Q. I have 33 years in and am under CSRS. I will be 60 years old in May. I served less than two years in the Army in my 20s. I am a WG-8 making almost $25 an hour. I receive correspondence statements from Social Security that if I retire at age 62, I would be eligible for approximately $300 based on a second job 12 years ago and jobs before joining the government in the 1980s. 1. Should I buy back the time I have in the Army? 2. Will the buyback help increase my Social Security? Or will…
Browsing: TSP
Q. I have been working for the federal government for a little more than two years. I am planning on moving in the next few months. I have applied to federal jobs as well as private-sector jobs and have heard back from the private-sector jobs. I read that TSP is vested at three years and that employees are entitled to retirement benefits after five years. If I were to leave the federal system at this point, would I be able to return to the system in the future and restart, as it were, at my two-year mark? A. Yes. If…
Q. I am 65 years old, have 30 years continuous military service and am retired, so I know I will get Social Security next year if I choose. However, I also now have 10 years continuous civilian federal service. My SF-50 indicates FERS-FICA. I am in a full-time indefinite status but have been a GS for three straight years and in NSPS status for two years following that. There have been no breaks in service. I also contribute 7 percent to TSP. If I retire from federal service next year, what, if any, are the retirements benefits under FERS-FICA excluding…
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 47 years old and worked for the post office for three years. During that time, I bought back my military service time of eight years. Am I eligible to someday get that retirement for the 11 years? If not, will I be reimbursed what it cost to buy back my time? Is the Thrift Savings Plan a separate entity, and when can I start receiving that? I’m currently working away from the federal realm. A. Reg: No, you wouldn’t be eligible for an annuity because you didn’t have at least five years of actual civilian service. If…
Q. I was a postal employee between 1983 and 1996. When leaving the Postal Service, I took a withdrawal from the pension system. 1. Could these funds be redeposited into the system so I could qualify to draw an annuity? 2. If I must return as an employee of the Postal Service AND redeposit the funds I withdrew from the pension system, how long would I have to work before I could qualify to retire? I also contributed funds into the TSP which I never withdrew. Those funds are still active with the plan. A. You cannot redeposit the refund…
Q. I am a CSRS employee with 30 years of service at age 51. How would my retirement funds be affected if I accepted an early buyout? And how would it affect my TSP? A. Your annuity would be reduced by 1/6 of 1 percent per month (2 percent per year) that you were under age 55.
Q. My husband was a temporary federal employee for the Defense Department for five years. He was laid off in August. He had two years of military service, which he bought that time back, so in essence he has seven years of federal service. He is 60 years old. He put 10 percent of his salary in the Thrift Savings Plan. Should he leave that money in TSP or put it in another vehicle? Also, when he reaches retirement age (62), will he receive a pension for the seven years of federal service? He left DoD with a sick leave…
Q. When I retire under FERS, can I get all of my Thrift Savings Plan monies, Social Security and my annuity? Can I roll over my TSP monies without paying 30 percent of the total to the Internal Revenue Service? If so, what amount of tax-deferred monies, once rolled over, can I take out monthly without a penalty or have to pay taxes? A. Reg: Yes, you can receive an annuity and, unless you retire under the MRA+10 provision, the special retirement supplement, when you reach your minimum retirement age. Unless you exceed the Social Security earnings limit from wages…
Q. I know that the Social Security supplement is reduced for any earnings above $14,640 (in fiscal year 2012). If I retire under FERS at my minimum retirement age but my wife keeps working at her job, will her earnings count toward that $14,640? Also, would distributions from my Thrift Savings Plan count toward it? A. Reg: The Social Security earnings limit applies only to your own earnings from wages and self-employment, not anything else. Mike: Your TSP distributions do not count as earned income.