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Information on this page is provided by Roseanne Jefferson.
Roseanne is a retired USPS employee with an extensive background in USPS
retirement, disability retirement, OWCP, EEO, Labor Relations and HR.
She conducts individual and group counseling and is able to
comprehensively discuss the pros and cons of employees who are on OWCP,
disability retirement and regular retirement. Roseanne will be happy
to answer your postal retirement questions. Contact Roseanne at
roseanne.jefferson@icloud.com. |
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Postal Retirement
Q&A March 2014 |
Good Day Postal Employees - As always a round of
thank you's to all who have and continue to pray
for Hope's recovery. We truly appreciate the care
and concern. She is in remission and we pray for
positive updates on this horrible disease.
Much does not shock me as I get older, but one
letter this month had my jaw drop to the floor�I
will copy and paste this letter, because IT IS
EXTRA SANITIZED and you will understand my
reaction when you read it.
Roseanne, I hope
you can help me almost immediately. I am doing our
2012 taxes that have to be completed by the end of
February and we are missing my husband's "Paul
Carrier", income from his post office pension
plan. I might be missing 2013 statement also. His
social security number is 123-45-6789. He retired
from the "Smithville" Post Office I believe in
1988. PLEASE HELP US IF YOU CAN AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE. If you could email the information that
would be great or fax it to my accountant at
888-123-4567. Thank you for your help in this
matter.
* The social security number of
employee; name of both husband and wife; former
office of employment, approximate year of
retirement and accountant's actual phone number
were sanitized
MY RESPONSE: Hi Mrs. P
Carrier, I am absolutely floored by your request
on so many levels. YES I can help�..but NOT the
way you think�...I have no access to any
information on anyone, relative to their personal
finances, taxes, or any other information that is
stored on postal computers, or OPM computers. If
your husband is a retiree from the Post Office,
then he (like me as well) receives his monthly
annuity checks from OPM (Office of Personnel
Management). You can call them at 1-888-767-6738
to request that they send you what is called a
1099 for his annuity payments for 2012 and 2013.
In fact, that information is on-line. Your husband
as a retire can use his CSA number and request a
PIN and be able to review all information such as
federal taxes, life insurance information, or even
if you would decide to change banks, that too can
be done on line. Understand this CORE FACT, I know
HOW the system(s) work�.but that does NOT mean
that I have any access to restricted employee
information, working or retired. I know the phones
at OPM are very busy�.BUT this is too important
for you to not continue to call them until you get
them. Additionally, you can go to opm.gov and sort
of surf their site, it's very informative and
quite user friendly. Roseanne
HER RESPONSE:
Thanks to you mission accomplished. Mrs. Postal
Carrier
*******************************************************************************************************************
Let me start out by saying I help employees
and retiree's in many different areas, as my
expertise is Human Resources�total HR�not just
personnel, not just retirement, which is why I am
able to have the insight to answer questions and
guide employees (and retirees) in the right
direction that are not always JUST retirement
related questions. My understanding of the various
systems used, CMS, data keeper, SAP naming only a
few�.(for those of you HR types reading this�and
jump out and say�.datakeeper is a system not used
anymore�.check yourself, before you try to check
me�.OK!�I have a data keeper report for late
2013�.do you!!!); understanding cut off dates in
form 50 processing, and over 25 solid years of
being HR. I say all that to say this if this:
...I have NO ACCESS TO ANY EMPLOYEE'S PERSONAL
INFORMATION WITH USPS OR OPM.
What I
respond to in my Q&A's are what YOU the
writer/employee write me. If you contact me with a
question and YOU tell me you are CSRS, I MUST take
you at your word for that. I can't look it up
anywhere to be able to say to that
writer/employee, OH NO, YOU ARE NOT A CSRS
employee you are a CSRS/Offset employee. (Two very
different retirement systems, with different
answers). Again this is no different than the old
computer lingo we used in the past "garbage
in-garbage out". So responses are based on your
email, and additional email dialog if there is
something that needs more clarification before I
answer. And typically, that is when I find out
that "you" are not CSRS but perhaps a CSRS/offset,
just by our email conversation, or you don't
REALLY have 30 years, you have 26 because 4 were
RCA time, or 4 was military that was NOT paid
back�.a zillion different things that could change
the course of the answer. This is why being
specific is SO important.
THEN THE VERY
GLARING ISSUE in this subject email, sending me OR
ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER, a social security number.
DON'T DO THAT�.EVER. NOT JUST TO ME, TO ANYONE.
