Q: I will be 56 (my minimum retirement age) in July with 28 years and three months of federal service under FERS. What are the advantages of waiting until I have 30 years of service before retiring? A: Let’s turn it around. Because you wouldn’t be eligible for an immediate, unreduced annuity, if you retired now it would be under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 years of service but fewer than 30). As a result, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you are younger than 60. You could, of course,…
Browsing: MRA
Q: I am a military technician with 20 years of service but I’m only 44. I am thinking about retiring from the National Guard, which would then cause me to lose my technician job. Will I still get any type of retirement when I reach my MRA? A: Because you have 20 years of service, you would be able to apply for a deferred annuity at age 60.
Q: My wife is a FERS employee and will have 26 creditable years of service at her MRA in May 2013. She wants to be able to participate in the FEHB program at retirement too. I am a retired federal employee. I was under the impression that I can add her to my plan during the years she is separated from federal service and that she can re-enroll in her own FHEB plan when she “retires”. Is this correct? She is trying to wade through retirement/annuity options. We see the terms “delayed retirement” and “deferred retirement” used here and in…
Q: I am under FERS. I have 30 years of service and am 50 years old. My MRA is 56. I plan on leaving federal employment to work in private sector. Can I be re-employed at age 55 and still retire at age 56? Is there any minimum time limit I must work when re-employed before I retire, i.e. if rehired at age 55 and 10 months could I retire in two months? Also, could I be re-hired after age 56 if I had not applied for retirement benefits yet? My main concern to get re-employed is to be eligible…
Q: I read the Federal Times article in the Jan. 10, 2011, edition and have a question about redeposits. I was a federal employee from April 1990 to October 1992 (2.5 years). I returned to federal service in October 2002 and have been a federal employee since that time (slightly more than eight years). My service computation date on my Earnings and Leave Statement is April 20, 2000. I am a FERS, general schedule employee. My question is how do I know if I need to make redeposit contributions? I understand that if I withdrew my retirement contributions then I…
Q: I am 54 years old and under the FERS system of retirement with close to 20 years of service. I will turn 56, the MRA, in September 2012. My plan is to take sick leave with a combination of LWOP from Aug. 1, 2011, to Sept. 29, 2012, and around July 2012 apply for the MRA+10. Does this seem logical? A: Your plan is self-centered and doesn’t take into account the needs of your employer. Sick leave may only be taken if it fits one of the reasons stated in regulation. Leave-without-pay may be granted at the sole discretion…
Q: I am 57 with 28 years in FERS. My MRA is 56. If I retire and postpone until age 60, will I still get a Social Security supplement until age 62? A: No one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is eligible to receive the special retirement supplement, regardless of when his or her annuity begins.
Q: I have 19 years of federal service as of Jan. 26, 2011. I am 53 years old. I am being offered a position in my hometown. If I left now before my minimum retirement age of 56 and service requirement (20 years) are met, will I be able to draw on my retirement at age 62 and will I lose anything, other than reduction in annuity? A: At age 62 you’d be able to apply for a deferred annuity, which wouldn’t be reduced. Use the following formula to see what your annuity would be: 0.01 x your high-3 on…
Q: I am 50 years old and have been working for the last five years in a civil service position for a county sheriff. I served eight years and three months in the Coast Guard and have an opportunity to move to a federal job. If I stay in my current position, I will have to wait until I am 65 to retire. Is there a retirement benefit to moving to the federal job? Can I combine the periods that I have worked in the military, civil service and in a federal job for a total of 20 years and…
Q: RE: Your article of Nov. 5 titled, “Re-entering Federal Service.” In this message you state that under the MRA+10 provision the annuity will be reduced by 5 percent for every year you are under age 60. I thought the age reduction penalty was 5 percent for every year under age 62? This is regardless if one has at least 20 years of service at their MRA (FERS Section 42A3.1-1A, Annuity Reduction For Age). I understand that if you postpone receiving the annuity until age 60, you can avoid the age reduction penalty altogether, but I’m referring to taking an…