Q. I am paying back more than nine years of active-duty Air Force service and I still owe $6,000. I am considering retiring next month under FERS. Can I continue to make those payments from my annuity check while ensuring I get full credit for my military time? A. No, you cannot. If you haven’t completed the deposit by the time your annuity is finalized, the money you have deposited will be refunded to you.
Browsing: military service
Q. I served in the Army from 1955 to 1958, had a break in service to attend college, joined the Army in 1960 and retired in August 1984 as a command sergeant major. In June 1989, I became a FERS Army civilian GS-12. I am now at GS-13 step 9 (as of May 19). I will be 76 years old in November and want to retire then. Am I eligible? A. Yes. Any employee who is age 62 or older and has five years of civilian service can retire on an unreduced annuity whenever he wants to.
Q. I have eight years of active service in the Army. I am not retired from the Army. I do not get Social Security. I made the post-56 deposit lump sum before the interest date. I have 10 years’ civil service with the Department of the Army. I was retired for disability March 12, 2010. OPM recently sent my retirement packet — two years and four months later. The packet doesn’t include my military service in the time-in-service computation or the $3,640 paid in to the contribution dollar amount of annuity. My annuity is much less than estimated due to…
Q. You answered a question and said locality pay is in calculations for a FERS retirement. Is it also included for annuity calculation for a CSRS retirement? Also, I’ve seen confusing explanations about whether Social Security is reduced if a person receives a federal pension. I paid Social Security taxes during 11.5 years’ active military service and almost 15 years of National Guard and Army Reserve service. Will I be eligible for full Social Security benefits, or will there be reductions because I will get a CSRS retirement annuity? A. Locality pay is included when computing the annuities of both…
Q. I am a FERS employee and had 10 years of active-duty military time before becoming a federal employee. I bought this time back. Now I have 14 years as a federal employee and the 10 years of military time. My understanding is that under FERS, the military time is creditable service up front — i.e., I have 24 years of creditable service for retirement purposes. Is this correct? Based on what I have read, in six years I will have 30 years of service (10 military/20 FERS) and therefore will be eligible for my full retirement at my MRA…
Q. I am a government employee with slightly less than three years of service. I recently paid my military deposit of $6,000 so I could buy into FERS. I also recently learned I will soon be leaving government service before completing three years. 1) What happens to the $6,000 I deposited? 2) If I leave it in the system, will I get a retirement benefit when I reach age 62 in a just few years? A. You have two choices. You can leave your contributions and deposit in the retirement fund or ask for a refund of the entire amount.…
Q. I am a 63½-year-old CSRS retiree with more than 32 years’ service. I spent five years with the Navy (1969-74) and paid back my military time before I entered the federal service in 1979. When I retired in 2007, I had 25 Social Security credits. I have been employed in the private sector since January 2008. I have more than 40 credits. My wife started collecting her Social Security benefits last year at age 62. Will my Social Security benefits be affected by the windfall elimination provision or the government pension offset? Will my CSRS pension and my wife’s…
Q. I am a new federal employee, and I am trying to get credit for my military time to go toward my service computation date. I was in the military from 1986 to 1996 had a training accident, which caused me to be medically retired. My accident did not happen in combat but during training while theU.S.was at war. Human resources is telling me I cannot be credited because my accident is not combat-related. Is this true? A. Because you are retired from the armed forces, you can get credit for only: 1) actual service during a war declared by…
Q. I retired at age 62 from the Postal Service on Feb. 29, 2008, just months before enactment of the changes made to federal unused sick leave. I worked 19.5 years for the Postal Service and had 3.75 years of military service. Will I be eligible for the 1,498 hours of unused sick leave accumulated during my postal career toward my retirement pay? A. No.
Q. I entered on Ready Reserve status June 23, 1972, where I remained until Aug. 6, 1972, when I was provided discharge papers. I performed active Air Force service from Aug. 7, 1972, until Sept. 1, 1998 (more than 26 years). I started civil service Feb. 25, 2000. I was promptly placed in FERS. Should I not have been placed in CSRS — as I had more than five years of potential creditable service before Jan. 1, 1987? I have paid the military deposit required to get credit for my military service at the time of retirement from civil service.…