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Return to Article: Part-Time Rules, Part Two

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  I worked for 34 years under Civil Service and retired April 3, 2008. In February 2009 I returned to FAA part time under FERS. They are telling me that my Service Computation Date must be changed from Janury 5, 1975 to November 2, 1975. I have requested that no change be made to my SCD as I plan to work only a short time and will not request that my time be recalculated. Please advise.

  Marian Doering Posted April 17, 2009 12:47 PM
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  Tammy, I will be 60 in September with almost 28 years, and plan to retire at that time. I am wondering if I would be able to resume work with the government as a part-time employee without any penalty to my retirement. In the interest of the government they would retain the knowledge and experience I would have, and not incur the cost of health insurance that they would for a new employee. The down side would be paying a higher grade/step to me than a new employee.

  Pam Spear Posted April 7, 2009 10:20 AM
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  I understand the desire to not penalize those who wish to work part-time as they head into retirement. I even applaud the desire to preserve the experience base, if in fact that is a part of the reason why a House Subcommittee approved a measure to not reduce the retirement annuity for such employees/retirees. Perhaps the committee also considered the positive effects of "work-life balance" when debating this measure.

  With the influx of women into the Federal workforce back in the 70s, many chose to work part-time in an effort to balance work and family (myself included) for a period of time (in my case, 4 years - and after 1986) when our children were young. We were well aware of the impact on our retirement annuity. I'd like to think that we were permitted/approved to work part-time by forward-thinking managers who recognized that such an accommodation would likely result in good morale, sustained productivity and likely a return to full-time at a later date by those employees.

  Even without insight into the background of this House measure, I wonder whether there are other equity issues here. Is it wise to pass a measure that would only focus on part-time work at the end of a career? Would there be a limit on the number of years? Why not consider part-time work at another point in one's career?

  Lee G Posted January 18, 2008 6:09 PM
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  I am covered on FERS. I started to work for the government when I was 21 years old in 1986. After 14 years, I started working a part-time schedule of 33 hours a week. In 2002 after birth of my second child I have a schedule of only 15 hours per week. My question is: Would it benefit me to go back full-time or as long as I have the age and 20 years in should be OK? Do I need a high three years? My high three would have been 1997-1999. Right now I am 41 years old.

  Angela Eckel Posted March 26, 2007 8:37 AM
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  I began my Federal career in March 1971. I took early retirement at age 50 under CSRS in November 1996 and was working 25 hours a week at that time. I had previously had some years of full-time service and some years on an intermittent appointment. In December 1996, I resumed federal service (after a break in service of about five weeks) on a full-time basis and have been working full-time ever since. Whenever I re-retire, how will my annuity be recomputed? Will I receive a prorated annuity that will give me full credit for all my years of full-time service, both before age 50 and after?

  Diane I. Reinke Posted March 18, 2007 9:07 PM
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  "Navy", I concur. One of the most apparent dysfunctions of governmental HR programs seems to be a disconnect between left hand recruitment and right hand constraint. The longer I work here, the more I see the program 'de jour' countering another initiative. This article notes a classic example.

  Once more, it seems to be a managerial difficulty of looking at such a program, determining the requirements, foreseeing hindrances, and predicting the ultimate results.

  Tip off

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 9, 2007 12:10 PM
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  Thanks, Tammy. I am a FERS employee and plan to retire at 56. I still have 10 more years to work. I've considered working part-time my last few years, and now thanks to your article I understand how the retirement is computed. I really appreciate your column.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 9, 2007 10:37 AM
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  "That's why I wouldn't recommend that anyone covered under CSRS switch to a part-time schedule in the three years prior to retirement."

  I understood that OPM was looking for ways to preserve the experience base of retirement eligible employees by allowing them to ease into retirement by working a shorter, part-time schedule. It would seem that current rules serve as a disincentive to the approach.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 9, 2007 9:37 AM