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• 50406
  

  I will be able to retire at 50 with 23 years of service, will I be able to get my TSP if I retire at 50 or do I need to wait until I am 59 1/2, and also will the tax consequences be any different

  Andrew Carroll Posted May 10, 2008 5:24 AM
• 50405
  

  I will be able to retire at 50 with 23 years of service, will I be able to get my TSP if I retire at 50 or do I need to wait until I am 59 1/2

  Andrew Carroll Posted May 10, 2008 5:21 AM
• 50212
  

  I'm a GS-13, step 10. On Oct. 15, 2008, I will attain 40 years of Federal service. There is a possiblity of a $25,000 buyout o/a June 2008. Which will be better: 1) retiring and taking the $25K in June and foregoing the additional salary and pension benefits for which I would otherwise quality if I remained employed, let's say June 21 to Oct. 15 or

  2) foregoing the $25K and retiring on Oct. 25--after my 40th year?

  Follow-on to #2: How much additional financial advantange would it be for me to hold off retiring until the 2009 pay scale takes effect. (I have about 800 hours of sick leave.)

  Thank you in advance. Max Scruggs

  MAX SCRUGGS Posted May 7, 2008 3:41 PM
• 40413
  

  Hi Tammy, Can you help me out. I have combined 20 years of Militay reserve and active duty servise. Of these 20 years, 4 years are active duty. I am also a FERS employee with 15 years of service. If I buy back my 4 years of active duty time, can I use this active duty time for both FERS and Military Reserves Retirement? (I have my 20 year letter from the Military). Thanks, Sean

  Sean McCarron Posted December 26, 2007 8:53 AM
• 38277
  

  I realize this may be a little off the topic but recently I've noticed something... Most of the GovExec articles have been publishing multiple identical responses but you, Tammy, have not. What I mean is that I collect many of these articles and responses for future reference. I actually read through the responses for a balanced opinion and for examples that are the exception rather than the rule. You can always find such in any large organization on volatile topics and I benefit even from those I disagree with. In the process of gathering and reading, I've recently come across a MUCH larger number of duplicate responses. I know that we (myself included) may send multiple entries; whether due to hiccups in the internet or in our brains. But it seems there is significantly less review of the contents and responses than there were before. I will admit to there being one benefit of this trend; there seems to be less editing and culling of the responses, even as I think that may ALSO be a fallacy. LOL! Just based on this visible comparison, it seems you actually listen and respond more to us than, perhaps, other columnists. I am not really trying to knock the others for I also appreciate their input and efforts and I know many of GovExec's article receive a deluge of responses that anyone would find difficult to manage. I'm simply noting an escalating trend that you seem to be avoiding. Tammy, you stand out for your care, research, responses, and the professional appearance of your column. Thank you, as always!

  Tip off Posted November 27, 2007 11:57 AM
• 36742
  

  The 10/27/07 retirement planning column featured a question about early retirement. On 1/5/08 I will be 58 years old and have 29 years service. Can I be approved for early retirement?

  Rhoda Portis Posted November 7, 2007 2:09 PM
• 36522
  

  Hi Tammy -- I am 62 1/2 and have made my military deposit which gives me 10 years of service this month. I joined the agency in May, 2006. This is my first federal position so I currently have 18 months of employment service. I have heard that I have to work for a minimum of five years before I can retire with medical benefits for myself and my wife. Can you confirm/correct this please?

  Mike Sutton Posted November 5, 2007 6:53 AM
• 36505
  

  I am a FERS employee under 6c law enforcement coverage, now eligible for retirement at 55 years old. I plan on doing a rollover of my TSP into a 401K I control when I retire. I know I can take money out of the TSP without penalty when I retire as long as I do it immediately upon retirement, Can I still do that if I move it to my own 401K? (I plan on payments over time)

  Ed Tarver Posted November 4, 2007 2:55 PM
• 36454
  

  Hi Tammy. My question involves working for the government as a contract employee after taking full retirement. I'm 65 with 37 years service. About 17 years is CSRS and 20 years is FERS. I have built up a large nest egg in TSP. I am considering retiring the end of this year (12/31/07). My question is, What are the rules governing re-employment with my current agency as a contract employee? How does this effect my government retirement? I would request that you do not use my name or agency in your published response. You can e-mail you respone to me at the address above.

