Q. I’m a civil service employee covered by FERS. My agency is offering Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay. I am 62 and receiving military retired pay. I’ve been told that I’m not eligible for either VERA or VSIP because I’m receiving military retired pay. Is that true? A. Not that I’m aware of. According to the Office of Personnel Management: Employees in the following categories are not eligible for VSIP. Employees who: 1. Are re-employed annuitants; 2. Have a disability such that the individual is or would be eligible for disability retirement; 3. Have received a decision notice…
Browsing: rehire
Q. I left the Department of Justice in 1999, after working as a civilian for five years. I returned to DOJ in July. On my first day back, my agency told me my accrued sick leave would be reinstated to my account as soon as they got my personnel jacket from the Office of Personnel Management. I am now being told that my personnel jacket does not contain any information about how much sick leave I may have accrued in the 1990s. They asked if I have my final pay stub, which I do not. They also cannot locate this…
Q. I am retired from the Postal Service. I am turning 66. If I pick up Medicare Part B, can I claim it on my taxes? How much in yearly salary can I earn if I go back to work? A. If you have reached your full Social Security retirement age, there is no limit on the amount you can earn. However, if you were to return to work for the federal government, in most cases your salary would be reduced by the amount of your annuity.
Q. If you’re a FERS employee without the age or years to retire and are told you will be excessed to another office and want to leave the Postal Service instead of taking the new position, what happens to your accumulated sick leave? A. It will be retained in your official records. If you return to to work for the government, that sick leave will be restored.
Q. I resigned from the federal government in 2002 and have now been reinstated in 2012. Am I entitled to my sick leave balance back? A. Yes.
Q. I am a federal employee under FERS and plan to retire from my current job at full retirement age and then continue working. Would I be able to work full time or part time for another federal entity without negative consequence? I’ve heard that there are new provisions being contemplated to allow retired federal employees to return to work part time in federal employment? A. There is a new law, but it doesn’t apply to someone retiring from one agency and moving to another. It only applies to an employee who retires and continues as a part-timer in their…
Q. I retired under CSRS on a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority at age 46 with 26 years of service. I’m considering going back to work with the agency from which I retired. I’m still under age 55 (53 years old). What benefit would returning to full-time work be for me? Can I retire again any time after 55? Will my additional years apply to my retirement the second time around? What happens to penalties previously taken on early retirement? A. If you return to work for the government, your annuity will terminate and you’ll be treated as if you had…
Q. I will be 64 this year and am considering retirement as a Senate employee. If I retire and begin my annuity from FERS, can I be employed part time and not lose any of my annuity or benefits if I earn less than the earnings limit set by Social Security? A. With rare exception, if you retire and are re-employed by the federal government, the salary of your new position will be reduced by the amount of your annuity. So, before you accept another position, you’ll need to find out if it is exempted from this basic provision of…
Q. I have been working for the federal government for just over two years. I am planning on moving in the next few months. I have applied to federal jobs, as well as private-sector jobs and have, so far, heard back from the private-sector jobs. I read that the Thrift Savings Plan is vested at three years and that employees are entitled to retirement benefits after five years. If I were to leave the federal system at this point, would I be able to return to the system in the future and “restart,” as it were, at my two-year mark?…
Q. I am currently on active duty. Prior to that, I was employed in the federal Bureau of Prisons. What would be my service computation date: the date I began as a civil servant or the date I came on active duty? A. For retirement purposes, your SCD would be the date you entered on duty as a civilian employee of the federal government. Your period of active duty wouldn’t be included in determining your length of service unless you returned to a federal civilian position and made a deposit to the retirement fund for that period of active-duty service.