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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 May 2014 |
Good Day Postal Employees:
I would like to begin thanking everyone for
their prayers for Hope. She is still in remission,
and we pray that she continues the fight this
dreadful disease.
This has been one of
those months where so many of you have written to
me in the hopes that I will have some miracle
answer to fix what is wrong with the PO, or give
you some tools to figure out "your" specific
problems. From the changing of RCD and ACD
dates..meaning�your RCD has been one date, and you
send in your paperwork for retirement, and then
you find out your RCD has been incorrect for
years. Perhaps it�s a month off, or maybe it�s a
year off. Generally this was due to improper
credit of non-career time. Certainly finding out
AFTER you have sent in your paperwork does NOTHING
for the resentment you already have about not
being given good information, or the fact that you
really are NOT eligible to retire.
There
are things that YOU CANNOT FIGHT�.this is one of
them!! Yes, I know they were wrong�I
know�retirement computation dates, and annuity
computation dates have been very confusing�.for
years. This is why they created the system of RTR
(Retirement, Thrift, RIF). Prior to the RTR
system, personnel employees would review
regulations and dates and manually enter credible
service time. (Credible Service is what is used to
base years (of service) on, so that your
retirement can be calculated (based on your high 3
average salary times the number of years of
credible service)). As the Manager of
Personnel�..a mandate came out from HQ, that by a
certain date�EVERY POSTAL EMPLOYEE HAD TO HAVE AN
RTR performed on their employment history. That
date has long passed�.it was well before I
retired. If I were to give a guess�.I would say
that around 2006 was the year that it was mandated
that all had to be done. So if an RTR is being
done on you, I would be reviewing my eOPF to see
if one has been done before, and question why
another one.
When an employee has had
non-career time, there are very specific dates
that allow it to be "credited" for retirement.
Sometimes the non-career years can be credible for
retirement money and sometimes the years are only
credible for years and NOT money. And as confusing
as this sounds, it was. Therefore the creation of
RTR, because (initially) the vast numbers of
employees that were found to be in the WRONG
retirement system. This RTR system was designed to
"correctly" calculate retirement dates, as well as
defining what retirement system you should be in.
Recently I have had a number of emails that
you,�yes you!! for years�thought�. and was on
paper (your PS Form 50) that you were a FERS
employee. Only to find out, after an RTR was
performed, that you were CSRS. VERY VERY ugly for
the post office. AND the same ugly if you were
"thought" to be CSRS and are really FERS. UGLY!!
The amount of money that is spent correcting
employees retirement plans is thru the roof. And
so it is the same with years that were "added" or
improperly credited as "credible service time" but
in reality were not entitled because it was
outside of the time frame that allowed it to be
credible. This is why I implore you to look at
your eOPF. You can be in control�but YOU have to
do for YOU, because no one else will or can. Don�t
be the one who writes and tells me that you just
found out that you can�t retire because THEY had
your "dates wrong", and now your life is turned
upside down. I am telling you�.check your eOPF now
and consistently�..I know you say that no one is
telling you anything�.well wrong�because I am
telling you, and now you have no excuse. Be as
interested in your eOPF as you are about your
paycheck. Some of you will listen, and some of you
will thank me, because you "caught" something now
that would be an issue in the future.
Q 1. Roseanne, There is an argument amongst us,
that with the PMG's last report, retirees are
going to be forced to take Medicare part B as
their primary insurance. I had asked you about
this before. I thought I had the option to defer
part B, and keep my Blue cross as my primary. I am
62 now, and will file for social security, after I
am officially retired. There are rumors
circulating that our retirement has this clause in
effect, that we must elect to have Medicare as our
primary.
Have you received any information on
this subject ? Thanks, M
A 1. Hi M, No, I
have not, and don�t expect that we will. My
husband and I are both are retirees ( postal
)....hubby will be 65 and got his "approval & fee"
letter for Medicare part B. (Approval letter�.yer
killin me..nearly everyone can get Medicare Part B
if you pay for it�approval..pulease!!) So we sent
it back that he was NOT interested in Medicare
Part B, keeping in mind, he is not yet 65 yet and
they are preparing to take the Medicare Part B
deduction out of his check when he turns 65 in a
few months. The only time a government agency does
anything ahead of time, is when they plan on
taking something from you. And 65 is the age when
you decide about Medicare, not at age 62. And
let's say that did happen, that the postmaster
general decided that postal employees had to go to
a "specific" insurance company of the Post
Office�s choosing or THE OTHER rumor a health plan
THEY CREATE THEMSELVES SPECIFICALLY FOR POSTAL
EMPLOYEES (can�t possibly see that happening).
FEHB rules state that you are NOT required take
Medicare part B. And why would you�.Medicare Part
B is health insurance�..YOU HAVE HEALTH
INSURANCE!! I truly don't believe the PMG can make
decisions that affect retirees, that are ALREADY
retired. OPM is the governing body when you are
retired, not your former federal employer. Once a
federal employee becomes a retiree, they are a
retiree, not a postal retiree, a federal retiree.