  RUSSELL TODD Posted November 2, 2007 1:01 PM
• 36125
  

  The TAPER question got me thinking, I'm a FERS employee planning to retire at 62 with what I thought was to be 20 years of service (1 year temporary/term and 19 years FERS). Now my first year of employment was a temporary GS-7 job, not to exceed 4 years, back in '97. 11 months into my first year I became career conditional, accepting a GS-9 to 11, training position. My question is "Do those first eleven months count towards my retirement, both for eligibility and financially? Or is that considered "nondeduction service" in accordance with: Buying Retirement Credit (Feb. 10, 2006)? The article reads:

  1. Nondeduction service: Federal civilian service that is potentially creditable for retirement, but for which no retirement deductions were withheld from salary. This includes temporary appointments, intermittent service or indefinite appointments. It also can be service that was not considered federal employment at the time it was performed, but for which a subsequent change in the law now allows credit for retirement annuity computation purposes. (I WILL try to get access and check to see if retirement deductions were made!)

  2. "If the nondeduction service was performed after 1988, then it is not creditable under FERS and no deposit can be made. This service will deducted from the service computation for retirement purposes. Nondeduction service performed on or after Jan. 1, 1989, generally is not creditable under FERS for any purpose."

  I was told that any temporary job/employment "not to exceed 12 months" was treated differently that temporary employment that was over 12 months and incurred retirement credit. My SCD for Leave is the same as the start of my temp/term employment. I will have 20 years of service (including the first, questionable year) the same year I turn 62 and, currently, wish to retire at that point. Will I need to work another year to have the full 20 count towards my retirement? At this rate, you could be doing "Question and Answer" columns for decades. Thanks as always.

  Tip off Posted October 29, 2007 3:02 PM
• 36090
  

  I am looking at retiring in 2009 (Feb 2, 2009) and want to know the best way to figure my Federal Income tax from my pension. I am married and my wife and file our taxes jointly. I also know that PA does not tax retirement pay. So, with that in mind, what are the other things that will affect my retirement pay taxes? How do estimate them to make the decision that Feb 2009 is the best time?

  Kenneth Gilliam Posted October 29, 2007 10:01 AM
• 36020
  

  Thank you Tammy - I have seen answers here I have not found elsewhere. I am 64 with 42 years of service and will be retiring in 2008 under CSRS. What happens to my sick leave since I no longer need it to make time in service? Also retirement contributions that are still being deducted from my salary. Will that continue until I retire? Thanks again

  Kathy Posted October 26, 2007 4:34 PM
• 36017
  

  I am a 43 year old federal Firefighter. I currently have 16 years in FERS. I paid back 10 years of active duty time. Does this post 56 time count as covered time in a special category? Without the Post 56 time I can retire at 50 with 23 years of service. Can I retire now with 26 years of service? Finally where can I get more information for our type (special category)retirement

  Carl Davis Posted October 26, 2007 3:23 PM
• 35987
  

  I'm one of your avid readers and just want to thank you for your advices (new and repetitive). I'm CSRS, nearing 25 years of service, and am strongly considering retirement in 4 years at age 60. Whether I do or not remains to be seen, but I'll continue reading your columns until it happens. Keep up your great work...no one else explains it better to us government employees.

  JK Posted October 26, 2007 10:46 AM
• 35985
  

  I'm confused. I'm FERS, I bought my 10 yrs of military time. At my MRA I'll have 25 yrs of civil service time plus 10 yrs that I bought back totaling 35 yrs. If I retire at My MRA will I be pentalized for not having 30 yrs of actual civil service work?

  Don Chambers Posted October 26, 2007 10:29 AM
• 35967
  

  Hi Tammy,

  Please include my kudos and many thanks for all your GREAT columns! You have educated me for several years now and I will continue to be a regular follower until I retire! Recently I went to a retirement planning seminar and was familiar with much of what they talked about. A friend asked me how I had learned so much about this, and I referred her to your column. She is now subscribing to gov.exec just to read you! Clap, clap, clap!!

  Cathy Posted October 26, 2007 9:30 AM
• 35966
  

  Do you still suggest that the beginning of the year (Jan 3) is the best time for NSPS employees to retire? This year, salary increases and part of the annual COLA will not be effective until the first pay period in the new year (Jan 5). I assume annual leave will not be paid out at the higher rate since you do not get a NSPS pay out if you are not on the rolls as of 1-5? Can you enlighten us on this? Another unintended consequence of NSPS.

  Thanks!

