Q. I retired Dec. 31. At the time of retirement, I had accrued 448 hours of annual leave. Human resources told me this would be paid within 30 days. I have not received any payment, so I contacted the agency payroll office and was told it won’t be paid until the Office of Personnel Management completes all phases of the retirement paperwork. Is that correct? A. No, it isn’t. Your agency is responsible for paying you for any unused annual leave. OPM has no role in that.
Browsing: payroll
Q. I took the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, and my retirement date is Feb. 28. I’m due a lump-sum payment for my unused annual leave. I was told in a letter I would get this in my last salary check. I just got paid on the 15th. So what date is considered my last salary check since my first annuity check is March 1? A. Since salary checks are payments for the preceding two weeks of work, the one you just received would be for that final pay period. While lump-sum payments for unused annual leave are often included in…
Q. I have been reassigned to a position in Atlanta from Albuquerque, N.M. This move is permanent. Do I need a SF 52 prepared to change my duty station and locality pay? Do I need a SF 52 to change my taxes and health insurance? This position is considered virtual. A. All personnel actions must be documented with a Standard Form 52. It will record where you are now, your new duty station and the rate of pay at each. There is no place on the SF 52 to record changes in taxes or health insurance. When your official personnel…
Q. I had more money taken out of my paycheck No. 26 for Social Security old age, survivor and disability insurance and a notation saying “rate change.” I looked at the Social Security page and there has been no rate change to the amount of money taken out for Social Security (OASDI) in 2013. It is the same amount of money taken out as 2012. Even though we get receive our check in January 2013, the earnings are from December 2012. I can’t find any information on any rate change on the NFC Web page. A. Where have you been?…
Q. Can I buy back my reserve schooling and my summer camps that are active duty on my chronicle statement? On SF 50 block 31, if I buy back three years of my active duty from my reserves and I started in 2005 for the civilian federal government, is it supposed to be counted from 2002? It’s now 2012. Does it mean I have 10 years of federal time? I retired out of the Army Reserve with 20 years. Out of those 20 years, I have two DD-214s — one for basic and Advanced Individual Training and one for Afghanistan…
Q. I will have 15 years of federal service on Dec. 7, and have been looking forward to accruing eight hours of leave per pay period. Because my service computation date falls in the middle of a pay period, I am expecting to have to wait to start accruing my eight hours during the next full pay period starting Dec. 16. Because my SCD is so late in the calendar year, I am starting to feel like I won’t really benefit from my accrual “upgrade” until two full pay periods later. Here’s my logic: If I remained (hypothetically) at six hours per…
Q. I am looking at my Federal Employee Benefits Statement. Can you tell me what the difference is between the estimated annuity without survivorship, with max survivorship, and annuity to survivor? A. If you are unmarried, you would receive the full benefit to which you are entitled based on your years of service, high-3 and the formula used to calculate an annuity (either CSRS or FERS). If you are married, you are required by law to provide a full survivor annuity to your spouse (55 percent for CSRS; 50 percent for FERS). Under CSRS, you could provide any amount of…
Q. I am considering retiring Dec. 31. I turned 62 on April 7, and as of Aug. 28, I will have 42 years and four months of total service. Scenario 1: What if I decide wait until Jan. 2, 2013, to retire instead? Would I get full credit for any unused annual or sick leave I would have accrued if I stayed to the new year? Scenario 2: Will the excess retirement dollars from September 2012 to Dec. 31 (date of retirement) equate to any percentage of annuity or lump-sum payment after I retire? A. You’ll have to check with…
Q. I am under FERS and have 30 years of service as of February. I will not be eligible for voluntary retirement until July 2013, when I will be 56. After completing 30 years of service and prior to my 56th birthday, I may be required to take extended leave, including leave without pay, to care for my elderly mother, who is in poor health. How will leave without pay affect my retirement? A. First things first. You’ll have to get you supervisor’s approval to take extended leave without pay. If your request is granted, taking up to six months…
Q: I receive retention pay of 10 percent of my base salary. I have run across articles that indicate that retention pay can be used to calculate the high-3. Is that true? A: As a rule, recruiting and relocation bonuses and retention allowances are not considered part of the basic pay of an employee for any purpose, including calculation of retirement annuity. Since a high-3 is based solely on basic pay, the amount from which retirement deductions are taken, you can get a pretty good idea about how your pay is being treated by looking at your latest pay slip.…