Q. I am a FERS employee and will reach my minimum retirement age, 56, soon. I am thinking of retiring and taking an immediate annuity to keep health benefits. If I went back to work for the federal government in two or three years, would the 5 percent-per-year penalty remain in force when I stopped work again, or is there a way to negate this penalty? Is it set in stone because those were the conditions under which I retired? Am I correct that this would not apply if I left under a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, even though I would…
Browsing: Offset
Q. My husband was in the Naval Reserve from June 1971 to June 1976. He was not called to active duty, although I believe the two weeks of training every year and six months of boot camp/school may be classified as active duty. If that’s correct, he had about 36 weeks of active duty subject to buyback. For his six years in the reserve, he was paid a grand total of $2,165.45, according to military records he has in his file. He was under CSRS but had a brief break in service in 1987 and came back into the federal…
Q. I am a retired federal worker who worked from 1972 to 1987 under CSRS then transferred to FERS in 1987. I left the federal government in 1995 with enough quarters to qualify for Social Security but with much less than 30 years of substantial earnings. In 2010, at age 60, I began getting my government annuity, part based on CSRS and part on FERS. This year at age 62, I am eligible to receive Social Security benefits. As I understand it, FERS transfers are not affected by the offset program but are affected by the windfall elimination provision. How…
Q. I am 63 and plan to retire this year. I was covered for 13 years by CSRS and left the government. When I came back a year later, I was covered by CSRS Offset. After listening to the Office of Personnel Management retirement seminars online, I learned that when you retire at 62, your CSRS check would be reduced based on Social Security. I had planned to wait until I was 66 to file for Social Security. How does this work? Does my CSRS check reduce at 62 regardless of when I start to draw Social Security? Will I…
Q. I worked for federal government for 20 years under CSRS, then resigned in 1997 and left my retirement contributions in CSRS, understanding that I could start to receive an annuity at age 62. Since that time, I have worked for 15 years for state government, paying into Social Security. If I were to return to federal service, into which retirement system would I be placed? What would the benefits be to returning to federal service as far as retirement benefits concerning CSRS and Social Security? A. Because you left your contributions in the retirement fund, you would be eligible…
Q. I am 62 and have been with the Postal Service for 26 years. I am hoping to retire this summer. I have a job-related permanent disability and have qualified for workers’ compensation. I have not yet started receiving compensation, but my payout figure on workers’ comp is significantly higher than my FERS pension and is also significantly higher than my Social Security pension, which will also begin this year. Are there any “offsets” to either my FERS pension or Social Security pension if I take the workers’ comp payment? Am I correct in understanding that I am entitled to…
Q. I spent 20 years in the Navy and am currently receiving my pension from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and a 30 percent disability pension from the Veterans Affairs Department. In 1991, I began my employment with federal government under FERS. In 2009, I applied for disability due to my health condition. I spent 18½ years in federal service. In June 2009, I began receiving my disability pay from the Office of Personnel Management, computed based on 60 percent of my high-3 for the first 12 months and 40 percent thereafter until I reached age 62. I will…
Q. I retired (federal law enforcement) on Feb. 29 at the age of 55. My total law enforcement time was 20 years with an additional seven years of federal service. I am receiving a partial annuity until the Office of Personnel Management has the time to finish it, which may be six or seven months. I received a lump-sum payment upon my retirement for my annual leave. I would like to take a job as a reinstatement employee with federal service. Do I lose my entire annuity if I do this? I understand that retirement deductions will be held, but…
Q. After 30 years of federal service, I retired in 2002. I was re-employed by the Department of Health and Human Services in April 2010, full-time permanent under the same CSRS plan from which I originally retired. At that time, my salary was offset by the amount of my annuity. How long will I need to work without a break in federal service to qualify for a recalculation of my original CSRS annuity? I contribute to CSRS retirement, and I participate in the Thrift Savings Program. I expect to work for six additional years, when I will have reached my 71st…
Q. I was an employee under CSRS for 15 years and nine months. I took a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment and withdrew my retirement pay. I am recently rehired and will go under the CSRS Offset. How can I determine what the repayment would be with interest? A. There’s only one way to find out how much you owe. Download a copy of Standard Form 2803, Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit, fill it out and send it to the Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Services and Management Group, P.O. Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017-0045. When they’ve told you how…