  Hank Posted October 26, 2007 9:12 AM
• 35965
  

  Tammy....this may not be in your area however if you have any insight i would appriciate your comments. this involves a divorce and court ordered agreement. simply stated. i am csrs and she is fers. she gets 50% of my retirement and i get 50% of hers....fair enough for me so i accept of course. now as i approach that date to retire it appears that the fine print is that she gets my 50% now while she has about 5 years more to retire? where is the equity in that? other than referring back to those hungry lawyers. you got any words of wisdom? :) thanks jim keep up the great info stream your a great help to us out here in cyber space that includes the goverment.....lol...have a great day...

  james e waters Posted October 26, 2007 9:07 AM
• 35963
  

  I retired from the federal government nearly a year ago and still enjoy reading your column and learning something new -- as well as referring it to my former (still-working) colleagues. You have an amazing wealth of knowledge. More importantly...thanks for the simplicity and clarity of your answers.

  former fed Posted October 26, 2007 9:02 AM
• 35962
  

  Ms. Flanagan, I am on the FERS system and can retire 04/02/2011 60/0 Optional Unreduced Retirement (Regular Retirement), can I withdraw my entire retirement or do I have to take annuity? Is there a formula to calculate the annuity? Does the rate change every year? How much is the interest rate? If I have to take annuity, then for how long do I have to take it before I can cash out? What about my TSP? If I cash out then how much penalty IRS will assess? Is there any benefit to wait until age 62 to retire?

  Abdul Hanif Posted October 26, 2007 9:02 AM
• 35957
  

  I am a Government employee under the CSRS offset program. At the age of 55, I will have 30 years of service and at the age of 60 I will have 35 years of service and have met all the requirements of Social Security (SS), avoiding the windfall provision. Have a few questions:

  Is it beneficial for me to wait until I am 60 to retire?

  It is my understanding that I will receive whatever is greater (my pension or SS). If this is the case, I am not seeing any benefit to wait until I am 60 to retire as I would think my pension would be higher than my SS (retiring at a GS-11 level). And if it is higher, will I get any SS?

  Any information you can provide on this or the CSRS Offset program would be greatly appreciated - it is hard to find someone who really knows about it.

  Bonnie L. Russell Posted October 26, 2007 8:21 AM
• 35955
  

  I have a pay a sum of $25,000 back into CSRS for about 4 years of active duty while I was LWOP U.S. from my civilian job. If I plan to work on to 40 years in civil service anyway, is there any need to pay back the deposit since I will max out on CSRS at 80%? I am 61 now and will also qualify for Social Security at 62; plan to retire at 65.

  Gerald Pounds Posted October 26, 2007 8:01 AM
• 35954
  

  I read every column of yours for the last 2 years before I seriously decided to retire. I made sure every detail was covered. My retirement counselor was great and dealing was Social Security as so easy.It is the best decision I made. Thank you for all your help.

  Alice Posted October 26, 2007 7:55 AM
• 35948
  

  I am a CSRS offset and contemplating retirement in the upcoming year. I am also contemplating marriage and switching to a family plan so my spouse can receive coverage. My plan is simply better than what he is under now with his company. We were told the change in coverage could be made whenever we opted to wed as long as I was fully covered and eligible at retirement. However, I have now read that if we indeed wait until sometime after retirement to take the plunge, I could add him to my policy but were I to die first, he would no longer be eligible to continue coverage. That is a significant difference. Can you clarify?

  Gail Ismart Posted October 26, 2007 6:56 AM
• 35947
  

  My wife quit federal service 10 years ago. At the time she withdrew her CSRS contributions. Does she have any federal retirement coming to her when she reaches the correct age? How do we find out what it is? Thank you

  Bruce Armbruster Posted October 26, 2007 6:47 AM
• 35946
  

  I really look forward to reading your columns every week and understanding the many options available to me to plan for my retirement. I have 32 years of federal service and am only 49. Since I have about 6 1/2 years to go before my first retirement eligibility (I switched to FERS when it was first offered), I am interested in finding out if your company, or others, provide private consulting services specializing in federal retirement? Being from a small agency, my human resources department is understaffed and overburdened, and doesn't have the resources available to provide me with the individualized consulting that I am looking for. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

  Jeanne Ring Posted October 26, 2007 6:44 AM
• 35944
  

  I am currently a FERS employer since 2001. I have 23 1/2 years active duty Air Force time and currently draw military retirement. Would it be beneficial for me to convert my military time to FERS?

  Randy Buff Posted October 26, 2007 6:41 AM