Q. My agency is contemplating a buyout but wants everyone off the books by Dec. 31. I would think it would be beneficial to retire on a date that would roll any buyout payment and any annual leave lump sum into the following tax year, when income would be lower. Am I correct that retiring on Dec. 29 would place me on the annuity role in January, and my Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment buyout and annual leave lump sum would be 2013 income? A. Yes.
Browsing: VSIP
Q. I have eight years of federal service as a FERS employee and believe I qualify for a deferred annuity at age 62. Would I be eligible for a VSIP (if offered), and if I were to accept a VSIP to leave; would this affect my annuity beginning at age 62; and if so, how? A. Yes, you’d be eligible for a VSIP. And you’d be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62. The annuity would be calculated using the standard formula: 0.01 x your high-3 on the day you left x your years and full months of service…
Q. I’m a 52-year-old mail handler with 28 years of service. I still owe on my mortgage. I have enough equity to buy something smaller and pay most of it in full. Would I be eligible to retire now to take advantage of the $15,000 early-out being offered? A. Because you meet the age and service requirements for early voluntary retirement, you could do so if you were offered a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment.
Q. I have been under CSRS since 1983 with the USPS. I was sent home from the National Reassessment Program claiming no work available and have been in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs since April 2010. I’ve been through vocational rehab training and still cannot find work. I am struggling financially, and I need to know which one will benefit me more: the VERA/$15,000 incentive or disability retirement. A. I can narrow the field for you. First, because you have a disability such that you are or would be eligible for disability retirement, you are barred from receiving a…
Q. I am a FERS/frozen CSRS Postal Service clerk who will be 56 years old with 34 years service. I’m eligible for retirement in November. If the Postal Service offers a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority with monetary incentive after I submit my retirement forms but before I actually retire, will I be eligible for the VERA with monetary incentive? A. It’s possible but unlikely. The purpose of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment is to encourage employees to retire who would be less likely to do so without a cash incentive.
Q. I am a FERS employee. Under VERA/VSIP, does my sick leave contribute toward my length of service computation? A. No. It is added only after you meet the age and service requirements to retire; and, if you retire before Jan. 1, 2014, only half credit is given for it.
Q. I retired from the Department of Justice in 2007. I received a $25,000 VSIP. I returned to work before the five-year waiting period and repaid the entire $25,000. I am employed by a different agency and am now thinking about going out after only two years. Am I eligible for a new VSIP? A. Absolutely not. By law, payment of a VSIP is a one-time, non-repeatable event.
Q. Can an agency direct an employee not to submit a retirement packet prior to its Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay decision? Does an agency decision to grant VSIP affect an employee’s ability to pursue optional retirement? I’m a FERS employee with the Defense Department and was eligible for MRA+10 effective December 2011. My agency deemed my position surplus in 2011 and offered VSIP and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority to separate in 2012. I’ve opted to retire under MRA+10 effective Sept. 30, and to request VSIP. (I’m ineligible for VERA.) I’m prepared to submit my retirement packet to the Army Benefits…
Q. I worked for NAF from Sept. 1, 1970, to August 1990 in the Air Force. With no break in service, I ported into FERS. Early in my FERS career, I had the option of taking my NAF retirement in a differed annuity or transferring it into FERS with my NAF service. I chose to move all of my NAF retirement money ($6,500) into FERS, hoping it would combine with my FERS retirement. In November, I started looking at the possibilities of taking the VSIP. From November to April, I spoke with BEST counselors five times trying to get an…
Q. I am a FERS employee with 27 years of civilian service and six years of military service, for which I made a deposit to get credit for retirement purposes. My MRA is 56. Am I eligible to retire on the first day of the calendar year in which I turn 56, or is it the day I turn 56? At that time, I will have 36 years of service. Will I get 36 percent of my high-3? When am I eligible to get 1.1 percent per year versus 1 percent? If I were offered a voluntary early retirement or…