Assisting someone who is not an employed Fed anymore but has 3+ years with Peace Corps, and about 9 years mix of FT and PT EFM positions. What's the process for accounting for those years and determining their retirement status, to include buy-back of Peace Corps years?
I sent in my FERS application via certified mail on July 13. I haven’t heard anything at all back. I do not have a case number. Does anyone know how (or if) I should follow up to make sure my application is in process? Thank you.
Hi, good day!
I would like to ask lang if pano po mag compute ng retirement pay sa company? My Father is already retired from his company, and his been working for almost 20yrs sa company na yun. Kaso ngayon nag hihintay na yung Father ko sa retirement pay na e re-release ng company, pag check nila 20k lang yung maibibigay ng company as retirement pay based sa letter na binigay but base sa statement ng letter ay “Last pay/incentive” nya yung 20k na ibibigay nila, and kapag na pirmahan yun wala na syang ibang makukuha na bayad galing sa company na yun.
Ano po ba dapat gawin?
Considering retiring l at 60yrs with 3 million ($2million in tap, &1 million in husband’s Roth IRA). House and cars paid off. My pension will be about 35k (high 3 about 160k with 28 years), 9 months of sick leave saved and will likely have about 450 annual leave built up by the end of year (I was overseas so have been carrying over 360 every year).
Is it worth it trying to hang on until 62 (which has always been the standard mantra) given our situation?
I mean I know we’ll be ok, but the retirement we hoped for involves a lake house and a lot of slow “affordable luxury” travel for the next decade or so.
I go back and forth every day, from “it would be stupid to walk away with less than two years left”(think of retiring Jan 9, 2027 - but then it will be only 1.5 years left) - to “life is short, put 60’s will likely be our last healthy and very mobile decade. Do I want to waste it?”
Help.
Has anyone had mail not in the mailbox that was listed on the dashboard?
I have reported it as missing. I'm hoping it ended up with one of the neighbors.
Do any of you know how USPS goes about researching?
I’m turning 65 in a few months and am facing the same decision every Fed retiree faces. What do I do with Medicare and FEHB?
I submitted my application 90 days in advance. I was assigned a counselor. I uploaded all documents. The only thing complicated was my election of partial spouse survivor benefits.
My high 3 was incorrect by 40k on the initial estimate and service years were blank
I entered tickets in the system over two months ago
I have emailed and called my counselor the last month. Finally she called back today and reassured me all would be completed and correct but stated my husbands notarized form had a date discrepancy I missed and I signed the tax holding form with the wrong type signature
My years service and high 3 still are not in system
I cannot upload corrected forms because portal is locked
I have months still of sick leave. Do I ask to delay retirement? I have a mortgage to pay. Also I am worried if my healthcare continues if this doesn’t go through smoothly.
Any advice appreciated.
I stepped away from the government in March into a very good position with the firm. Within a short few months I've elevated quickly to upper management. I am currently looking at building my staff and trying to pull from a couple of my colleagues who were go-getters within the government. In one of those positions, I'm trying to recruit someone who is near retirement. Her minimum retirement date is March of 2027. At that point, she will receive her 1.1% and look to the private sector for employment. I currently have a program manager position open that she would excel at based on her past experience and work ethic. I need to fill that position within the next month. She has roughly 700 hours of sick leave, but that's not enough to get her that full retirement date. Are there other options that she could possibly look at where she satisfies her full retirement but stepped away now and starts in the private sector? If she stepped away and deferred her retirement, is that an option? I can only hold this position open for 30 days, which may force my hand in hiring individuals with unknown certainty. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I am a term retiring soon and I would like to return to work after retiring for a few hours to supplement my pension. If anyone knows, what are the limits of thr hours you can work for how many months.
Has anyone here done that?
Hi everyone! I am currently very close to 25 years of federal service in a few months, but I am not yet 55. Is it accurate that a federal employee can retire at any age with 25 years of service, and what penalties apply please if applicable, if a person is not yet 55? (I have worked for the same federal agency for 24 years, again soon to be 25 years.)
ETA: sorry, forgot to add that I also meet the requirements for a disability retirement as well. However, I am trying to avoid having to invoke this as much as possible, just because I had heard that it can take up to 2 years to qualify for disability retirement, all while in a non-pay status until disability retirement is actually awarded, that legal counsel is needed that I cannot afford, and that multiple appeals can happen are needed, if a disability retirement applicant is denied on either the initial request or first appeal, etc. I cannot afford to pay for legal counsel and would be highly likely to go bankrupt if I have to wait for a full 2 years for a hypothetical disability retirement to be approved.
