Q. In reviewing many of your comments, it is fairly clear that if one were to take advantage of the Postal Service buyout, one would not receive the Social Security bridge supplement until the minimum retirement age is reached. I thought one had to serve one year following the year in which they reached their MRA to receive the bridge. Am I mistaken? Our specifics are: A postal worker, age 50, with 25 years of credited service, having been offered the buyout. If she does not take it, will she have to work to age 57 or 56 to retire…
Browsing: special retirement supplement
Q. I am confused about the supplement. I am 55 with 27 years in. My minimum retirement age is 56; reaching that mark would qualify me for the supplement, but how much will that be? My Social Security statement says $1,400 projected at age 62. And if I take the supplement, I understand I can only make, in addition to that, some $14,000. What happens at 62? Is my Social Security reduced for taking it at 56, or is this a nonpenalized benefit I am receiving? A. To be eligible for the special retirement supplement, you would have to retire…
Q. I will have been employed with USPS for 10 years in March. I bought back my four years of military time. I will be 56 in June. Do I qualify for SRS? A. First, the only way you could retire is under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 years of service). Second, no one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is eligible to receive the special retirement supplement.
Q. I am a Postal Service FERS employee with 26 years of service, and I will be 60 years old on Feb. 19. The USPS early-out takes effect Jan. 31. I will be 19 days short of reaching 60 when the early-out begins, so will I be eligible for special retirement supplement? Will I get a penalized for leaving early? A. Employees who are offered early retirement may retire at age 50 with 20 years of service or at any age with 25. Therefore, you will be able to retire, not be hit by an age penalty, and be immediately…
Q. I am retiring with 30 years at age 56 as an Air Reserve Technician. I have been told that ARTs can make as much money as they want without affecting the special retirement supplement, because they are retired due to high year tenure. Is that true? Also, if an ART retires early, but is 56 and has 30 years in, can they make more than the $14,160 limit without losing their supplement? A. Whoever told you that was mistaken. Only retiring law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers can receive the special retirement supplement before they reach their…
Q. I retired on a FERS pension in August 2008. I also began receiving the FERS special retirement supplement as of the payment made Jan. 4, 2010. I obtained a job in the private sector on April 12, 2011, but was laid off on Feb. 28, 2012. I will have received unemployment insurance benefits from mid-March through this month. My special retirement supplement was offset by earnings over the annual exempt amount in 2011. (The “overpayment” is being deducted from my current FERS supplement payment.) My earnings in 2012 are well under the annual exempt amount. Is the special retirement supplement offset by unemployment…
Q. I am 59 years old and will have 23 years of service under FERS with the federal government in January. If I decide to retire via Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay, will I take a penalty in my retirement pay? If so, at what percent would that be? Also, would I still receive the supplemental benefit if I leave? In filling out the form for VERA/VSIP, would I select the VSIP or VERA? Would I be eligible for the VSIP? A. If you were to accept an offer of early retirement, you wouldn’t be subject to the…
Q. I am a 60-year-old FERS employee with 19 years at the Postal Service and four years of military service. I have taken the buyout and will retire Jan. 31. Do I qualify for the special retirement supplement? A. Yes.
Q. I plan on retiring in 2013 under FERS immediate annuity under the 30-year/minimum retirement age with no penalty for age. I am FERS code 8, and my annuity computation date and retirement computation date are both Feb. 8, 1983. 1. Is the earliest date that I can retire on to give me 30 years Feb. 8, 2013? 2. My 30 years will consist of FERS employment, “bought back” military time and “bought back” (via a redeposit) CSRS time. Will I qualify to receive the FERS annuity supplement even though I will not have 30 years of FERS-only time? Can…
Q. I received a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority letter from the Postal Service. I’m in FERS and have been seeing stuff about a supplement I may be eligible for. The deadline is soon. I started as a rural carrier associate in 1988 and was transferred to a clerk in May 1993 after an on-the-job injury. I have permanent light duty and receive no injury benefits, I’m listed as a general clerk. I purchased back retirement time and was told it was for six months. Now it has been recalculated to three weeks, changing my start date to April 1993. I…