Q. I am 47 years old with 20 years in the Postal Service and am planning on separating soon. Will I be eligible to keep with my current insurance? How/where do I find how much more my premium will be? Will I get my 400+ hours of annual leave in a lump sum? How long does that take to process? (I can stay employed longer if the lump sum would still be applied to this year’s income for tax purposes.) Would I be eligible for any pension at age 59½? Would my seven months of unused sick leave count toward it?
Browsing: LIFE INSURANCE
Q. I work for the Postal Service with 29 years as of Aug. 4, and 10½ with civil service for the Navy. I am 59 years old, a postmaster EAS-11 office which is on the downsize or closure list. I do not want to transfer or have to drive 50 miles to another office. If I am forced to retire under discontinued service retirement, does my insurance that I already have continue?
Q. I have been with the Postal Service for 24 years, and I have an action for removal for nonperformance looming over me and a pending disability retirement application with the Office of Personnel Management. If I get terminated before OPM makes its decision, will that guarantee approval of disability retirement? What about insurance? If I get terminated, can I make some kind of arrangements to keep my health and life insurance? I must keep my health insurance with this medical condition and my family. I also need to hold on to my life insurance since my history is blotted.
Q. I have been a federal employee for one year. However, I am 60 years old. If I stay with the federal government for five years, will I be able to receive retirement pay? I have also served in and retired from the military.
In my last two columns, I described the procedures agencies are required to use when they conduct a reduction in force. In this column, I’ll focus on the options available to employees who are eligible to retire when facing a RIF. Immediate retirement If you have the right combination of age and service, you’ll be able to retire on an immediate annuity, even if you aren’t directly targeted by a RIF. Here are the rules, which are different for personnel under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System. The immediate retirement rules are different for special…
Q. My son, who was a National Security Agency employee, died 13 months after he retired. What are the benefits for his family, which consists of mother, and two brothers? My son was 56 years old.
Q. I had always believed, when you retired, your choice of taking the survivor benefit or not taking it was irrevocable. Now, I am told that if you chose the survivor benefit and your spouse died, you could reverse your option and collect your full annuity. Which is true? My thought was not to take the survivor Benefit and buy a life insurance policy with the savings. I work for the Postal Service.
Q. As a federal retiree, do I have the option to change or reduce Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Option C coverage in the next open season? After age 65, I do not need as much coverage and the rates jump by a large percentage.
Q. I am 55 and was recently hired as a DoDEA teacher. How many years do I need to work to be eligible to keep all of my insurance benefits?
Q. I am a 66-year-old federal employee with 24 years of service whose office is offering buyouts to fix furlough woes we are experiencing. I am healthy and, while I would love to be able to retire, I am uncertain. We are being told if we take the buyout, we can get unemployment benefits and COBRA coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. Would this be a smart move for me?