And I think that it IS done because of the
assumption that if you give me a social security
number, I can "look-up" information using that
social security number. I say IS done, because
this is not the first time I have had someone send
me an SS in an email. I no longer work for the
Postal Service, I am retired and so any access I
had to postal employee records was revoked when I
retired; and I have never had any access to
records at OPM. Even when I do an Air Mail
Retirement for some of you that have requested my
services�.your social security numbers are not on
ANYTHING I type, or the copies I maintain for our
session. When I send back your package, my copies
immediately are sanitized with black ink on all SS
numbers on the retirement papers. Identity theft
is BIG BUSINESS now, PLEASE PROTECT YOURSELF�don't
give out your SS to anyone, especially on email.
Q 1. Hi Roseanne, Thanks for all your
good information. I am a traditional clerk, I am
under the CSRS retirement system, I have 31 years
of service, will be 55 next year and have 2500
hours of sick leave. My question is, was I foolish
to be so conservative with my sick leave or will
it be helpful when I retire? Also, will there be a
considerable difference in my retirement if I stay
an additional 4 years? Thank you, KS
A 1.
Hi KS, It's NEVER foolish to conserve sick leave,
it's really an "insurance policy" of sorts if you
don't abuse it, and also good fortune to maintain
a healthy status, so you are able to conserve it,
understanding that many employees are not. That
being said, any years or months added to your
overall years in service is an advantage�.in your
case you have over a year in sick leave, which
equates to 2% extra per year�.so it really does
add up. If you stay 4 years, that is an additional
8% and of course at the higher 3 average salary,
and that is saying you get any significant raises
in the next four years. It REALLY was a wise
decision to conserve your sick leave, and you will
benefit from it in retirement. Roseanne
Q
2. Hi Roseanne, my question is I am a FERS
employee letter carrier hired in 1984 and have
bought 5 1/2 years of military time back which has
already been accredited to my retirement years. I
am planning on retiring in Dec 2018 giving me 40
years total including my military time, How does
the social security supplement work? and how much
will I receive? I am 55 and been working since
1976, Any information you can give me would be
helpful. thanks, M
A 2. Hi M, As a FERS
employee when you reach your MRA(56-57) AND have
30 (or more) years, you are entitled to the
special supplement. It is a bridge of money in
between your MRA retirement date and becoming age
62, when you are eligible for Social Security. The
supplement is figured around $30-$35 per month,
times the number of POSTAL years worked. I say
that because the military time (yes even paid
back); is not counted in the special
supplement�don't shoot the messenger, it's just
NOT. Take care, Roseanne
Q 3. Hi Roseanne,
I just was reading over your February column and I
don't want any incentive .... just Early Out would
be all I need to go and never look back. Do you
have any idea on how far in the future that Early
Outs may be coming? If I decide to resign if
nothing is offered in the near future ... will I
be eligible for reinstatement if I leave on good
terms? If so is there any time limits on when a
person can come back? I am 50 years old with 21
years of service. My parents have told me for
years that I can quit anytime and I know I could
with the way they have set everything up
financially for me and I can have time to learn
from them and know when they are gone that I can
carry on their businesses. I still keep hanging on
at the post office (craaazy me) for what???
Chronic Stress!! I love all my customers and they
feel like family but it's time for me to enjoy
life and my Real family and that Early Out would
give me just the extra push to leave my Retail
Family World!! Thank you, S
A 3. Hi S, I
really don't have any insider info on early outs,
I just know that everyone is complaining and
something has to give�..just not sure yet, what is
going to give and when. If you resign, yes you are
always eligible to be reinstated. But don't by any
means take any refund on FERS retirement
contributions�or even THINK about touching that
TSP! But how about this as an idea, before you
just chunk federal years and walk away�.why not
try to transfer to another federal agency. I think
we are the very best of the federal worker force!
When they complain about federal workers,
generally they NEVER mean us�.postal employee's
really work their asses off. AND that being said,
go to www.usajobs.gov, and try to preserve your
federal employment, long enough to retire.
