Q. I will turn 62 in March and was planning on retiring with 22 years of service under CSRS. A job opportunity may come available before then, and I’m trying to figure out my options. If I retired now, would there be a significant difference in my annuity because I haven’t turned 62? Should I consider a deferred retirement? If so, until when? Should I keep my federal health benefits even though the new job will have better coverage? I probably will only work there for about five years — the minimum time to become vested in the 401(k) plan…
Browsing: re-enrollment
Q. I am a CSRS employee with 34 years of federal service. I am going to retire in 2013. If I suspend my Federal Employees Health Benefits to go under my husband’s Tricare, will I still be able to reinstate my FEHB any time I want during an open season after I become an annuitant? Also, will I still be able to join the long-term federal health insurance plan? A. Yes to both questions. If you suspend your coverage to be under Tricare, you can re-enroll in the FEHB program during any open season. You can enroll in the Federal…
Q. I am a Veterans Affairs Department term employee with 28 years of service, 57 years old. My term appointment has only been extended to Jan. 31, 2013, with a “continuation of ongoing research funds.” If research funds are not available to pay me past this date, I understand that I can retire under the MRA +10 provision and postpone receipt of my annuity until I am 60 to avoid the age reduction penalty. And, at that time, can re-enroll for Federal Employees Health Benefits since I will have been enrolled for the previous five years. If I choose not…
Q. The person who processes retirements at my agency told me that I could not retire with 32 years at 51 years. I am an offset employee under CSRS. I thought the Office of Personnel Management indicated that if you retire before 55 years of age, you are penalized 1/6 (no more than 2 percent for the first year and 2 percent for every after for being under 55. So, I resigned. It’s only been a few days. The agency person said I could only retire at this age if they were offering a buyout. That seems right because I was offered…
Q. I have 11 years total service (eight years military buyback and three years federal civilian employment) and I am 49 years old. If I leave federal employment at age 51 (with a total of 13 years service, five as a civilian employee), can I apply for deferred MRA+10 retirement and receive my pension and health care benefits when I turn 62? Or do I need to be my minimum retirement age (57 years old) when I leave federal employment? A. To retire under the MRA+10 provision, you’d have to be 57, your minimum retirement age. To avoid the 5…
Q. I am a FERS employee with 31 years of creditable service but will not reach my minimum retirement age (56) until May 2013. I am faced with possible termination but plan to resign. I understand that deferred retirees are not eligible for supplemental annuity, nor are they eligible to enroll in life insurance and health benefits. What if I am terminated rather than resigning? Will I be eligible for immediate annuity plus supplement and eligible to enroll in health benefits? Or I will only be eligible for deferred retirement in 2013 after reaching my MRA? A. It won’t make any difference to…
Q. We have GEHA high option (Code 312) for our family. I just got the letter from Medicare about choosing Medicare Part B. However, even if I am on Medicare after retiring, my wife will have seven more years before being eligible for Medicare. Thus, I am considering continuing GEHA high for both of us and not taking Medicare B, since GEHA 312 covers expenses quite well and my wife would need health insurance. If I take Medicare B and drop GEHA, I would have Medicare A and B, but she would have no health insurance. Is the above correct?…
Q. I am 57 and worked for the Postal Service from 1981 to 1997. I took a refund of my contributions when I left. Am I eligible for health benefits? If I took a position now with the USPS, could I get reinstated? A. No, you aren’t eligible for health benefits. If you went back to work for the government, you could enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program (or re-enroll if you were enrolled in the FEHB program during your previous period of employment).
Q. I retired from active duty in 2005. I made a service deposit to buy my academy time. When I reach minimum retirement age+10 next month, I will have 10 years and five months of creditable service (six years and six months since hired, plus three years and 11 months purchased service), more than 240 hours of annual leave and more than 600 hours of sick leave. I’ve gotten a formal Office of Personnel Management retirement estimate to verify my understanding that I can do a MRA+10 retirement this year. I initially used Tricare for my health insurance, however, to…
Q. I worked for the Postal Service for two years and eight months, and left in the early 1970s to raise my child. At that time, I withdrew my contributions. When I returned to federal service (not the post office) in 1987, I was told I was not vested in CSRS and therefore had to be enrolled in FERS. I was credited with my post office service, so my service computation date is Dec. 7, 1984, rather than February 1987, when I was hired. I would like to know if I should have been offered the opportunity to repay my withdrawn…