Q: Is the time spent at a service academy creditable for civilian retirement if the employee did not graduate? There has always been an assumption that if the individual did not graduate from the academy that the time was not creditable for civilian retirement purposes. Nowhere can a reference be located with a mention of graduating. I’ve exhausted just about every reference possible and the closest thing that I can find is Section 1115 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which authorizes federal employees to receive retirement “credit for service as a cadet or midshipman at…
Browsing: RETIREMENT
Q: I am a GS-1811 law enforcement officer covered under the early retirement provisions of 6(c) and a Civil Service Retirement System employee. Can my four years of active-duty military service, for which I have made a redeposit into CSRS, be used to reach the 35 years (or 80 percent max annuity under CSRS) of total credited federal service (i.e., 31 years of actual federal LEO civilian service plus 4 years of military service equal 35 years of service annuity)? A: Your first 20 years of law enforcement service will be calculated using the enhanced formula: 0.25 x your high-3…
Q: I’m currently 62 years old with 29 years in federal civil service (Civil Service Retirement System), three years of prior military service and a service computation date of March 28, 1977. I plan to retire in 2010 and may have the opportunity to continue as a part-time employee. If I am re-employed by the federal government (possibly on the same job), would I be in the CSRS or the Federal Employees Retirement System? In addition, I have 25 credit hours with Social Security and need 15 more hours to make up for the 40 credit hours requirement to be…
Q: I am a Federal Firefighter. I was hired in 1986 and will retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System. My question revolves around my active-duty military service deposit to the federal retirement fund. Since I have made this deposit and am in good standing to receive compensation for this time; my question is; can I apply it to help determine the length of my service in order to fulfill the 25-year requirement? As a federal firefighter, I am subject to the special retirement for law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic control personnel. I cannot get a consistent or…
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee who has about 28 years of civil-service time with the Navy. I have about $19,000 to pay back for retirement money I withdrew. I have already paid back my military portion. Under a deferred retirement, I would be allowed to continue paying back my civil retirement debt up to six months before my 62nd birthday, which is when I’m suppose to file for retirement with the Office of Personnel Management. My divorce decree states once I retire from the civil service, the alimony ceases. Since a deferred retirement is one…
Q: I was told that in October, regulations on the maximum age for law enforcement pay were changed to read that if you are over 37 years old with a DD 214, you may apply for law enforcement jobs (prison guard, fedearal marshal, etc.). Is this correct information? A: No, it isn’t. However, Section 1086 of Public Law 111-84 did increase the maximum age limit for an original law enforcement or firefighter appointment to 47 for anyone receiving retired or retainer pay for military service or premium or compensation from the Veterans Affairs Department instead of retired or retainer pay.…
Q: Can you please explain the process for deferred retirement under the Federal Employees Retirement System? If I decide to retire from federal government service early (with 25 or more years of service, but not the age) and defer retirement benefits, is the annuity when received not reduced? Also, if I move to another government system (e.g, state or local government), could I continue to receive my federal annuity when eligible at 56 years of age? A: Any employee leaving government before being eligible to retire can apply for a deferred retirement at a later date. If the employee has…
Q: I started working for the Postal Service in January of 1995 as a PTF clerk. Now I am a full-time employee. Under the Federal Employees Retirement System, how do my part-time hours get counted for retirement time? Over 14 years, I have between 12,000 and 13,000 hours. A: Go to to Office of Personnel Management’s chapter on the computation for part-time employees and scroll down to Subchapter 55B, Part 55B2.
Q: Which states do not tax federal retirement benefits? A: States with no personal income taxes include Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Those states that exempt the total amount of civil service annuities include Alabama, North Carolina (beginning in 1998 if the individual had five years of creditable government service as of Aug. 12, 1989), Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky (only if retired before Jan. 1, 1998), Hawaii, Oregon (not taxed if retired before Oct. 1, 1991; if retired on that date or later, only taxed on the portion earned after that…
Q: Mr. Jones answered a question on Dec. 2 (“Annual leave and returning to federal service”) pertaining to lump-sum payment for annual leave for one returning to federal service. The answer was: “As required by law, you will have to return every penny you received for annual leave that hasn’t expired between the time you retired, and the time you return to work.” Two questions: Can you provide citations to statute and/or regulations that require this result? And what does “hasn’t expired” mean? The leave year typically ends in early January. If you retire in July and return to work…