However, if you do resign and then come back, you
may be under a different retirement calculations
rather than if you stayed federal. At least try
that before you make such a big decision. Federal
retirement is SO worth�don't just throw it away
now! Roseanne
Q. 4 Roseanne, I am thinking
of retiring either 2014 or 2015. I will reach 30
years of service on November 8 2014 and will be
61+. It is my understanding that if I retire
before reaching age 62 in July 2015 my annuity
will be reduced by .1%. Is this true? Also if a
VERA were to come and I decided to retire before
age 62 does that still hold true that I would
receive the reduced annuity of .1%? Thank you in
advance for your time. GA
A 4. Hi G, In
reviewing this month's emails it appears that I
did not respond�.if I did it must have deleted
because I don't see it. So, a bit late but here is
your answer. NO your annuity is NOT going to be
reduced by .1%. You will have MORE (age years)
than the required age of 55 if CSRS and required
56-57 if FERS with 30 years of employment. There
is SO MUCH wrong with your email about retirement
information. You have a correct percentage (.1%)
but ALL THE WRONG INFORMATION ABOUT THE .1%.
FIRST�.in FERS if there is a reduction it's 5%,
not .1% for each year under 62, and that is only
under MRA+10 retirement.
The .1% is an
additional component in adding your retirement. As
an example if you were 57 with 30 years, your
retirement would be calculated at 1% of your high
3 average salary, X 30 years�added up�divided by
12, that equals your monthly annuity. However, if
you were 62 with 30 years as an example, your
retirement would be calculated at 1.1% of the high
3 average salary, X 30 years�.added up�divided by
12, and that would equal your monthly annuity. So
it's NOT a loss of .1% (anywhere), it's an
addition of .1% to the overall calculation�.and
this is for FERS employee's only. Roseanne
Q 5. To Roseanne, I retired with the early out
incentive on 1/31/13 with 30+ years with the post
office. With all the issues they are having
keeping PSE's (with a lot of them quitting etc.)
would the PO ever consider rehiring on a part-time
basis retired postal clerks. We would have
experience and I think some of us are just looking
for part-time work. Is there any position (other
than contract carrier position) that retired
postal clerks could do? Thank you, B
A 5.
Hi B, Yes there are VERY VERY specific positions
that a federal retiree can work in a federal
position�..BUT�.I will tell you it's a very
slippery slope. Too many things can go wrong, and
I have seen it first hand. Post offices will
willingly try to hire an annuitant for a TRC
position. In order to do this "according to
regulations" the Post Office really has to jump
through a few hoops before "re-hiring" a federal
annuitant. Based on my emails, those in the
positions in the districts at "Local Services
(personnel) offer these positions, without going
through the proper paperwork that is REQUIRED to
rehire an annuitant. Many have no clue�that is HAS
TO BE APPROVED BY OPM�Many don't know that when
the Inspection Service comes in an does their
yearly review of hiring and they see a TRC
annuitant, and the proper paperwork has not been
filed�.not so good�ya feel me!! Sometimes
ignorance is not an excuse if you are in a
position that REQUIRES BY VIRTUE OF YOUR
occupation code and salary you earn, that you
didn't know you can't just hire an annuitant
without going through some extensive paperwork.
That being said, I personally don't
recommend it, for so many reasons�..I know so many
things in my head as to why this is a HORRIBLE
decision�.so let me be frank with you��of ALL THE
EMPLOYERS IN THE UNITED STATES, why, why, why ???
TRY to go back to the same employer that you just
retired from???? It truly baffles me, because you
take on the responsibility of ensuring your days
in a calendar are not over the limitation�the PO
isn't going to do that�.and what do they care if
you work over the limit, and the OPM cuts your
retirement check DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR EARNED� this is
NOT a good idea..AT ALL. I know what nearly
everyone else does not�.and I have the ability to
share it�.because no one else will tell you the
real truth. Lets look at this another way. As a
retired federal employee, you are a employers'
"dream employee". You don't want to work 40 hours
a week, you don't need health benefits, and by
working ANYWHERE OTHER THAN A FEDERAL EMPLOYER,
there is no possibility of your OPM annuity check
being reduced. DONT DO IT!! YOU will be screwed.
There are really isn't anyone left at the local
level (District Office..HRLocal Services) that
truly understands how to accomplish this rehiring
of an annuitant, legally, & legitimately. This is
crucial to making sure you- the annuitant, don't
see a reduction in your annuity check, by working
as a TRC/annuitant.
I get emails from HQ
employees, TO HELP FIX THEIR screw ups ON THIS�.of
course I would never get the credit for it, no one
would admit that they run outside to use their
cell phone to call me to give them an answer so
they can run back in and complete or respond to an
instruction
....but TRUST me on this�.if
you just gotta work - work anywhere, BUT NEVER a
federal employer�.not just the PO, any FEDERAL
employer�..you asked and that was far more than a
2 cent answer.
Till we speak
again��Roseanne |
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