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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@yahoo.com. |
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Postal Retirement
Q&A November 2012 |
Good Day Postal
Employees........
What
a month this has been! Hectic, and
tremendously exciting for those that
will retire under the Vera. I know
that this has been overwhelming for
you with the anticipation of getting
your paperwork completed and tying up
loose ends as you wind down your
careers. This will be a monumental
change for you...prepare to become
somewhat normal... seriously. It's
going to take about 6 full months for
you get over the "postal employees
knee-jerk reaction" to just
everything, we all have/had it. You
will begin to unwind that "internal
top", you know, the one that has been
inside you since the day you became a
postal employee, it has been winding
up and down for "our" entire postal
careers.
Learn to just
relax...not watching a clock to see
how many hours you have left before
you have to "clock-in"...just relax.
This is SO WORTH IT! Retirement is so
worth it! That is why when I was in
management, I would take such the
approach, that you have no idea the
type of job you are pissing away by
not coming to work..being
late...nickel and dime their sick
leave, and all the time I knew..if YOU
only knew what I knew about the great
retirement we had at the end of the
road, you would have had a very
different attitude towards your job.
NOW I did not say it was easy, nothing
worth anything is easy...I know we
ALL, every single one of us postal
employees (and retirees) have had what
I call "your day in the SUN with the
PO"...all have "issues" with the
organization, or management, and some
very very legitimate...and as we all
know, some just total BS. So any of us
that get to retire, we all come with
some baggage and scars, some deeper
than others, but we made it! And for
those who are retiring
CONGRATULATIONS....IT WAS A LONG, HARD
JOURNEY BUT YOU MADE IT...I wish you
much joy and peace in retirement.
For the rest of our postal family,
it's back to the either the same grind
or a new grind..."a change in career
status" or "reduction of hours" the
unknown of where we are going as an
organization has those still employed
and those that still care wonder.
I have answered tons of emails
this month, and almost 90% of them
have to do with this early out.
Specifically
information..information..information.
The information that is out there is
so out of line with the reality of
retirement. But let me qualify
that...you all have certain ideas
about retirement or TSP, annual leave,
sick leave etc. In your ideas or what
you think you know, is always a kernel
of truth, maybe 2 or 3 kernels...but
the essence of the information is
generally so off, so wrong that I
spend more time trying to make every
one UNLEARN what they think they know.
Let me give you an example.
"Roseanne, I am leaving with the early
out, I am a FERS employee and I am 58
and have 25 years. I don't know if I
can afford to retire, my annuity is
only going to be $1400 per month, I
have to wait until I am 62 to collect
my social security, and then I still
have to wait until I am 59 and half to
begin my TSP"
Now, how many of
you agree, disagree with that above
statement? Well the first thing is NOT
ONE BIT OF THAT IS CORRECT...NOT ONE
SINGLE TINY PIECE OF THAT IS CORRECT.
This employee will get $1400
(FERS), of course minus life
insurance, health insurance and
federal tax, but additionally the
special supplement (you know..I talk
about this all the time..the bridge of
money that carries you until you are
62 when you can collect SS), and at 25
years, I calculate the (Spec Supp) at
about $800.. (Doesn't matter how I got
there for this exercise) AND you are
able to apply and begin to collect
your TSP the day after TSP receive
their electronic communication that
you are no longer an employee and are
retired. So what was my answer? Well
of course the bigger issue is what did
this employee have in TSP. In this
case, somewhere around 100,000.00 When
you add that to a net FERS of about
950, and then the 800 Spec Suppl; TSP
is looking like at age 58, with about
$100,000. should be a gross of about
$397.00. So this employee's 3
component retirement looks like this:
\
$ 950.(Net FERS)
$ 800.(SpcSup)
$ 397.(TSP) = $2097.00........until
age 62
$ 950.
$ 1633.
$
397.= 2980.00.........I TOLD YA...SO
WORTH IT !!!
