Q. I am a Postal Service employee with 28 years of service. I am 58 years old and am considering the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority offer. I have gone to the Social Security website to find out how much I would receive at age 62. I need this number to calculate the amount that would be included with my FERS VERA annuity. Can you help? A. You can estimate what your special retirement supplement would be using the following formula: Take the Social Security benefit at age 62 provided to you by the Social Security Administration, multiply it by your…
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Q. I am 54 and have 28½ years in with the Postal Service. My first official retirement date is July 9, 2014. However, I am being told that if I retire now with the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, my annuity will be higher than if I wait until 56 due to the 5 percent penalty for each year I am under 62. That would give me a 30 percent penalty on my annuity. Is this correct? I just want to go the way I will have the most in my annuity. A. The person you talked to was confused. If you…
Q. I am a 50-year-old FERS Postal Service employee with 25 years in. If my processing plant closes, am I offered a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority at that point? Can I retire instead of relocating? A. Whether or not a VERA is offered, if you receive a reduction-if-force notice, you could retire on an immediate annuity. That’s because an employee with 25 years of service who is facing involuntary separation can retire at any age.
Q. I am a CSRS employee with 33 years of federal service and I am 54 years old. My agency (the Postal Service) is offering a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority at the end of January. I am a disabled vet with 80 percent rating. Should I take the VERA or apply for medical retirement? I have paid all required quarters for Social Security, and have a daughter still in school. Which method is more beneficial? I plan to apply for 100 percent Veterans Affairs compensation as service-connected injuries are more disabling. A. Based on your years of service, the only…
Q. I am 59 years old and will have 23 years of service under FERS with the federal government in January. If I decide to retire via Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay, will I take a penalty in my retirement pay? If so, at what percent would that be? Also, would I still receive the supplemental benefit if I leave? In filling out the form for VERA/VSIP, would I select the VSIP or VERA? Would I be eligible for the VSIP? A. If you were to accept an offer of early retirement, you wouldn’t be subject to the…
Q. I am a federal law enforcement officer with more than 30 years of CSRS service. I do not have 20 years of federal law enforcement coverage, a main reason I remain on duty. Would I be eligible for VERA or VSIP, and by participating, would I receive the 18 months I need to attain 20 years in a covered position? Twenty years of law enforcement coverage computes to 50 percent of my high-3 plus the remaining years. I need 18 months of additional law enforcement time on duty to be eligible for a law enforcement retirement calculation. Does VERA…
Q. I received a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority letter from the Postal Service. I’m in FERS and have been seeing stuff about a supplement I may be eligible for. The deadline is soon. I started as a rural carrier associate in 1988 and was transferred to a clerk in May 1993 after an on-the-job injury. I have permanent light duty and receive no injury benefits, I’m listed as a general clerk. I purchased back retirement time and was told it was for six months. Now it has been recalculated to three weeks, changing my start date to April 1993. I…
Q. I am a combination CSRS/FERS 32-year employee of the Postal Service, age 54. I did not have health insurance through the post office because I was always covered by my husband’s health insurance. I only took my own health insurance because I was told I had to be in the program for five years to be eligible to keep the insurance after I retire (in case something happened to my husband or the place he worked at). I have been in the program for four years as of January and did not plan on retiring until January 2014, at…
Q. I’m 50 and have 21 years of federal government service under FERS. If my agency offers Voluntary Early Retirement Authority next year, which I expect it will, I’ll probably accept. My high-3 average is $100,000, I’ll have 22 years of service, and my Thrift Savings Plan is around $200,000. 1. Can I receive my FERS annuity ($22,000/year) as soon as I officially retire, without penalty? 2. Can I receive FERS supplemental annuity from when I’m 57 (minimum retirement age) to 62? 3. Can I receive my Social Security from as early as 62 (or, if I choose, 67 or 70)? A. 1. Yes. 2.…
Q. I will have 28.75 years with the Postal Service in FERS when I’m eligible to take the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority offered for Jan. 31. With half of my eight months of sick leave, I will have another four months credited to me. I will be 56 years old in January, so this is a real birthday present! I understand that my FERS annuity will not be reduced because of the VERA. So, if my annuity is not reduced before I would retire with 30 years of service because of the VERA offer, is there any incentive to keep…