I have several times given this website�its the
official booklet regarding FEHB and Medicare. It
clearly states, that we are NOT required to take
Medicare Part B, and cannot be forced to, and
additionally, states that FEHB insurance is as
good or BETTER than Medicare. Keep in mind, I am
talking about Medicare Part B, the one you pay
for! Medicare Part A is free, and is going to
happen. You have been paying it as an employee,
and so when turning 65 and retired, Medicare Part
A becomes the PRIMARY HOSPITAL payer. The PO has
to follow OPM rules�it�s not the other way
around!! Here is the link�
http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/medicare/75-12-final.pdf
Q 2. Hi Roseanne, We have corresponded for
the last 3 years, and I have taken your advice on
every issue, and thank you for just BEING RIGHT!!
Since the beginning of having a Shared Service
center versus an on-site personnel office where
you could get a personal face to face meeting with
the person who was doing your retirement, there
has been such a lack of information about
retirement. You cannot get any real answers from
anyone at the district level. When I retired, I
did the phone session with Shared Service (and
there were other people on the phone besides
me!!), I did not get advice or even a relative
"understanding" of how high the premiums would go
to on the Option B insurance. I am paying an arm &
a leg for life insurance. I guess it did not help
that when I retired at age 69, 2 months later I
turned 70 and the premiums nearly doubled. Had I
been told that, I would have made some very
different choices. What would you suggest that I
do now? I guess after corresponding with you all
those times, this was the time I really should
have BEFORE I retired NOT AFTER. Again, thank you
for your valued advice. GLD
A. 2 Hi GLD, My
advice can and is very different for everyone. Not
because I change my mind, but because my advice to
you is about you and your family, and not a
generalized answer. Everyone has their own
specific reasons for life insurance. Health issues
can be the barometer for the decision you make. If
you have an illness or know that your life
expectancy may be shortened by the illness, then
my answer would not be the same to an employee who
is retiring, say with no medical issues. It would
requires a series of Q and A between us both so I
can help you make a correct choice. AND
AGAIN�..This is why I do what I do�because of just
this�..you retired with limited information, and
possibly made bad choices. Well those choices can
be changed. You can reduce the multiples of your
option B, (1-5); that is one solution, or you can
cancel it altogether. To me, it�s just the pissin�
off of money that you spent on insurance that you
can not afford the older you get��FYI: NO ONE
CAN!! That money was better spent either with
another life insurance policy or in your pocket.
Roseanne
Q 3. I'm window clerk, and I
am a FERS employee. Been in the Post Office since
Nov 1985 and on my birthday Nov 15, 2015, I will
turn 56 & have 30 years of service. I was thinking
of March 1st as a possible last day, but what do
you think the best day for me to be my last if I
want to receive the full 440 hours of accumulated
annual leave lump sum payment check? At the end of
Dec. 2014 I will have 360 hours of Annual Leave &
440 hours of unused Sick Leave. Approximately, how
much more $ per month will that unused sick leave
add to my annuity? Also, what does it mean when
TSP tells me that i'm eligible to receive a
certain $ amount per month for life, do they mean
i can receive that amount per month until i die or
until the TSP amount runs out and what are my
surviving family members entitled to? Can i
specify to TSP how much $ per month i want to
receive? When would i receive my last paycheck &
lump sum annual leave check , my first Annuity
check and how would i apply for the Social
Security Supplement...how soon could i receive the
first of that also? My average high 3 salary comes
to $ 53,000. What would my gross monthly annuity
be plus the Soc. Sec. Supp. and would the net
amount be roughly half that? Are taxes taken out
of the TSP guaranteed monthly amount? Thank you
for your help, J.
A 3. Hi J, Well much of
your answers depend on what actual date that you
are going to retire. If you are retiring in 2015,
because, 1), you will turn your MRA on 11-15-15,
and on that SAME date you will also have 30 (or
more) years of service, yes you are eligible to
retire. Your sick leave is NOT paid, but rolled
over into your "years of service", totaling years
and months. Any days that are left over (and are
added to the actual years of service on the
rolls), if they don�t equal 22 those 21 days of
sick leave (or less than 21 days) are lost. You
can receive your TSP in any manner you desire,
once you are retired. After you receive your SF
Form 50 showing retirement, then the choice is
yours about what you do with your TSP funds.
Hopefully you did not "dip" into your TSP, and
that when you retire, you are eligible to do a
variety of things with that money. When they say
you can receive a particular amount of money until
you die..that is what they mean.
However��understand that with an annuity (ANY
ANNUITY FROM ALMOST ANY FINANCIAL VEHICLE) when an
annuity is bought and there is no spouse, then the
money dies with the employee. If married, then the
spouse would receive an annuity that was
pre-selected (by the employee). Should that spouse
pass away�whatever money left in the annuity is
GONE!! BE CAUTIOUS with this money, this is a part
of your FERS retirement plan.