Q 1.Hi Roseanne, I
am in the clerk craft and was offered
the incentive. I am 60 Years old with
25yrs, and also have 2 years of sick
leave making it 27 years. I was
originally hired as a casual clerk,
and then after my score was reached on
the hiring register, I was converted
to a ptf. I was told that I can buy my
time back as a casual and add it to my
service time. I would like your
opinion if you think it's a good move
to spend the money to buy it back.JS
A. 1. Hi JS, You asked my
opinion..in the scheme of time frames,
early out..deadlines, to even initiate
an inquiry for the buy back
during.....this time is really not a
good move. The advantage to your
annuity is less than 1%...save
yourself the grief...time wise and
money wise, it's not worth it. Just
retire. Take care, Roseanne
Follow Up 1. Roseanne, thank you. I
took your advise..I am retiring..thank
you for all of the advice you have
given me and my co-workers out
there...but stay, continue to do what
you do. You may not know, but postal
employees out there rely on your for
your brutal :) honesty..sincere thanks
for all that you do for us..JS
Q 2. I am a CSRS clerk craft
employee with 34 years of service and
52 years of age. I am trying to decide
on this retirement incentive as to if
I should stay or go. I know I will
incur a penalty by taking the early
out being that I am under age 55. Many
of us are facing consolidation of the
facilities we work at, sometime
between Dec-2013 or Jan-Feb 2014. Our
mail is to be sent to a processing
facility well over 60 miles. I could
consider staying this last year before
the facility moves to this new
processing facility.My question is
this, Does the discontinued service
retirement option apply if I was
offered employment in the processing
facility 60+ miles away? Would this
option also apply if the postal
service offered me employment as a
carrier in my local commuting area
even though it is a change of craft.
At 52 years of age I don't see how I
would be able to perform carrier
duties. There are so many grey areas,
and the state of the postal service
really scares me. I don't know how
long things will be operating at the
current level. Any answers you can
give me will greatly be appreciated in
helping me make my final
decision......thanks so much for your
input L
A 2. It's true, you
will incur a 2% loss for each year
under 55, but an opportunity like this
does not come that often, or may not
come again. As far as the discontinued
service issue, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T DO
THAT...YOU CANNOT KEEP YOUR HEALTH
BENEFITS OR LIFE INSURANCE....I AM A
STRAIGHT SHOOTER....THAT IS A SUCKER
MOVE!! JUST RETIRE LAST
THOUGHTS....RETIRE...IT'S A SANITY
SAVER...AND TRUST ME ON THIS...YOU ARE
A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR A GREAT JOB
SHOULD YOU DECIDE YOU STILL MAY WANT
TO WORK.. FIRST...YOU DON'T NEED
HEALTH BENEFITS....YOU DON'T AND
PROBABLY DON'T WANT TO WORK FULL
TIME...THIS IS A PERFECT
FIT....RETIRE!! Roseanne
Q 3.
DO YOU THINK THEY WILL OFFER A VERA
FOR RURAL CARRIERS?
A3.Honestly,
no...the Rural Carrier Pay Schedule is
SO DIFFERENT; annual/sick calculations
are different...their Union is mighty
...and they have a "true pathway" to
career employment, unlike any other
non-career. Roseanne
Q 4. Hi
Roseanne, I imagine your being deluged
with email right now. I appreciate all
you do by answering our questions. I
am taking the recently offered VERA
for clerks. I presently have health
insurance coverage for myself only as
my wife is covered by a plan provided
by her private sector employer. Will I
be able to add her to my plan when she
retires in a few years? If I can, will
I have to wait until Open Season to do
this? I don't know if this has any
bearing but I'm retiring under CSRS.
