Q. I am 46 years old. I retired from the Air Force with 21 years, five months. I receive a 60 percent Veterans Affairs Department disability, and I am currently an Army GS-12 civilian. I was hired as a new GS employee on Jan. 19, 2010. So if I understand the new pension contribution, it would include anyone who was hired after Dec. 31, 2007, or those who do not have five years of government service by Dec. 31, 2013. 1. If I make a military deposit, does it change my “new” employee status? 2. Would I still be required to pay…
Browsing: military service
Q. I am in the process of filing for FERS retirement. I currently have 30 years of civil service (GS-11), which includes three years and seven months of military service. I am being told by human resources that they cannot include the three years military time for Retirement Annuity Computation because I receive a check each month from the Veterans Affairs Department for a 30 percent disability rating (service-connected disability). Also, my leave and earnings statement (LES) shows that I have repaid the military time. I have sent human resources a letter from VA showing that I was removed from the temporary…
Q. I recently discovered that I am eligible to receive eight hours of annual leave (currently receiving six hours) per pay period due to an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal I received during active-duty service. I have completed nine years of federal service and would like to know if and how the additional two hours of annual leave over a nine-year period will be credited back to me. A. If your agency determines that you are entitled to additional hours of annual leave due to an administrative error, it must adjust your leave balance to reflect the additional hours. If that…
Q. I have more than 24 years of military service when I retired. I am not working for any federal or civil service organization now. I am trying to go to work for a government agency. The question how can I figure out how much I would have to buy in without having a job yet? How many years will the buy in give me, all 24-plus years? I am 56 years old. What would be my eligible retirement date with a government job? I am receiving retirement pay, which deducts the VGLI and survivor benefit payments hand. How would…
Q. I am a full-time regular postal employee with 17 years and 15 years of military service for a combined total of 32 years of federal service. The mail processing facility where I work is scheduled to be closed. I am 53 years old and just short of retirement age. If I transfer to the Department of Veterans Affairs will my FERS contributions and accumulated annual and sick time transfer with me? I expect my service to be continuous with no break in service. If I’m not offered an early retirement or buyout options, I stand to lose these benefits.…
Q. I had 17 years of active duty, got out, joined the reserves and became a FERS-covered employee. I retired from the reserves. I have been buying back my military time since I joined civil service. Counting my military time, upon civil service retirement I would have 44 years of civil service. Upon retirement, would I be eligible for both a military retire check and a federal service retire check? A. Assuming that you complete your deposit to get credit for your active duty service, you would receive both your reserve retired pay and your civilian annuity, with no reduction in…
Q. I was medically retired from the Air Force in May 1985. My entire Air Force retirement is tax free with a majority of it being paid in the form of a VA compensation payment. I entered the federal workforce in December 1985 under the FERS retirement plan. At the time, the military time deposit was explained. I was told that if I chose to make the deposit and combine my retirements, that in my situation, I would keep all of my VA compensation and all of my Air Force retirement. It was further explained that the law was explicit…
Q. I have been retired for 19½ years and have been working with the civil service for the last 15½ years. Can I include my military time in my FERS retirement? What are the implications? A. You would only be able to combine your active duty military service with your civilian service if you made a deposit to the civilian retirement system and, at retirement from your civilian job, waived your military retired pay. The amount of the deposit would be 3 percent of your military base pay plus accrued interest. If you made that deposit and waived your retired…
Q. I’m new to the federal system and would like to asses my options. 1. I have spent 14 years and about 10 months on active duty in the Armhy plus some reserve time. I understand reserve time is not computed on military buyback. What is the maximum years that I can sell back? 2. I was hired by ICE at the age of 38. How does that factor in for retirement purposes — mandatory retirement age for an ICE covered agent? 3. If I sell my military time, do my leave and sick hours change to match those of…
Q. I’m on active duty until September with 15 years of service, but because of the recent Enlisted Review Board, the Navy has forced me out. Are there government jobs that will employ service members with this amount of timed served and allow them to still receive a 20 year retirement? A. If you are hired by the federal government, your active duty military service would be creditable if you made a deposit to the civilian retirement system. However, to be eligible to retire, you would have to be employed as a civilian for five years to be vested in…