Q. I am a FERS employee, age 59, and have over 28 years in the Postal Service. Our facility is going through an accelerated transfer of function to a facility more than 100 miles away. If they cannot offer me a position in my same craft and I am given a notice to separate voluntarily or involuntarily, can I retire and receive an unreduced annuity and the special retirement supplement until age 62? If I retire, should I elect a discontinued service retirement or optional retirement since this is an organizational change involving reduction in force, transfer of function. Could…
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Q. I spent 22 years with the Postal Service and quit in 2010 to take another career. I was under FERS. Do I get a pension from the Postal Service, or is that what the Thrift Savings Plan is? And can I collect it at 55? A. Reg: If you didn’t take a refund of your retirement contributions when you left, you can apply to the Office of Personnel Management for a deferred annuity at age 60. Mike: If you left FERS service before the calendar year in which you reach age 55, you will be subject to the early…
Q. I am a 56-year-old postal carrier with 26 years of service. Am I eligible to receive the special retirement supplement? I meet minimum retirement age requirements. However, I don’t have 30 years. A. You would only be eligible for the special retirement supplement if you accepted an early retirement offer made by your agency. If you weren’t, you’d be retiring under the MRA+10 provision. No one who retires under that provision is eligible to receive the SRS.
Q. Recently, the Postal Service offered early retirement for clerks with 25 years of service. I started in 1988 but have eight years of leave without pay for Title 10 deployments with the Army Reserve. I am planning to retire from the Army Reserve soon and go back to the Postal Service. Should I buy back my military time in hopes that I can take an early retirement next year if offered? Will I still be able to retire from both employers? A. If you make a deposit for your years of active-duty service, they will be added to your…
Q. I was divorced from a Postal Service worker in 2000 and he finally retired recently. Where do I go to get my portion of the annuity that was in the settlement? A. You’ll have to call the Office of Personnel Management at 1-888-767-6738 or 1-724-794-2005 and talk to a benefits specialist.
Q. I am a 51-year-old FERS employee whose minimum retirement age is 56. I will have over 30 years of service when I reach the minimum retirement age. A couple of years ago, I went under my wife’s health plan. We incorrectly assumed that she needed five years to become vested and that we could just stay under her plan when we retired (as with FERS). However, she is a Non-Appropriated Funds Defense Department employee and would need 15 years. I am picking up my Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance again so that I will have five years under the…
Q. I am 62 with 25 years of service. Since Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments have been offered in my organization, I am thinking about taking one. Do I have to take the lump sum, or can the incentive be taken in installments? A. How the payments are made is entirely up to your agency, and, with the exception of the Postal Service, they usually make it in a one-time lump sum.
Q. I am a 45-year-old letter carrier under CSRS with 25 years of service. If I accept an early retirement offer from the Postal Service, will I still be subject to the 2 percent-a-year penalty for being under my minimum retirement age? What other penalties will I face accepting a VERA at an early age? A. Yes, as a CSRS employee, you’d be subject to the 2 percent per year permanent reduction in your annuity. Another effect would be that your annuity would be based on fewer years of service than if you’d waited until you reached age 55 and…
Q. I was in CSRS with Tennessee Valley Authority for 9½ years. I had a 15-year break in service and returned to work with the USPS under CSRS offset. When I retire at age 62, I will have 15 years with the USPS. Will the 9½ years I spent with TVA be added to my service time from the USPS for retirement calculation purposes? A. No.
Q. My health insurance is carried by Rural Carrier Benefit Plan because my husband was a rural carrier for 26 years plus military time. He passed away seven years ago, and I receive a portion of his retirement pay. If I remarry, can I continue to carry the same insurance? I am 75. A. Yes.