Q. I am a GS-1811 law enforcement officer in FERS who is scheduled for mandatory retirement in December 2013. If I retire then or, say, retire before 62 (in the event I get another federal position), is there an earnings test on the Social Security supplement payable to me before I reach 62? A. If you retire before your minimum retirement age (not age 62), you’ll be able to earn as much as you want without it affecting your special retirement supplement. However, as soon as you reach your MRA, the earnings test will apply. MRAs range between 55 and…
Browsing: special retirement supplement
Q. I will be 56 in December and have a bit over 26 years of Postal Service employment under my belt. I was told that I would not be eligible for the special retirement supplement until I have 30 years of service. That would seem to mean that I would not be able to receive the supplement for a little less than four years. Under the present Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, is this true? Has the VERA changed my minimum retirement age even in light of the present SRS requirements? A. No it isn’t true. Whoever told you that was…
Q. I am a federal employee with the Department of Justice, non-law enforcement, and will have 30 years of service at age 54, approximately two years before my minimum retirement age. Can I leave the government before MRA with 30 years and still be eligible to receive my special retirement supplement and my FERS retirement without a penalty at my MRA? Would I still be able to collect my Thrift Savings Plan, without penalty at my MRA, or would I be required to wait until age 59½? A. Reg: If you left government before reaching your minimum retirement age, you…
Q. I am a recently retired special agent from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; I was a GS-1811 for almost 29 years. I have not been able to receive a definitive answer to the following question: Will the Social Security supplement that is part of my FERS retirement be eliminated when I reach the mandatory retirement age of 57 for 1811s, or will it continue until my 62nd birthday, when I am eligible to receive Social Security? A. For special category employees, such as law enforcement officers, the special retirement supplement begins immediately and continues to age 62, when they…
Q. I am 51 (I turn 52 in April) and have been a law enforcement officer for 23 years, plus four years of military time that I bought back. Because of torn retinas, I have lost all depth perception permanently and have been placed on light duty pending further medical review. I will likely be ruled unable to perform in a law enforcement position and unfit for duty. I wasn’t planning on retiring, but now it might be forced on me with a FERS disability retirement. If that is the case, what is better — to just retire voluntary, before…
Q. My MRA is 56 (I was born in 1955). If I retire at age 59 with 20-plus years of service and defer my annuity until age 60, would I still receive the FERS Social Security annuity supplement until age 62, or do I actually have to wait until I reach age 60 to retire? A. If you retired at age 59 with 20-plus years of service, you’d be retiring under the MRA+10 provision. No one who retires under that provision is eligible to receive the special retirement supplement, regardless of when his annuity begins.
Q. I am a Border Patrol FERS employee (11 years) and Army National Guardsman (19 years) with prior active-duty military service. I have already purchased my active-duty time before federal employment (2½ years), as well as time from two deployments since my federal service (an additional two years). I am now approaching my military reserve retirement (20 reserve years) and have confirmed that I will begin receiving my reserve pension at age 60. I have also confirmed that I can receive this retirement along with my FERS retirement. I plan to retire from Border Patrol at age 55. Will I…
Q. I am 48 with 25 years of federal service under FERS. I am considering my options and was wondering what would be the ramifications of leaving government service by resignation or early retirement, if available. A. If your agency offered you an opportunity to retire early, you could do that. If it didn’t, you couldn’t. With early retirement, you’d receive an annuity computed as follows: 0.01 x your high-3 x your years and full months of service. You wouldn’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement until you reached your minimum retirement age (56) and your first cost-of-living adjustment…
Q. I am 48 with 25 years of federal service under FERS. I am considering my options and was wondering what would be the ramifications of leaving government service by resignation or early retirement, if available. A. If your agency offered you an opportunity to retire early, you could do that. If it didn’t, you couldn’t. With early retirement, you’d receive an annuity computed as follows: 0.01 x your high-3 x your years and full months of service. You wouldn’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement until you reached your minimum retirement age (56) and your first cost-of-living adjustment…
Q. I am a postal employee in FERS. I received a document from my human resources department, which states that my retirement eligibility date is May 19, 2016 (I was born in 1960). Does this mean I will receive the special retirement supplement even though I began employment with the Postal Service on Feb. 8, 1988, which only gives me 28 years of service time? I thought the FERS annuity supplement had the requirement of 30 years service time and age 56 for me. I have to make a decision by Dec. 3 as to whether or not to take…