|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Share |
 |
 |
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. |
|
|
|
|
Postal Retirement
Q&A January 2013 |
Good Day Postal Employees: I hope
everyone has had a safe and wonderful
holiday. Again another busy month with
answering emails and assisting in some
very emotional benefit cases out
there. I think this will be a very
interesting month in the post office.
The sheer numbers that are leaving via
AWPU early out, will begin to show
wear on the post office very quickly
if they don't do some type of
restructure. I can't imagine
it.....but what I hear from MANY MANY
OF YOU ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!! is the
amount of overtime and penalty time in
2012, especially towards the end of
the year, according to you all out
there...it was "record-breaking"!!
Don't you, those of you that worked
it, find it just over the top ODD to
have worked all this
overtime....why!!?? I thought there
was no mail!! So follow that up with
the OT and the penalty....and then all
the thousands of "early out"
employee's walk out the door on Jan
31..... well you tell me! I am sure
you will, you all keep me so informed
that I am able to relate information
like this.....you all thinking it's
just YOUR office, or YOUR district, or
YOUR plant that is the only one's
having this ridiculous
OVERTIME.....not...it's all over.
Q. 1 -Hello, I have a FERS
retirement question for you. I am an
EAS employee who frequently works 6
days a week. When I retire, will the
extra pay be added to my annuity or is
my annuity based on my base EAS salary
only? Thank you for your assistance.
MY
A. 1 - No. Your pay records
are sent (an electronic transmission)
from Eagan (MN where all the salary
history is stored). OPM will then
recalculate what the true high 3
figure is, and then use that to again
recalculate for the monthly annuity.
The reason for this is, all annuity
estimates are really just a "snap
shot" of the last 3 years of form 50
history. Because 95% of annuities are
typically the last 3 years of a high
average salary. Your annuity is based
only on "a yearly salary" (the one on
the PS Form 50 in your eOPF);
overtime, Sunday Premuim, or Night
Differential are not included in the
calculations of retirement. Roseanne
Q.2 - Hi Roseanne, I will be
taking the Vera on 1/31/13, and
continuing the APWU health insurance.
Do you know if I have to become a
"retired associate member", at $3.00
per month, to be allowed to continue
with the Union's health insurance? I
was always under the impression that
it would just transfer into
retirement, and I would be done with
paying dues. Thank you for your
help-JR
A. 2 - Hi JR, yes you
are required to pay an associate
membership fee for any Union based
health plan. You should contact your
local union office to find out how to
pay this fee as a retiree, or go
on-line to that union's national
website for information on the
procedures for postal annuitants. I do
know that when you are retired you may
be required to pay the fee on a yearly
basis. Roseanne
Q 3.- Hi Roseanne,
I have nearly 30 years in the post
office. I want to take the incentive
package they are offering to APWU,
leaving on January 31st. I will turn
62 on February 28th, and I have been
told that my annuity will be
calculated at 1.1% when I turn 62. Do
you think I should take the incentive,
and have my retirement calculated at
1% or wait until March 1 to retire to
have my annuity calculate at 1.1%, and
give up getting the $15,000.
incentive? Undecided
A 3.- Hi
Undecided, It is all determined by
your high 3 average salary and the
number of years that you have worked.
With nearly 30 years and just using an
average Hi-3 salary of 55,000, for 29
years (and of course with the
incentive..10 G's this year (2013) and
5 G's (2014) your FERS gross monthly
annuity would be a $1329.00 versus
$1463.00; if you waited until age 62
with the 1.1% calculation. This is
just an example using that 55 as the
high 3 average salary. Roseanne
Q 4.- Hey, Roseanne, I retired in
2009 under VERA, and I was a FERS
employee. I was 55 years old with 24
years of service. There is no any
increment or cola adjustment to my
retirement up to 62 years of age. Will
the OPM adjust cola or any increment
to my retirement benefits for the past
years, when I becomes 62 years old?
A 4.- Hi, After your retirement
is/was completed, EVERYONE gets a 5x7
blue &white pamphlet, titled " YOUR
FEDERAL RETIREMENT BENEFITS". This
indicated that your retirement was
complete, and all of the selections
that you made on your retirement
papers are consolidated in that blue
pamphlet. It relates all information
pertaining to YOUR retirement fund.
OPM suggests that you keep that
booklet with all of your important
papers such as wills, etc. when you
received this completed booklet from
OPM. In the back of that book it
outlines the information about COLA
adjustments as it relates to FERS
employees. Roseanne
Q 5.-
Roseanne, I retired civil service in
2006, I turned 65 this past August and
noticed that they stopped taking out
the life insurance payment. does that
mean I no longer have any life
insurance? Thanks J
A 5. - Hi
J, When you turn 65, if you have taken
basic life insurance into retirement
at the 75% reduction factor, (and also
if you selected Option A), the premium
stops (at age 65)...but then your
insurance (which Basic began at your
salary at retirement, rounded up to
the nearest thousand, plus 2,000.)
begins to reduce by 2% per month,
until it reaches 25% of it's original
value, so yes you still have life
insurance, just not at the same amount
as it was when you retired, it's one
fourth of the original value. If you
selected Option A (10,000) into
retirement, it also reduces the same
way and it will be 2,500 at around age
68. It too takes about 3 years on the
reduction. Roseanne
Q 6. -
Hello Roseanne, Does a retired Civil
Service employee pay into social
security if they go back to work as a
PMR? I already have 34 quarters
already paid into social security,
will going back to work as a PMR for 6
more quarters give me the 40 quarters
needed to collect SS? Thanks F
A 6.- Hi F, Yes, social security is
taken out. As a PMR you are not a
career employee so there is no
retirement fund. Anything you add to
the SS fund will add up to 40 if you
are short. Be sure you are aware of
the CSRS factors when working as a PMR
while being a CSRS annuitant. There is
a limitation to the number of days you
can work, without it having an effect
on your CSRS annuity check. Roseanne
Q 7.- Hey Roseanne, just wondering
if you have any info from other
retired PM about this. Reached my MRA
on Nov 28th and my annuity statement
for Jan 1 2013 does not reflect
supplemental. Needless to say that
calling OPM is insane and waiting for
an email response is the same.
Obviously it was not on my Dec pay
either. My claim was finalized on Dec
10th and I retired July31st. Thank
you, Retired Postmaster
A 7.-
Hi Retired Postmaster, First thing
is...I don't think that an annuity
statement WILL EVER reflect the
special supplement. The special
supplement is not a factor in the
calculations of your federal
retirement (FERS or CSRS). But let's
take this apart so you are not
stressed. If you reached your MRA on
Nov 28th, that means you are eligible
for the supplement in
December....HOWEVER...just like your
annuity check, and social security
check too, you are paid on the
following month. So you are eligible
in December,, which is paid for in
January....you ain't late yet buddy.
Roseanne
Till we speak
again......Roseanne |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
