Q: I am retired under federal disability retirement from the postal service. I understand you are medically re-evaluated every year or two. At what age does this stop? Also, what if it is determined that you are no longer disabled? Are you returned to your previous position? I understand you cannot make too much money. If you do, will you lose disability and be returned to your prior position as well? A: Until you reach age 60 OPM has the right to ask you to provide medical information or undergo medical examination to determine if you have recovered from the…
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Q: I retired in 2008 under CSRS retirement. I elected spousal a dollar amount to be paid out at my death. I didn’t include health benefits as my wife is a federal employee with her own health insurance. My spouse would like to waive the spousal annuity to be paid out at my death. What is the process? A: While your wife is free to decline the receipt of a survivor annuity when she reports your death to OPM, it is too late for you to cancel your election of a survivor annuity for her. You would have had to…
Q: I work for the federal government. I’m a GS with 13 years of service. I worked part time for NAF in the past, and I stayed with their retirement plan and 401(k) plan. Will the federal government count the years that I worked for NAF in with my retirement? A: No, unless you meet the criteria spelled out on OPM’s website at www.opm.gov/retire/pre/naf/naf-1.htm.
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System Offset retiree (15 years in offset) and turned 62 in October. I [was] scheduled to receive my first Social Security benefit Dec. 22. I have contacted the Office of Personnel Management on several occasions requesting to know how much my annuity will be offset, but no one seems to know. My annuity still has not changed. Is it normal for OPM to be late in changing (offsetting) annuities of CSRS Offset retirees? How will overpayments of my annuity be handled? A: Because you aren’t due for your first Social Security benefit check…
Q: What is the exception for automatic coverage under the Federal Employees Retirement System for federal employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 1987, and for most employees hired after Dec. 31, 1983? A: There are number of exceptions to the automatic FERS coverage you referred to. To find out what they are, go to this handbook on the Office of Personnel Management website and scroll down to Section 10A1.3-5, entitled “FERS: Exclusions.”
Q: What are the available annuity options for a federal employee with 19 years of service under the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System (FSRDS) and an additional 21 years under the Civil Service Retirement System? A former spouse has an entitlement for the 19 years under FSRDS, and a current spouse has entitlement for the 21 years in CSRS. Is there an option for two separate annuity computations? Also, what are the various benefits included in a lump-sum payment from the Office of Personnel Management? A: If you don’t take steps to combine your service, you would be eligible…
Q: I am a 69-year-old federal retiree covered by a Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard Option 105 health plan as well as Medicare Part A. I recently spoke with Blue Cross about reimbursement levels for doctor care when I received a bill from my internist for $400 and Blue Cross paid $100. According to Blue Cross, I was responsible for the remaining $300 because Congress had passed rules (they may have meant that the Office of Personnel Management generated a rule, I am not sure) that limited the amount they could reimburse Medicare patients for a given procedure. When I checked…
Q: My brother retired from the U.S. Postal Service a few years ago. He passed away a few weeks ago, and his wife asked the San Antonio post office how she could apply for his insurance. She was told that he had no insurance. He specifically told me that he did: I retired from civil service and have insurance, and my brother said that he had the same sort of coverage. If he has a claim it would be a great aid to his widow. A: His widow should call the Office of Personnel Management’s Retirement Information Office at 888-767-6738…
Q: I worked in a federal job as a temporary employee where no retirement deductions were taken out for seven years. I was then converted to a permanent employee. I am now 62 years old with 33 years of federal service and a service computation date of 1977. I am looking at retirement but I am reading about the requirement to pay a deposit back so that my annuity will not be reduced by 10 percent. How do I go about determining what that amount is, and how do I pay it back? A: Because your period of nondeduction service…
Q: I am a retired postal annuitant on Medicare. I heard that letters were sent out in the spring inviting insurers to offer a health care supplement for people such as me, so that I don’t have to pay for a full-blown plan when I also have Medicare Parts A and B. I cannot find any insurers offering such a plan for 2011. Are there any plans being offered? Who offers them? Are there any fee-for-service insurers? A: I don’t know if OPM had any takers. We won’t know that until it makes its Federal Employees Health Benefits open season…