There is NO
WAY for me to predict how much $$$ on anything
that you would receive�.and how could I�.just
giving me your H-3 salary anymore, just won�t cut
it, because of the NEW proration factor applied.
FERS is a 3 tiered retirement system,
consisting of FERS, TSP & SS (Special Supp & post
62 Social Security). Each of those tier�s do NOT
weigh 33% each, but are more in line with 25%
FERS, 35% SS, 45% TSP. Hopefully you funded your
TSP fully, for the maximum benefit. Again,
question on taxes�.I am as specific as you are�.so
about 10% on federal and depending on what state
you live in would be the answer to a state tax
question. Retirement generally is not a one answer
fits all�.it�s way more complex than that.
Roseanne
Q 4. Hi Roseanne, I was hired
April 1983. I paid the 4 years served in Army to
my civil service retirement. That will make 35
accumulative years in May and I'll be 55 years old
in August. I'm at next to last step (M) of my full
time level 10 E T job at the XYZ P&DA in MY STATE.
A Remotely Managed Postmaster position has opened
up and I would like your advise. It's a 6.5 hour a
day office with a max $18.xx hourly wage.
Questions:
Is EAS (non bargaining) postal
employees "managers" retirement different from
bargaining unit employees? If so how?
If I
apply for the RMPO postmaster, how bad will that
effect my retirement?
What if I worked less
than a year as a RMPO postmaster?
If I was
awarded the office, my goal would be to reach full
time Postmaster position as soon as possible. I
also know there's going to be a lot of area
Postmasters that will get 1st preference to vacant
full time offices because their offices are being
cut to part time with post plan taking effect in
late Sept early Oct.
I want to work for
the United States Postal Service 5-10 more years
and would prefer those years with a day time job
with weekends off.
Most sincerely,
G
A 4. Hi G,
NO - NO and NO!! I know it
looks attractive having a daytime job with
weekends off�.but you will pay for that in the
end�because, if you are being promoted to a
position that is LESS than 40 hours a week, that
will dramatically effect your High-3 average
salary when it is calculated for retirement.
The are some differences with craft, EAS and
PCES employees when it comes to
retirement�.BUT�.that is not an issue that is as
RELATIVE as money, �.and your money will be
affected. Because a pro-ration factor is NOW being
applied, your high-3 (based on a less than 40 hr a
week job) will REDUCE the yearly income, and thus
reduce what is put into the retirement system (by
both YOU and USPS matching funds (in FERS)), and
that total overall reduction, reduces the
annuity�even though you may work longer.
Example: I did a PM retirement. That PM worked as
a PM for years. Then 6 months prior to an early
out offer, took a 6.5 hour RMPO job. Just six
months in that less than 40 hour a week position,
had already decreased the retirement calculations,
at a 98% pro-ration factor (so in essence she lost
2% of the high-3). If she worked until her MRA
(56) at the 6.5 hour job�(working an additional 5
years) she would have made only 5.00 more per
month in annuity��why�..the pro-ration factor. I
cannot tell you what to do, because I know daytime
and weekends off are SO DAMN attractive�..but
whatever you do, you now know the consequences.
Roseanne
Q 5. Roseanne, I've always
appreciated your great advice and now I really
need some. I'm a city carrier (FERS), will be
58/30 yrs. AND I WILL be retiring at the end of
2014. However, this last year has probably been
the worst in my career. My health is failing and I
have a disease, that although may not actually
take my life, does impact me working and how I can
live my life. I have used up nearly all of my sick
leave, and I will be on LWOP soon. Here are my
questions: 1. How much LWOP can I take this year
without affecting receiving credit for this last
year? AND 2, assuming I can make it until Dec., is
there an advantage staying thru end of the month
vs. my anniversary date 12/19?
Thanks for
your help. JB
A 5. Hi JB As far as question #1,
MORE than 6 months of LWOP in ONE calendar year
begins to have an effect on leave and creditable
service. Question # 2, the advantage is it�s
"cleaner"�.actually you should retire on the last
day of the month.. in your case 12.31. NOW that
does not MEAN you actually have to work, you can
take leave, until the 31st if you want. BUT if you
really wanted to retire on the 19th, NO one can
really stop you. Its just NOT a good financial
decision. It leaves you with 2-3 weeks of no
income. If retiring at the end of (any) month, the
annuity is beginning on the first of the next
month. So why leave on the 12th, when there would
be the loss of 2-3 weeks of income. ON the other
hand, if you are on a LWOP status�then retiring on
the 19th would be fine�because you are not being
paid, and in this case is a moot issue. If your
medical issues become unbearable, you could try to
apply for FERS Disability Retirement, not the best
choice since you are so close to actual retirement
for too many reasons to actually list�just trust
me on that. Roseanne
Till we
speak again��. Roseanne |
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