Q. I am a federal employee with 21 years military service. I receive military retirement pay and a separate disability from VA. I am considering retiring in five years. If I buy my military time back now, can I keep receiving my military retirement until I retire from the federal government? Do I still receive my VA pay after federal retirement? A. The answer to both questions is yes.
Browsing: buyback
Q. I have 23½ years of federal service in FERS. Prior to this, I had seven years of North Carolina state government service. Can I buy back those seven years to credit toward my federal service? A. No.
Q. I worked for the Postal Service from late 1979 until about 1991. I had a lot of personal and work-related problems and was also given a letter of termination. I decided to quit. I also tried to pursue a disability, but I dropped that because of stress and depression. I withdrew my retirement to pay an accumulation of four months of bills and rent that I was behind in. I vaguely recall reading that there was a buyback of retirement. Is this true? I am applying for Social Security benefits. I am only 58, but, due to health concerns,…
Q. My organization has been approved for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. I am covered by FERS and will have 30 years creditable service May 24 at age 57. Am I still eligible to request a VERA after I have reached the 30-year mark? I also have two years of temporary service that I can buy back for approximately $2,500. What would be the monthly pension amount with 30 years versus 32 years, if I purchased the two years of temp time? A. Although you could accept a VERA, there wouldn’t be any point in doing that if you already have the…
Q. I am 54 years old and was employed with a federal agency for 17 years from 1979 to 1996. Upon resignation to enter the private sector, I withdrew 100 percent of my CSRS contributions. If I return to full-time federal employment this year, do I have the option of buying back the creditable service of 17 years for the same amount that I withdrew in 1996? Secondly, would I be able to continue with CSRS rather than FERS upon re-employment? Would I be eligible to retire after eight more years of federal employment service? A. If you returned to…
Q. I worked in the Postal Service from 1970 to 1977. I got back my retirement money, almost $5,000. I started working for the Veterans Affairs Department Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1994 and was put in the CSRS Offset program. As of May, I will have been here for 19 years. I paid back my two years of military time. I asked someone in personnel whether I should pay back my Postal Service time and she said no. She said that some of your money comes from the Offset and some from Social Security. She said…
Q. I’m retiring in January and am a 58-year-old CSRS Offset employee with 35+ years of creditable service. My service computation date is in November 1977, although seven years were temporary civil service prior to my permanent hiring in March 1984. 1. Will the windfall elimination provision apply to me? 2. If I buy back my post-1982 temp time, will that have an effect on whether or not the WEP will apply to me? My current Social Security statement shows my SSA earnings started in 1970, if that makes any difference. A. The rule governing the windfall elimination provision is…
Q. I have 16 years in FERS. But I worked 18 years under CSRS and received a refund for that service in 1992. If I buy back that CSRS time, will it be computed as a CSRS component that will affect my Social Security? If I don’t do a redeposit of the CSRS time, will I be free and clear of any Social Security benefit reduction? A. While you will get credit for that period of service in determining your eligibility to retire, because you took a refund of your retirement contributions after Feb. 28, 1991, you’d have to make…
Q. I am a FERS employee with two years of service. I am on a two-year term employment. When it expires, I will have four years of FERS employment. I have already bought back my four years of academy time. I am 56 and will be 58 when my term employment ends. Can I receive a FERS retirement annuity at the end of my term employment since I will have only four years of FERS time? Or do the four years of academy time that I bought back give me eight total years of creditable service? Since I would be…
Q. I am under FERS. I worked for the Defense Department from 1987 to 1992, and left the government work. I later returned to DoD in 2005 and have been working there since. My service computation date is Aug. 23, 2000. When I left in 1992, I cashed out the retirement fund. Would I be eligible to buy back the time I cashed out in 1992 for five years of service I had accrued? If so, how could I do it? A. Yes, you can. Just fill out a copy of Standard Form 3108, Application to Make Service Credit Payment,…