Q. My father is 68 years old, has accrued over 30 years as a Postal Service letter carrier and looking to retire in a couple of months. He is also an Army veteran. Unfortunately, he does not have a firm grasp on retirement options (evidently his pension is available), but he was told that he had not accrued enough Social Security quarters to get retirement payment via the latter method. Is this possible after 30+ years of employment as a letter carrier? A. Because your father is a CSRS employee, he didn’t have Social Security deductions taken from his pay.…
Browsing: pension
Q. I am 62. I just started drawing Social Security. My only earnings per year are my pension and supplement to pension, which total $24,000. Does this count toward my total earnings allowed per year on my Social Security? My wife still works but is not old enough to draw Social Security. Do her earnings count against my Social Security? A. I think you are asking about the annual Social Security earnings limit. That limit only applies to a Social Security recipient’s earnings from wages or self-employment. It doesn’t apply to other sources of income. Nor does what your spouse may be earning have any…
Q. I worked for a member of Congress for a little more than six years ending 12 years ago. Because he lost the next election, I became vested and eligible to receive a small pension but no health insurance (less than 10 years of service). Although I am over 62, I have never requested of collected any retirement benefits. Now I have an opportunity to go back to work for a federal agency at the GS-15 level. I assume that the benefits and time would be additive in some way, but how long would I have to work for my…
Q. Three questions regarding CSRS retirement: 1. I read that in 2010 and 2011, there was a six- to 12-month delay before retiring employees actually receive their full pension. I’m not sure if a partial pension was received in the meantime and how much. Is this still true for employees retiring in 2012? I am under CSRS and planning on retiring the end of July or early August. I understand it’s best for me to retire at the end of a month or within the first three days of a month to receive my pension check the following month. I…
Q. I am retiring under CSRS with 34 years of service. My spouse will still be working as a federal employee and retire in eight years with a 20-year full pension under FERS. Is there any advantage to taking the survivor benefit for my spouse, or is it better to elect not to take the survivor benefit? If I pass away, would it be considered double-dipping for my spouse to collect the survivor benefit from my retirement? A. Let me clear up two points. First, federal employees are required by law to provide a full survivor annuity for their spouses.…
Q. I’ve been on leave without pay for more than a year, having opted out of receiving a top-up from the federal government (I’m with HRSDC), instead collecting employment insurance only. My thinking was that I may not want to return to work, and I didn’t want to owe anything if I was to resign. I opted out of paying into my pension, as well, so I’m on indefinite “care of immediate family” leave. Today, my branch was summoned to a meeting, where we were told to expect the worst (they are cutting 30 percent of staff). I would like…
Q. I took a reduced Social Security annuity since I decided to draw two years ago at the age of 62. My husband was a government meteorologist for 33 years — three of them being Air Force. We were given the option to pay fully the Social Security for his years in the Air Force. No pension. It counted to his government service and that pension. So we did. $3,600 cash. He retired at 55. So he took a true reduced government annuity, since he did not retire at 65 with the 33 years of service. In the government, you…
A follow-up. On April 30, a reader wrote: Q. I am a retired federal employee covered under CSRS Offset. I am 65 and have been receiving Social Security payments since I was 62. I will be submitting a request for withdrawal of my Social Security and pay back all the Social Security that I received to date. I will be applying for new Social Security after the process is complete. My pension was reduced when I first received the Social Security payment. Once I receive the new higher Social Security payment in the future, would my pension be reduced more?…
Q. My brother-in-law is retired military and has worked for the Air Force as a civil servant for approximately 25 years (FERS). He is 64. His job is offering a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment, but he was told he could not get the VSIP because he receives a military retirement pension. My benefits specialist said this was not true — that VSIP has nothing to do with the military pension. Have you heard of this? If so, what regulation? A. What he was told is completely untrue. The fact that he is receiving military retired pay has no bearing on…
Q. I am a federal civilian (GS-13), and I am an O-4 in the Navy Reserve. I have chosen not to buy back my active-duty military service because I read on the Department of the Navy civilian human resources website that it would jeopardize my Navy Reserve retirement (i.e. might force me to merge or choose one or the other once I’m 60 and eligible for the Navy Reserve pension and my FERS). I do not want to jeopardize my Navy Reserve O-4 retirement (I worked too hard for 21 years to lose it.) I also do not want to…