Trying to nail down how OPM credits (or does not credit) a retiree for having hit their MRA mid-month.
I was fortunate to be able to retire prior to my MRA under VERA. So, no FERS supplement until this point. But now I'm hitting my MRA and it's my understanding the supplement will soon be activated automatically. (yay!) Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I've seen conflicting information about how the supplement is applied for partial months.
Some places I read that a partial month can be prorated and that amount is added to the first full month. But an OPM phone support person told me that partial months are simply ignored/dropped (similar to how a partial month is dropped when calculating years of service). Can anyone point me to a published law or regulation that specifies which it is?
As an example, let's say that I hit my MRA on October 10. One version of events is that my November 1 check will be unchanged, but my December 1 check will contain a full month Supplement. The other version of events is that my November 1 check would still be unchanged, but my December 1 check will include one month plus 21 days of the Supplement. Then my January 1 check and onward would just include the monthly Supplement.
Presumably the same question arises regarding the month I turn 62. But I don't assume it would have the same answer.
If a Vera is offered,should I take it??
I have tried to find this information, but have been unsuccessful. Is the high three calculated on after tax or pre-tax salary? As i am nearing retirement eligibility, I want to be sure that my ballpark estimate is close on take-home.
Any idea if mgmt gets notified immediately when you file for retirement? Planning on leaving 12/31. KMA on 9/26. Want to file 9/1.
I have been suffering from several issues for a few years now: bone and heel spurs, psoriatic, arthritis, and psoriasis, type II diabetes, back issues. I worked in a regulatory role (field inspections or sedentary desk work depending on the season), exemplary performance with excellent attendance. I never asked for an RA during my employment but last year when we were forced to RTO, I knew I couldn’t do it any longer. My podiatrist told me to go see a spine specialist so I scheduled an appointment for March 2025. He discovered I had several severe issues with my spine, including spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and the list goes on. I reached out to ask HR if I was eligible for the VERA and they told me yes so I decided to take the VERA with retirement starting Oct 1, as well as the deferred resignation. I started treatments for my back in May and things seem to be going well until I was hit from behind in my vehicle on Sept 12, 2025 and now the treatments aren’t working. My doctor said surgery is not an if for me anymore, it’s a when. A month before my retirement was to begin, HR emailed me and told me I wasn’t eligible for the VERA after all. I had a gap in service and they had never corrected my SEDR date. Since the shutdown was set to begin, and I had already moved into a lower paying position at an elementary school to meet the Social Security supplement income limit, my only other option was to take the MRA +10. Recently someone told me that because I was still a federal employee through September 30 and therefore covered under FERS, I should apply for disability retirement. I filled out the application, my doctors have written letters and are supporting me 100% and I’m about to mail this package in so that I will meet the one year deadline. My questions are am I crazy to submit this? I didn’t have performance issues because I worked through the pain. At the time I decided to leave, I most likely would not have been moved to another position because we were under a hiring freeze. Has anyone ever done this? I called OPM and actually talked to someone and she said just write on your cover letter what your CSA number is and tell us that you want to move from an MRI +10 to a disability retirement. Also, in early 2024, our position titles changed from general to regulatory. The general PD didn’t list out all of the inspection work we’re required to do. I’ve asked everyone, including HR, for a copy of the new PD but no one has it. HR said they don’t know what I’m talking about but they clearly see my position changed via SF50 in 2024. How do I explain that to OPM in this application?
Joining federal law enforcement at 40 — bad idea financially?
I’m currently in local law enforcement and considering making the jump to a federal law enforcement position at around 40 years old.
I currently have about 9 years in my local pension system. If I leave, I would likely roll whatever pension money I’m eligible to take with me into my TSP/retirement account.
My biggest concern is retirement. If I start federal law enforcement at 40, am I correct that I basically restart the clock and need to complete 20 years of covered federal LEO service?
If I work from 40 to 60 and complete the 20 years, what would my actual federal pension look like? I’ve heard different numbers thrown around, including around 65% of salary, but I’m pretty sure I’m misunderstanding how the pension, TSP, and Social Security all work together.
For anyone who made the jump from local LE to federal around 40:
- What does retirement realistically look like after 20 years?
- Does any of my 9 years of local government service help me on the federal side, or am I completely starting over?
- Would you make the jump at 40, or would you stay local if you were already established with almost a decade toward a local pension?
I know there are factors beyond money, but I’m specifically trying to understand whether making this move at 40 makes financial/retirement sense or whether I’d be crazy to walk away from my current pension track.