Q. As a WG/WL shift worker who change days off every four weeks and works Sunday premium days and all holidays, can I count on these extras in my retirement pot? I am almost certain that overtime and bonuses are not included. I have looked in 2012/2011 almanac for the answer. To me, the almanac is geared toward the GS side of the family. I am planning on retiring soon after 41 years. From what I can see, my high-3 is based on straight M-F day shift base pay.
Browsing: overtime
Q. I’m a FERS employee with the USPS. I’m thinking of retiring in a few years, I know the USPS uses the high-3 formula. Is overtime factored in? I plan on doing as much as I can before retiring. A. No.
Q. I’m planning to retire from CSRS on Nov. 2, 2012, with 37.6 years. Can I sell back my comp time along with my annual leave, or do I need to take it before I retire? A. As a rule, any unused compensatory time you still have to your credit will be paid in a lump sum at the overtime rate in effect when the leave was earned. However, compensatory time earned during non-duty hours while on TDY has no cash value.
Q. I receive 25 percent administratively uncontrollable overtime as an 1801. Can you please define specifically who or what positions are covered and who would get their AUO counted as stated below: “All federal annuities are computed using an employee’s basic pay. …With the exception of administratively uncontrollable overtime paid to certain law enforcement officers.” A. You’ll find the official answer at www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/html/cpm97-5a.htm.
Q: I am a GS-11 who has my overtime hourly rate capped at $38.31. Is there a calculator available that will help me decide how many overtime hours to take pay for as opposed to taking compensatory time? At a certain point, it is not worthwhile to take overtime pay because of the increase in the amount of federal tax withdrawn? A: I’m not aware of any such calculator. However, if anyone out there is, please let me know and I’ll share the information with our readers.
Q: I am a federal firefighter who works a 72-hour workweek. This is the required hours that I work. As a GS-8, Step 9, I make $83,658 per year. However, my “High Three” would be based off of the firefighter base pay of $73,906. I know that the difference is overtime. However, the overtime is part of the required hours for a firefighter’s tour of duty. My question is, why is our retirement not based on the higher pay? Seeing that this is what we are really paid and not the so-called base pay of 73,906. If a federal employee…