Q. I’m a 50-year-old clerk (FERS) in the post office with 23½ years of service and I want to get out. I want to move from Florida back to my home state 1,000 miles away. I think I only have four options and I’m looking for advice on what would be best for me. 1. Retire with at age 50 and pay the penalties or defer or postpone annuities? If I do that, what will the penalties be? 2. Stick it out for another year and a half until I have 25 years of service and retire. If I do…
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Q. My fiancé works full time for the Postal Service. She is not a carrier, but works inside as a mail handler in the bulk mail room. I am considering retiring from my position and can include my spouse (if I marry before I retire) on my health insurance plan. I have heard from other postal employees that while they are employed, their health insurance premium is paid 80 percent by the Postal Service and they contribute 20 percent. However, I was also advised that when someone retires, the 80 percent-20 percent contribution is reversed and that the retiree would…
Q. I was hired Dec. 28, 1984, by the Postal Service. My required retirement age is 57; I am 50. If the Postal Service offers an early retirement option giving me two years, would I qualify for the FERS supplement immediately, and what about my insurance? How much if any penalty would I be subjected to? A. The Postal Service can’t offer you two years to make you eligible for early retirement without a change in the law, which isn’t about to happen.
Q. I am a FERS employee. I will be retiring soon from the Postal Service with 35 years service at age 56. How will one year of sick leave (to turn in) affect my retirement? Will my retirement pay increased by 1percent? A. If you retire before Jan. 1, 2014, you’d only receive half credit for your unused sick leave, which would result in one-half-percent increase in your annuity. If you retire on or after Jan. 1, 2014, you’d receive full credit, which would increase your annuity by 1 percent.
Q: My husband and I work for the post office – he will retire soon and I will carry the health insurance and leave with a deferred retirement in a few years – at 45 with 20 years – what happens to the health benefits? A: Your husband would be able to continue the self and family coverage under Code 1M of the Table of Permissible Changes in Enrollment.
Q: As a postal worker under FERS, I will retire with 35 years service with a balance of one year of unused sick leave. Will I be credited as if I had worked 36 years? I earn $60,000 annually. How many retirement years will it take me to receive and realize the year of sick leave I turn back? A: If you retire after December 31, 2013, you’ll get full credit for your unused sick leave. If you have 2,087 hours, you’ll receive one year’s credit in your annuity calculation. Therefore, using your figures, instead of the formula being 0.01…
Q: My husband is retired military (10-percent disabled) and works for the postal service. If he were to apply for a GS position, and be selected, would his time (14 years) and sick/annual leave transfer over to the GS position? A: Yes, his years of service and annual- and sick-leave balances would transfer to his new position.
Q: I am a 46-year-old letter carrier with a start date in September of 1990. However, for the first four years, I was a casual (NTE) and a transitional employee (TE). I have been a career employee since August of 1994. Does my NTE or TE time count in any way toward retirement? If I chose to retire now (before I was eligible for full retirement, 56/30 or 60/20), would I be able to retain my health insurance (at the retired employee rate)? Our NALC magazine and the post office website explains briefly the retirement process, but it’s not detailed.…
Q: I am 79 with 40 years of service with the post office. I was told that if I resigned that I would be able to get a lump sump from my retirement so all the paperwork was done. Now I’ve been told that because of my age and that I have more than 30 years with the post office that I cannot resign. I would have to retire per the law. I need to get the lump sum to save my house which is in foreclosure. What can I do? A: Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do. Because you…
Q. My husband and I are both federal employees. He was a postal worker for 13 years and then transferred to a job at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. We are close to retirement, within four or five years. He is on my health care (family plan) and has been for 13 years, which is how long we have been married. Does he have to have his own insurance five years prior to retirement? I have carried a family plan for at least 19 years. A. An employee only needs to be enrolled in or covered by the Federal Employees…