Q. I am a FERS employee. My minimum retirement age is 56, at which time I would have 27 years of service. I am considering retiring on a possible Voluntary Early Retirement Authority offer at age 55, with 26 years of service. I have done a little research on the Social Security supplement for FERS employees, which is paid until you reach age 62. Under a VERA, would I be eligible for this supplement at age 55, or at my MRA of 56? If at 56, could I still retire at age 55 under a VERA, and postpone the supplement…
Browsing: Voluntary Early Retirement Authority
Q. I am a FERS with 21 years service and age 51 with an minimum retirement age of 56. Say I retire under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or Voluntary Separation Incentive Program prior to the end of 2012 and work elsewhere (not federal). Since I would not be receiving an annuity between retirement at age 51 and annuity eligibility at age 56, would any earned income above $14,640 during those five years have a delayed effect on my annuity from 56 to 62? A. No. The earnings limit only applies when you are receiving either the special retirement supplement…
Q. I am a CSRS employee, 62 years old, with 34-plus years of service. How do I figure out the amount of the VERA incentive that I will be offered? A. First let me clear up a misunderstanding. No financial incentives are included in a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) offer. If you are instead referring to the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) program, then it all depends. That’s because your agency has the option of offering the lesser of: 1. An amount equal to the amount of severance pay you would be entitled to receive, as computed under 5…
Q. I am a 31-year Army civilian employee under CSRS who will become eligible for regular voluntary retirement on May 12, 2013. (I will have 33 years of service). If the VERA is offered in September or December 2012, would it benefit me to take the VERA or just wait until May 2013 and retire? I know it will not benefit me if it is offered this December. I don’t want to have to take the 2 percent cut for each year under age 55. A. Since you don’t want to take the 2 percent per year reduction in your…
Q: Is the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Program being offered only to Air Force employees at this time and not Defense Logistics Agency employees? A: VERAs and VSIPs are offered by an agency only when they are needed to achieve its staffing goals. Within an agency, they can be focused as narrowly as to a specific unit, occupation or grade level.
Q. I’m 52 years old with 24 years of federal service under FERS. We are in a BRAC situation (installation closes on Sept. 14) and I am eligible for the offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments. Can I take the VERA and still continue with my attempt to get disability? Can I take the VSIP and still continue with my attempt to get disability? The paperwork I need to sign for the VSIP said that I give up the right to file for disability. But I don’t know if that also applies to VERA. The VERA/VSIP…