Q: I retired Sept. 29, 2010, under discontinued service as a National Guard Technician and am eligible for an immediate annuity. My military service was from September 1977 through April 1984 (6 ½ years) and my tech service time was from Aug. 11, 1985, through Sept. 29, 2010 (just over 25 years). My military time has been bought back. I was born in 1959 and was 51 years old and 3 months when I retired. Will I get the FERS supplement? A: Yes, you’ll be eligible for the special retirement supplement when you reach your minimum retirement age, which is 56.…
Browsing: special retirement supplement
Q: I am a 49-year-old FERS employee with 27 years of service and am currently eligible for a VERA & VSIP. I am considering resigning or retiring for another non-federal position to remain in my current location. I would like to lock in my retirement and benefits eligibility, yet avoid all the reduction of purchase power the early retirement with no COLA until age 62 will result in. What is my best option to accomplish this? Am I eligible for a postponed retirement through VERA, and will that enable my eligibility for my health care, LTC, and life insurance? A: Because you…
Q: I retire from the bureau of prisons as a correctional officer in two years. My entire 20 years will be as a guard. When I retire, I will be 54 years old. Under the special law enforcement provision of Social Security, am I entitled to a partial draw from Social Security at age 54? A: Assuming that you are a law enforcement officer and are covered under the special provision that allows you retire at age 50 with 20 years of service, you would immediately be entitled to the special retirement supplement. The SRS approximates the Social Security benefit…
Q: Regarding the article in the May 16 Federal Times “How to Calculate SRS Benefit”: The first paragraph says that employees are trying to find out what their annuities would be if they get the opportunity to retire early or are RIF’d. However, the article doesn’t seem to address retiring early until the second to last paragraph. So if someone is 50 years old with 20 years of service of any age with 25, which is the criteria to retire early, they won’t get the special retirement supplement? They would have to be the MRA with 20 or 25 years…
Q: I read your column faithfully in Fed Times and I have some questions concerning the special retirement supplement I am receiving along with my FERS annuity. I retired under the special 6(c) law enforcement retirement (I had reached the age of 57) on Dec 31, 2009. I just received a 2010 Annuity Supplement Earnings Report from OPM today in the mail. Your May 16th column suggests that I may fall under one of the exceptions. I did begin working again in 2010 for the state police, which does not participate or deduct Social Security. Can you provide some guidance…
Q: My wife just retired with 21 years and five months of government service at age 60. Her first two years and 10 months she was a WG employee at the Navy Exchange. She then became a DOD employee (with no break in service) and was told all of her WG time transferred to the GS position. Her service commencement date has always included her time as a WG employee. OPM has told her she is not eligible for the Social Security supplement because her time as a WG does not count, and she only has 18 years and 7…
Q: I was recently offered voluntary early retirement from the U.S. Postal Service. I have 30 1/2 years of credible service, I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System, and I am 51 years old. I am also considered a reduction-in-force employee because our district office has been closed. Do I qualify for the special retirement supplement? A: You would be eligible for the special retirement supplement when you reach your minimum retirement age, which is 56.
Q: My wife could receive an offer to retire early sometime this year because of budget cuts. She is 57 years old and has 27 years of federal service under the Federal Employees Retirement System. She will receive the FERS annuity supplement supplement until she is 62. Will she have to start taking her Social Security benefits at age 62 because she is receiving the annuity supplement, or can she hold off taking her Social Security until a later date? A: While the special retirement supplement ends at age 62, there is no requirement that a retiree apply for a…
Q. I’m a 53 year old FERS employee with 25 years of service this June. I’m considering taking a VERA if one is offered in late March 2011. I know that a supplemental is offered as an incentive if you have the right requirements. I fall short of the age requirement. My question is, if I took the VERA that might be offered, would I still be able to get the supplement when I reach the MRA? If so, would it automatically be put into my pension at the time I reach my MRA or would I have to apply for…
Q. I will retire at the end of March. I am a FERS employee with 30 years service, and am age 57 1/2. My Human Resources office told me I will be penalized on my Supplemental Social Security payment at an amount of 5 percent per year until I reach age 62. My question is: Will this Supplemental Social Security payment increase yearly as I approach age 62, or does it remain the same. A. It sounds like your HR office was talking about the age penalty that’s applied to the annuities of employees who retire under the MRA+10 provision…