraw all or part of their retirement fund and continue working? A. No.
Q. I am a re-employed CSRS annuitant who is receiving both his full annuity and full salary. I receive and accrue annual leave and sick leave. When I retire again, for the second time, I will have accrued and unused annual leave and accrued and unused sick leave. At my retirement, will I be reimbursed for both the accrued and unused annual leave and the accrued and unused sick leave? A. You will receive a lump-sum payment for your unused annual leave. You won’t receive any payment for your unused sick leave because it has no cash value.
Q. Benefits Administration Letter 10-105 made changes to how accrued sick leave is used. As a federal employee participating in the FERS (27 years and age 57), I was approved for disability retirement. My reviews and subsequent understanding for the use of accrued sick leave is, if the disability retirement was approved, I could stay on the payroll and use up my sick leave and subsequently start retirement. So far, I have received a lump-sum payment of my accrued annual leave and was told by my human resources group that the accrued sick leave was used to add time to…
Q. I qualify for a buyout with 25-plus years of service. If I take the buyout, it is my understanding that I must wait until my normal minimum retirement age of 56 to begin receiving the Social Security supplement. Would this prevent me from receiving increases in Social Security supplemental benefits that I would have received had I waited until 56 to retire? I believe I would get the increases at 62, in any event, when I could first draw reduced SS benefits. Also, what happens to my Thrift Savings Plan account? May I purchase an immediate annuity and/or take a…
Q. I am separating from civil service after 15 years. Is it more advantageous for me to take my leave as terminal leave or accept a lump-sum payment? (I have approximately 20 days). A. There is no such thing as terminal leave in the federal civilian government. The decision of whether to approve a request to take annual leave before retirement is entirely up to your supervisor. If you end up having a choice between taking annual leave or receiving a lump-sum payment, you’ll have to figure out which would be more advantageous in your situation. One size does not…
Q. I have 22 years of federal service: 10½ years in the Air Force and 11½ in the Defense Department, leaving as a GM-14 in 1990. I was under CSRS and took the small lump sum when I left. Can I repay into the system and qualify for an annuity? I am 62½ years old. A. No, you can’t. You would only be able to redeposit that money, plus interest, if you were a current employee of the federal government.
Q. If I am scheduled to retire by the end of the month from the federal government (civilian), can I use annual leave or sick leave prior to the effective date of my retirement? According to Office of Personnel Management regulations, I can receive a lump sum for my annual leave, but how will I be compensated for my sick leave? A. Yes, you can use annual leave before you retire, but only if you get approval from your supervisor to do so. As for sick leave, it may only be used for approved purposes, and, if it exceeds a…
Q. I am a CSRS employee and was offered an early retirement by July 31 by Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments. I will be 53 in November. If I take this offer to leave two years and four months early, am I losing — as opposed to waiting the two years and four months until age 55. They are giving $20,000 in two lumps — $10,000 in December 2012 and the other $10,000 in December 2013. A. If you retire before reaching age 55, your annuity will be permanently reduced by 2 percent for every year you are under age 55…