Q. I am CSRS and made 41 years, 11 months in August 2011. I continue to have deductions for retirement taken out of my pay. As I understand it, the Office of Personnel Management will send me a lump sum for my excess payment after I retire. My options are to accept the refund or return the money to buy additional annuity. 1. Will the excess retirement dollars from September 2011 to Dec. 29, 2012 (date of retirement) equate to another 2 percent annuity? 2. Do I have the option of putting that money in a Voluntary Contributions Program account?…
Browsing: refund
Q. I was a federal employee in the 1970s under CSRS who left after more than years and received a refund of contributions. I was rehired in the federal government under FERS in 2010 and my agency recognized five years, three months and 27 days of past government service on my service computation date. Will that time count toward my FERS annuity when the time comes for me to retire, assuming I meet age and other time of service requirements? A. No, it won’t be included in your FERS annuity. Instead, because you had at least five years of CSRS…
Q. I’m debating whether buying back my military time will be worth the cost, taking into consideration the changes to the FERS program. I have three years as a federal employee. I completed the deposit May 1, which gives me 23 years toward my retirement. However, I am unsure if I will fall under the current .8 FERS contribution rate or the new 2.3 contribution rate recently approved. I made my decision to buy back my time based on the old retirement system. Now I think I may have wasted my money. Can you provide some insight on where I…
Q. I am unmarried and under CSRS Offset. I have no children. What happens to my CSRS pension if I am deceased and have no spouse or dependent children? Do the benefits die with me? A. Your retirement contributions will be refunded and made a part of your estate.
Q. I worked from 1995 to 2005 for the Postal Service. For the first six years, I was a rural carrier associate. For the last three years, I was career with my own route. I may be going back to work for the Postal Service very soon and want to know what “back” time will be counted toward my retirement? Since I have a seven-year break in service, am I even entitled to get any of those years counted toward retirement? Is it by hours worked or by years worked? I was hoping I would get back at least the three years…
Q: I am under the Civil Service Retirement System and plan to retire Dec. 31. I have already paid my military deposit on my 20 1/2 years of service; my civil service time is 33 years and nine months, which would give me more than 54 years of service at the time of my retirement. That is well beyond the 41 years and 11 months required for the 80 percent maximum retirement benefit. At my time of retirement, it is my understanding that the Office of Personnel Management will automatically refund the excess retirement contributions I will have made for…
Q: I am a former federal employee. I joined federal service in 1981. I worked with the Immigration and Naturalization Service before transferring to the State Department in July 1982. I came in under the Civil Service Retirement System. In 1985, I was automatically transferred to the Federal Employees Retirement System without my knowledge. Some employees who were transferred to FERS received a refund for their CSRS benefits. I never received a refund, and now I am under FERS. The Employee Benefits Information System is not showing that I contributed to CSRS. Can you please let me know if I…
Q: I am a federal employee with almost 50 years of service. Are the excess contributions that I have made since reaching the 80 percent maximum at 41 years, 11 months, taxable when I retire? A: Any refund of excess contributions you made to the retirement fund won’t be taxable. You already paid taxes on them. On the other hand, any interest you receive will be taxable. — Reg Jones