Q. I am facing mandatory retirement from a covered law enforcement position after 25 years. I would like to take a noncovered position in a different job series that’s nonlaw enforcement. Can I collect my full retirement? How would my retirement be affected? A. You could either retire and begin working in another position or transfer to another position and continue working. In the first case, the salary of your new position would, in most cases, be offset by the amount of your law enforcement officer annuity. In the second, you would continue to be a salaried employee. You could…
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Q. I am 54 years old and was employed with a federal agency for 17 years from 1979 to 1996. Upon resignation to enter the private sector, I withdrew 100 percent of my CSRS contributions. If I return to full-time federal employment this year, do I have the option of buying back the creditable service of 17 years for the same amount that I withdrew in 1996? Secondly, would I be able to continue with CSRS rather than FERS upon re-employment? Would I be eligible to retire after eight more years of federal employment service? A. If you returned to…
Q. I work for the Postal Service. If my job moves 75 miles away and I only have 15 years of FERS under my belt but will not move, what would be the difference in dollar terms under FERS of resigning with 14½ years at 43 years old vs. putting up with commuting or renting during the workweek for five more years of FERS to make 20 total years at 50 years old. Last high-3 basic pay would be around $56,000 per year. A. If you really want an answer to your question, you’ll have to hire a financial adviser…
Q. I am a FERS employee with less than five years of service. If I accept a new position with the government after Jan. 1, will I pay the new, higher FERS contribution rate or will it be considered a transfer (i.e. not a “new hire”) and thus exempt from the new contribution rate? A. It would be considered a transfer and not subject to the “new hire” rate.
Q. I have heard that, upon retiring, there is a 24-hour limit on selling back credit hours, and one could accumulate about 448 hours of unused annual leave, if done exquisitely; and that religious comp time may not be sold back. What about travel comp time? May that be sold back? Is there a cap? A. Compensatory time off for travel is forfeited: * If not used by the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which it was earned; * Upon voluntary transfer to another agency; * Upon movement to a noncovered position; or *…
Q. I am a retired federal worker who worked from 1972 to 1987 under CSRS then transferred to FERS in 1987. I left the federal government in 1995 with enough quarters to qualify for Social Security but with much less than 30 years of substantial earnings. In 2010, at age 60, I began getting my government annuity, part based on CSRS and part on FERS. This year at age 62, I am eligible to receive Social Security benefits. As I understand it, FERS transfers are not affected by the offset program but are affected by the windfall elimination provision. How…
Q. I was employed by the Postal Service for more than five years with a start date of March 17, 2007. I applied for a position with the Defense Department, DCMA division, and was accepted. I started work with DoD on April 9. I have received three paychecks to date, earning six hours of leave per pay period, so my start date with the federal government went back to March 17, 2007. I had accrued approximately 136 hours of annual leave and 327 hours of sick leave. I am in the new position, and human resources in Kansas is telling…
Q. I will have 40 years with the Internal Revenue Service in 2012 and plan to retire either this year or in 2013. I have been contributing to both the Thrift Savings Plan and the Voluntary Contributions Program. I plan to leave the TSP contributions to the G Fund alone and let it grow. The VCP is another matter. I have a Roth IRA with Vanguard and would like to transfer all of the VCP to the Vanguard Roth IRA. I know I am required to pay tax on the interest the VCP has earned in the year received. How do…
Q. I am a TransFERS employee with 12 years of CSRS service and 25 years of FERS service. At the time I transferred, I had approximately 600 hours of unused sick leave. I now have approximately 1,400 hours of unused sick leave. I understand that I would receive credit for the 600 hours earned under CSRS and credit for half of the balance earned under FERS. Will the 600 hours be credited as extra CSRS time and be subject to the 2 percent multiplier or will it all be tacked onto my FERS time and subject to the 1 percent…
Q: How long can my current agency retain me when I have accepted a position with a different agency? I accepted a position at the same grade but at a different series. My new/gaining agency has requested a release date 17 days in the future, meaning I will remain with my current agency for the next full pay period. However, my current agency has requested that I remain in place for 31 days, which is two pay periods. This is unacceptable to me and is being done out of spite. An HR specialist in my current agency indicated that this…