Thank you once again! Sincerely,ZT
A 4. Hi ZT, Regardless, as a
federal employee or a federal retiree,
you have the option of yearly (during
open season) change from single to
family or change the health plan
provider during open season, that
would be for the following benefit
year. I would strongly suggest that
you strategically plan for this...the
year she is going to retire, the prior
year during open season, put her on
your health plan...Roseanne
Q
5. Hi Roseanne, I am looking forward
to taking the VERA being offered to
the APWU. I presently have the BCBS
105 family plan and I understand that
I will pay approx. $434 per month as
an annuitant. If I elect to enroll in
the APWU health plan do I also have to
pay union dues in addition to the
insurance premium? Trying to make an
informed decision.
Thanks for your
input. R
A 5. Yes you will have
to pay the Associated Membership
fee...and must be paid yearly. Before
you retire, visit your local union
office to find out how to initiate the
Associate Membership fee and that way,
that is one less thing you have to do
in retirement. Take care, Roseanne
Well I will wind this
column up by saying........till we
speak again....Roseanne |
CORRECTION TO NOV 2012 COLUMN
Good Day Postal Employees, in my
November 2012 Column, Question #2 has
ONE WORD THAT HAS CHANGED THE ENTIRE
ANSWER COMPLETELY, AND IT IS MY FAULT.
In the following answer, my hands were
typing about "discontinued" and my
head was talking Deferred Retirement.
I apologize for any confusion this
caused. To say I have been inundated
with emails would be an
understatement! Again I am committed
to making sure you get the right
information, and as soon as it was
brought to my attention, I wanted to
bring it to yours.
Q 2. I am a
CSRS clerk craft employee with 34
years of service and 52 years of age.
I am trying to decide on this
retirement incentive as to if I should
stay or go. I know I will incur a
penalty by taking the early out being
that I am under age 55. Many of us are
facing consolidation of the facilities
we work at, sometime between Dec-2013
or Jan-Feb 2014. Our mail is to be
sent to a processing facility well
over 60 miles. I could consider
staying this last year before the
facility moves to this new processing
facility. My question is this, Does
the discontinued service retirement
option apply if I was offered
employment in the processing facility
60+ miles away? Would this option also
apply if the postal service offered me
employment as a carrier in my local
commuting area even though it is a
change of craft. At 52 years of age I
don't see how I would be able to
perform carrier duties. There are so
many grey areas, and the state of the
postal service really scares me. I
don't know how long things will be
operating at the current level. Any
answers you can give me will greatly
be appreciated in helping me make my
final decision......thanks so much for
your input L
ORIGINAL ANSWER
A 2. It's true, you will incur a
2% loss for each year under 55, but an
opportunity like this does not come
that often, or may not come again. As
far as the discontinued service issue,
PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T DO THAT...YOU
CANNOT KEEP YOUR HEALTH BENEFITS OR
LIFE INSURANCE....I AM A STRAIGHT
SHOOTER....THAT IS A SUCKER MOVE!!
JUST RETIRE LAST
THOUGHTS....RETIRE...IT'S A SANITY
SAVER...AND TRUST ME ON THIS...YOU ARE
A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR A GREAT JOB
SHOULD YOU DECIDE YOU STILL MAY WANT
TO WORK.. FIRST...YOU DON'T NEED
HEALTH BENEFITS....YOU DON'T AND
PROBABLY DON'T WANT TO WORK FULL
TIME...THIS IS A PERFECT
FIT....RETIRE!! Roseanne
CORRECT ANSWER: It's true, you will
incur a 2% loss for each year but an
opportunity like this does not come
that often, or may not come again.
JUST RETIRE-LAST THOUGHTS RETIRE
IT'S A SANITY SAVER...AND TRUST ME ON
THIS...YOU ARE A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR A
GREAT JOB SHOULD YOU DECIDE YOU STILL
MAY WANT TO WORK.. FIRST...YOU DON'T
NEED HEALTH BENEFITS....YOU DON'T AND
PROBABLY DON'T WANT TO WORK FULL
TIME...THIS IS A PERFECT
FIT....RETIRE!! Roseanne
Till
we speak again........Roseanne |
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