Q. With no budget in place and lack of funding being the basics for furloughs, is Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay still available? I’m 60 with 28 years’ service and can do an early retirement with the annuity for two years prior to age 62. There is some rumor about a reduction in force in the future. Will I be able to draw the VSIP and still get the annuity? I’m getting a lot of conflicting advice about funding for a VSIP.
A. Whether or not your agency has funds for VSIPs and has any intention of using them is something only they know. If you were offered a VSIP, you could accept it and also retire. Even if you weren’t offered a VSIP, you could retire on an immediate unreduced annuity because you already have the combination of age and service to do that.