Q. The minimum retirement age under FERS is 56 in my case (date of birth May 15, 1956). My PS Form 50 states my retirement plan as A – FERS FROZEN. Do I still qualify for the MRA+ 10? A. According to the Office of Personnel Management, “When a CSRS employee elects to become covered by FERS, the SF 2806 must be ‘frozen’ or ‘redesignated.’ Whether the SF 2806 is ‘frozen’ or ‘redesignated’ depends on whether the employee had enough prior service to have a CSRS component in a future annuity.” Thus, the FERS FROZEN designation has no affect on…
Browsing: MRA+10
Q. I plan to retire from the Postal Service at the end of February, when I reach my minimum retirement age of 56. I will have 21½ years of service and will be retiring under the MRA+10 provision. I plan to start taking my annuity payments at that time. Will I also be entitled to the special retirement supplement? A. No one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is eligible for the special retirement supplement. You also need to be aware that when you retire, your annuity will be reduced by 5 percent for every year (5/12 percent per month)…
Q. I will be 62 in August. If I take a deferred retirement in April, can I collect my special retirement supplement until I get my retirement in August? A. A deferred retirement is one in which you leave government and apply for an annuity when you meet the age and service requirements to do so. No one who applies for a deferred annuity is eligible for the special retirement supplement. If you are talking about retiring under the MRA+10 provision and postponing the receipt of your annuity to a later date to reduce or eliminate the age penalty, you…
Q. I am looking at a job with the USPS. I have 10 years of active-duty service in the Air Force and three or four good years in the Reserve. I never reached 20 years to receive military retirement. How do these years in military service apply toward retirement and benefits if I get a job with the USPS? Do I have to buy back these years if I never received retirement, and how does that work? Then how long would I need the USPS job to gain retirement from the USPS? A. If you worked for the federal government,…
Q. I am 58 years old and am separating from a Department of Interior agency due to a term employment expiration. I have 10 years in the federal system: six years as a permanent employee and four years as a term employee. The permanent position was as a GS 11 Step 3, and the term position is a GS-12 Step 5. I am trying to find information regarding retirement options. Where can I look for this kind of information? Specifically, I’d like to calculate how much I may receive if I start taking a pension now, and how much I…
Q. I will have been employed with USPS for 10 years in March. I bought back my four years of military time. I will be 56 in June. Do I qualify for SRS? A. First, the only way you could retire is under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 years of service). Second, no one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is eligible to receive the special retirement supplement.
Q. With five years of federal civilian service and eight years of military paid for, if I left federal service, would I be able to apply for the MRA+10 retirement option when I reached that age, since that would be more than 10 years? Or would it just be a deferred annuity at 62 that I would be eligible for? A. Age 62.
Q. I work for the Postal Service. If my job moves 75 miles away and I only have 15 years of FERS under my belt but will not move, what would be the difference in dollar terms under FERS of resigning with 14½ years at 43 years old vs. putting up with commuting or renting during the workweek for five more years of FERS to make 20 total years at 50 years old. Last high-3 basic pay would be around $56,000 per year. A. If you really want an answer to your question, you’ll have to hire a financial adviser…
Q. I will be 60 years old in February. I will have 16 years and five months of total service with Customs and Border Protection and am covered for retirement with FERS. What does the 5 percent penalty mean “if I retire under the age of 62”? Does this apply only to my Social Security benefits or my FERS retirement? I will not ask for any Social Security benefits until I reach the age of 62. I am also retired from the military with 20 years of total service. A. Because you have fewer than 20 years of service, you’d…
Q. I am 48. I was active-duty enlisted Navy from 1983 to 1993, so I have 10 years’ active duty. I got out as an E-6 with an honorable discharge. I am also 10 percent disabled, which happened when I applied for the CAVET program. I live in California. I took an early-out special separation bonus lump sum to get out after 10 years. President Reagan was drawing down the forces at the time and offered the early out. I don’t see any money because I understand I have to pay back the SSB lump sum. I have been working…