Q. I am a FERS employee, and I’m considering a June 1, 2013, retirement date. I will be 57 years old and have 29 years of service on that date. I understand that I would take a 5 percent reduction on my FERS pension for each year under age 62. Will I be eligible for the special retirement supplement? Can I take monthly withdrawals for my Thrift Savings Plan account without being liable for the early withdrawal penalty? A. Reg: No one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is eligible to receive the special retirement supplement. Mike: If you retire…
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Q. I am 53 with 18 years of federal service under FERS. I am retired Army Reserve (four years ago) with 24 years, two in active duty. I have paid into Social Security and FERS. 1. If I buy back the two years of active duty, I will have 20 years of federal service. Would I stay at 24 years military or drop down to 22 years? 2. How would I calculate potential retirement amounts to determine if it is a financial benefit to buy back the two years of active-duty time? 3. Are my Social Security, military, FERS or…
Q. I am a postmaster, age 51, with 26 years of service under FERS. I have been offered the VERA. The USPS has stated that in two years, if we haven’t been able to land another job in the executive and administrative schedule (EAS), we would be given a reduction-in-force notice and separated from service. Would I be eligible for an immediate annuity at that time under a Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR)? I realize I can’t touch TSP or receive the Social Security special retirement supplement because I will be only 53, but I would need to be able to…
Q. I am a federal employee approaching 30 years of service (in November). I am age 48. While recently researching my retirement plan, I was informed by the personnel office that a mistake was made close to 30 years ago and that I should not have been put in CSRS. My entire career and all of my records and data from the government have indicated CSRS for 30 years. I have made life and career decisions based on CSRS. I was given the choice back in the early 1980s to go FERS or CSRS, and of course, I chose CSRS.…
Q. I’ll be 62 years old in March and covered by FERS for six years. After retirement, I’ll leave the country. Besides a small amount in the Thrift Savings Plan, there will be no health care coverage (will be covered by my home country) or other retirements service in the future. Social Security will be my only monthly U.S. income. The rough estimate retirement amount from FERS will be around $260 per month. Do I get the amount that I contributed AND the amount the government contributed in a lump-sum payment? A. No, you wouldn’t get a lump-sum payment. Instead,…
Q. I have been working for the federal government for just over 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, so far, heard back from the private-sector jobs. I read that the Thrift Savings Plan 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?…
Q. My husband has been a federal employee since September 2005. He is suffering from Stage IV cancer and will not make the 10-year mark. What survivor benefits are applicable to me and my two teenage daughters? What should I apply for upon his death? A. If he dies while still an employee and has less than 10 years of service, you would be entitled to a one-time lump-sum payment ($30,792.98 in 2012), plus a lump-sum which equals the higher of one-half of his annual basic pay or one-half of his high-3, plus any Social Security benefits and Thrift Savings…
Q. I retired from the Navy last year (I have 20 years in) and am receiving my pension. I took a GS-12 job and am under FERS. I’ll be 39 in a few weeks. If I wanted to retire at age 57, what would be my monthly payout? For how long? I understand that there is a three-tier system using the Thrift Savings Plan and Social Security. Am I allowed to draw on those at age 57, or do I have to wait until age 62? Reg Jones: You could retire at age 57 under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age…
Q. I am a GS employee that is also a member of the Air Guard. I will be leaving on leave without pay to go through military training for roughly five to six months. How will this affect my FERS retirement and my Thrift Savings Plan contributions? Do I have to buy back my military retirement to obtain my FERS retirement contributions during my LWOP? A. Reg Jones: You will be on LWOP-US. Therefore, you will have to make a deposit to the retirement system to get credit for that period of active-duty service. Mike Miles: You may not contribute…
Q. I am in FERS with 18 years of federal service. Will my FERS pension be calculated on base pay (gross) or net pay after TSP contributions? A. It will be calculated on basic pay. To see what’s included in basic pay, go to www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C030.pdf and scroll down to Section 30A.1-2.