Q. I took a downgrade when I moved to another state. My high-3 was at a GS-9 Step 6 in 2006. Will my high-3 calculation be based on what I made for three consecutive years at the salary I was getting in 2006, or will it be based on GS-9 Step 6 the year I retire? In other words, will the cost-of-living raises be included in the retirement calculation? A. Your high-3 will be based on your highest three consecutive years of average pay, regardless of when that occurs in your career.
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Q. I’m a full-time FERS employee with 21 years of service and over 60 years in age. I am on a temporary promotion that is to “Not to Exceed 12/31/2012”. I am planning on retiring Nov. 30, a month before the temporary promotion expires. I am also planning on “selling” my 100 hours of unused annual leave at retirement. Will my leave be sold at my temporary promotion salary (GS-14) or at my permanent grade (GS-13)? A. Since your agency has the right to return you to your official position of record before you separate, the amount of your lump-sum…
Q. I retired (federal law enforcement) on Feb. 29 at the age of 55. My total law enforcement time was 20 years with an additional seven years of federal service. I am receiving a partial annuity until the Office of Personnel Management has the time to finish it, which may be six or seven months. I received a lump-sum payment upon my retirement for my annual leave. I would like to take a job as a reinstatement employee with federal service. Do I lose my entire annuity if I do this? I understand that retirement deductions will be held, but…
Q. After 30 years of federal service, I retired in 2002. I was re-employed by the Department of Health and Human Services in April 2010, full-time permanent under the same CSRS plan from which I originally retired. At that time, my salary was offset by the amount of my annuity. How long will I need to work without a break in federal service to qualify for a recalculation of my original CSRS annuity? I contribute to CSRS retirement, and I participate in the Thrift Savings Program. I expect to work for six additional years, when I will have reached my 71st…
Q. I retired (not by choice) with 31 years under CSRS as a discontinued service retiree from Aug. 2, 2011, through Dec. 17, 2011. I was placed on priority placement program since I declined my transfer of work to Fort Lee, Va., and subsequently was rehired into the federal workforce Dec. 19, 2011, as a GS-09 (I was a GS-11 at retirement). Therefore, I am losing about $500 per month. I am beginning to think I would have been better off staying a DSR. How does my CSRS annuity work now? I want to know how long it will be…
Q. Approximately how much does a CSRS letter carrier from Kansas receive (pension) after 40 years of service? Never promoted beyond letter carrier. A. You’ll have to figure it out yourself, using the following formula: 0.015 x your highest three years of average salary (your high-3) x five years of service, plus 0.0175 x your high-3 x five years of service, plus 0.02 x your high-3 x all remaining years of service.
Q. When I retire from my GS position, I plan to take a part-time position at a lower pay scale. Would I start out in the Step 1 position, or would it be at a higher step? A. Because there is no requirement that you be hired above Step 1, it’s up to the agency that is hiring you to determine if there is any basis for placing you at a higher step. FYI, unless you are being hired into a position that allows you to receive both your full annuity and the full salary of your new position, your…
Q. I am on workers’ compensation, and I am interested in starting my disability retirement benefits. I talked with a lady at the Office of Personnel Management, and she informed me that I could go back to work someday and still collect disability retirement benefits, but my gross salary could not be more than 80 percent of my Postal Service salary. If I were to sell a house and make a profit, is that considered gross salary, like a job would be? A. No, it isn’t. The 80 percent limit applies only to earnings from wages and self-employment, not other…
Q. I am biological research technician retiring from the Veterans Affairs Department on May 31. My boss wants to stay involved with the laboratory training new students in molecular biology. He wants to rehire me two days per week after I retire. Is this possible without affecting my annuity? A. Unless you can be appointed under either an exceptional needs authority or on a limited time appointment, the salary of your new position would be offset by the amount of your annuity. Your boss can only propose that; only your agency can decide if that’s appropriate.
Q. I will have 25 years of service soon but will only be 48. If the government offers early-outs, what will I be eligible for? Pension at one-quarter of my salary for the last three years? Health insurance? What if I get a part-time job? Will this affect my pension or annuity? Also, if I do an annuity on my Thrift Savings Plan, can I start that now? Will there be a penalty? Do I get this same amount for the rest of my life, or does it stop after a certain number of years? A. Reg Jones: Because you…