Q. I am a Postal Service level 21 employee, and will retire with about 41 years and 11 months in early 2013 with my high-3 close to my frozen level 21 value. When I retire, I will have been detailed to a level 23 position for about a year and a half, with a modest increase in pay during that time. Will the Office of Personnel Management use only my level 21 pay for annuity calculations or will the detail/higher level pay be considered? A. A high-3 is based on the highest three consecutive years of average salary from which…
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Q. If I retire at 62 with 11 years of work for the Postal Service, do I receive any retirement from USPS? A. You can retire at age 62 with as few as five years of service.
Q. I am with USPS and am in CSRS. I began working in 1973 and quit in 1977, at which time I withdrew my retirement money. I returned to USPS in 1983 and am still there. Do I need to redeposit the money I withdrew to get credit for 33 years of service? If I do not redeposit the money, will my annuity be decreased? A. Because you took that refund before Feb. 1, 1991, you’ll get credit for those years of service in determining your eligibility to retire. However, if you don’t redeposit that money, plus accrued interest, your…
Q. I am a Postal Service employee. I am taking the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority that is being offered. My mandatory last day is Jan. 31. The USPS only gives credit for full months of service plus years. I have 23 extra days of service time and one day of extra sick time. I am only getting credit for half of my sick time. Is there any way to get that 24 days to a full month? My statement was prepared in October so some sick leave will accrue. My retirement computation date is June 8, 1985. A. Although you…
Q. I am a Postal Service employee, and I am confused about the number of hours (174) needed to add up to a month of sick leave. Could you explain your calculation? A. Annuities are computed using years and full months of service. Once an employee is eligible to retire, any days that don’t add up to one month are converted into hours and combined with unused sick leave hours. To equalize annuity payments, OPM uses 12 30-day months. To find out how many hours equal one month, it divides 2,087 (the number of hours in a work year) by…
Q. I retired from the Postal Service after 30 years in June 2010. At the time, I did not repay my military service, which was 2½ years. I receive my Civil Service pension based on a combined civil service of 33 years. I also do not qualify for Social Security, as I have fewer than 40 credits (39). I also know that if I do not qualify for Social Security at age 62, after that point the Civil Service will always remain for a 33-year retirement that they do not continue to check eligibility. If I get re-employed with the…
Q. I retired from the Postal Service after 30 years in June 2010. At the time, I did not repay my military service, which was 2½ years. I receive my Civil Service pension based on a combined civil service of 33 years. I also do not qualify for Social Security, as I have fewer than 40 credits (39). I also know that if I do not qualify for Social Security at age 62, after that point the Civil Service will always remain for a 33-year retirement that they do not continue to check eligibility. If I get re-employed with the…
Q. My husband worked for the post office from approximately 1977 until 1982. He cannot remember if he took a lump sum when he quit or not. How can he find out? It is clear he did not pay Social Security during those years. Please provide us the email or website/telephone number for him to check. It is hard to find on the websites. A. Have him call OPM’s Retirement Operations Office at 1-800-767-6738 and talk to a benefits specialist.
Q. I will be 56 in December and have a bit over 26 years of Postal Service employment under my belt. I was told that I would not be eligible for the special retirement supplement until I have 30 years of service. That would seem to mean that I would not be able to receive the supplement for a little less than four years. Under the present Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, is this true? Has the VERA changed my minimum retirement age even in light of the present SRS requirements? A. No it isn’t true. Whoever told you that was…
Q. I am 47 years old and worked for the post office for three years. During that time, I bought back my military service time of eight years. Am I eligible to someday get that retirement for the 11 years? If not, will I be reimbursed what it cost to buy back my time? Is the Thrift Savings Plan a separate entity, and when can I start receiving that? I’m currently working away from the federal realm. A. Reg: No, you wouldn’t be eligible for an annuity because you didn’t have at least five years of actual civilian service. If…